Kroger Q4 Comp Sales (w/o gas) +1.5% "Excluding fuel, the 53rd week and the Modern Health merger, total sales increased 2.2% in 2017 compared to 2016." Press release   Costco February Comp Sales +7.7% (w/o gas & FX) Press release   ...Costco Outshines Other Discount Chains, But Concerns Linger by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. "...shares dipped more than 1 percent in late trading, a sign investors need more convincing in the wake of disappointing numbers from Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and -- earlier on Wednesday -- Dollar Tree Inc." Read more   Home Depot to donate $50M to train construction workers by [...]

  Dollar Tree Q4 Comp Sales +2.4% (Dollar Tree +3.8%, Family Dollar +1.0%) Press release   ...Dollar Tree same-store sales, forecast disappoint; shares fall at Reuters. "Wall Street analysts had expected same-store sales at Family Dollar to rise 1.46 percent and 3.99 percent at Dollar Tree stores, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S." Read more   Bass Pro CEO Holds ‘Constructive’ Talk With Sandy Hook Families by Polly Mosendz at Bloomberg. "Bass Pro Shops...has emerged as one of the highest-profile national retailers that still sell (assault-style rifles)." Read more   Amazon offers discount Prime membership to Medicaid recipients at Reuters. "To [...]

  Target Q4 Comp Sales +3.6% "Traffic grew 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter...comp digital channel sales increased 29 percent contributing 1.8 percentage points of comparable growth...healthy comp sales growth across all five of its core merchandise categories." Press release   ...Target shares drop on profit miss, wage hikes offset sales gains at CNBC. "Actual vs. expected: Adjusted earnings per share: $1.37 vs. $1.38 expected. Revenue: $22.8 billion vs. $22.5 billion. Same-store sales: 3.6 percent growth vs. an increase of 3.1 percent." Read more   U.S. clothing, cosmetics on possible EU retaliation list at Reuters. "(The EU) has drawn up a list of 2.8 [...]

  Target Q4 Comp Sales +3.6% "Traffic grew 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter...comp digital channel sales increased 29 percent contributing 1.8 percentage points of comparable growth...healthy comp sales growth across all five of its core merchandise categories." Press release   ...Target shares drop on profit miss, wage hikes offset sales gains at CNBC. "Actual vs. expected: Adjusted earnings per share: $1.37 vs. $1.38 expected. Revenue: $22.8 billion vs. $22.5 billion. Same-store sales: 3.6 percent growth vs. an increase of 3.1 percent." Read more   U.S. clothing, cosmetics on possible EU retaliation list at Reuters. "(The EU) has drawn up a list of 2.8 [...]

  Amazon looks to offer checking accounts for customers via JP Morgan, other banks: WSJ via CNBC. "The underlying goal is to further grow its Prime membership through cross-selling into existing J.P. Morgan customers and this could lead to more initiatives down the road," Dan Ives, chief strategy officer and head of technology research at GBH Insights, told CNBC in an email." Read more | WSJ article (subs.)   Target spending $250 million to remodel 28 Twin Cities stores in 2018 by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "And, after testing the concept last year, remodeled Target stores this year will [...]

  Amazon, Walmart and Target squeeze grocery chains on price by Jason Del Rey at Recode. "Across a selection of 15 of the most searched-for grocery items on Basket, Walmart’s prices were 16 percent cheaper than regional and local grocers on average during a recent February week. Prices at Target and Amazon Fresh were 13 percent and 4 percent cheaper, respectively." Chart/Read more   JCPenney Q4 Comp Sales +2.6% Press release   ...JCPenney's stock tumbles on revenue miss for the holiday quarter at CNBC. "In 2018, we will intensify our market share efforts in Appliances, Mattresses and Furniture, while continuing [...]

  Kohl's to bring discount grocer Aldi into its stores in pilot test at CNBC. "...into as many as 10 of its stores later this year in a pilot test...Meanwhile, Kohl's is looking to deepen its relationship with Amazon...Mansell: "We've had initial discussions with Amazon about how and where we will expand the pilot, and we'll share the details on that when they're finalized." Read more   Best Buy Q4 Comp Sales +9.0% Press release   ...Best Buy same-store sales surge, tops 4Q expectations at Fox Business. "That's a big turnaround from a year earlier when the figure dipped 0.9 percent [...]