Costco October comp sales (ex. gas & f/x) +6.3% (US +6.8% / Canada +6.5% / Other Int'l +3.0%) Press release   Lumber Liquidators Q3 comp sales -3.6% Press release   Facing shorter holiday season, U.S. retailers rev up faster delivery, early deals at Reuters. "The last shortened shopping season was in 2013 - a year when retail chains and delivery companies scrambled to get packages to shoppers in time for Christmas. Retailers’ urgency to avoid a repeat of 2013 is on full display..." Read more   Rent-A-Center Q3 comp sales +4.5% Press release   Mystery shop: Buying alcohol from [...]

  Kroger Debuts New Logo and Launches Brand Transformation Campaign "Fresh for Everyone is Kroger's brand ethos...The Kroji (Kroger + emoji) animation features a loveable cast of characters to represent Kroger customers, associates and communities...Kroger's 20+ retail banners across America will continue to operate under their existing names..." Press release | Brand campaign   CVS Health third-quarter profit rises 10% on Aetna sales at CNBC. "Earnings per share: $1.84, adjusted, vs. $1.77 expected. Revenue: $63.81 billion vs. $62.99 billion expected. CVS reported third-quarter net income of $1.53 billion, or $1.17 per share, up 10% from $1.39 billion." Read more   [...]

  Kroger's 2020 profit, same-store sales estimates top expectations at Reuters. "The company forecast adjusted profit between $2.30 and $2.40 per share in 2020, and identical sales growth, excluding fuel, to be greater than 2.25%." Read more   ..."We are confident that Restock Kroger is the right strategic framework for business growth in 2019 and 2020, and to position Kroger for long-term growth in the future," said Rodney McMullen. Press release   Target’s First Loyalty Program Failed. Here’s How It Built a Better One by Diana Pearl at Adweek. "On stage at Adweek’s annual Brandweek summit, (Rick) Gomez said that [...]

  China’s Shoppers May Boycott U.S. Brands on Singles’ Day at Bloomberg via Fortune. "More than three-quarters of Chinese consumers surveyed said they’ll reconsider buying from American companies during the Singles’ Day shopping event on Nov. 11...“U.S. brands can expect some disruption because of the consequences of the US-China trade war on consumer sentiment,” the report said." Read more   Mastercard SpendingPulse: U.S. retail sales excluding automobiles to grow 3.1% from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24. That’s compared to 5.1% growth during the same period in 2018. at CNBC. Read more   Walmart’s Strategy When Wading Into Culture Wars: Offend [...]

  J.C. Penney creates the store of its wishes in Hurst, Texas - settles on using it as a lab by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. "With 13% less inventory, that space has been given back to the shopper in the form of 11 lounges to “hang out and chill so they can continue shopping.”...A Pearl Cup coffee bar is on the first level and the popular local coffeehouse is operating a café with food on the second level. A shop designed by the Dallas Cowboys organization has a fitness studio behind it and a couple of social media-ready [...]