Costco April comp sales +5.4%: U.S. +7.7% / Canada -1.9% / Other Int'l +0.9% / Ecom +23.6% Press release   Hudson's Bay to pay C$4.5 mln to settle with Canada's competition watchdog at Reuters. "Hudson’s Bay offered sleep sets at “inflated regular prices” and then advertised deep discounts on these prices, suggesting significant savings to consumers, the bureau said." Read more   Etsy Q1 gross merchandise sales growth +18.9% Press release   Amazon Hit by Extensive Fraud With Hackers Siphoning Merchant Funds by Jonathan Browning at Bloomberg. "Amazon believes it was the victim of a "serious" online attack by hackers [...]

  San Francisco bans credit-only stores at AP. "(Supervisor Vallie) Brown said she thought it unfair that someone couldn’t buy a sandwich just because they had cash. She said young people, victims of ID theft, immigrants and homeless people are among those who don’t have bank accounts or credit cards." Read more   PriceSmart April comp sales -0.5% Press release   Disney announces 3 new ‘Star Wars’ films & Avatar release dates at NY Post. "...three more “Star Wars” films will hit theaters every other year starting in 2022...“Avatar 2” will hit theaters the weekend before Christmas 2021, and the [...]

  Walmart is opening dozens of veterinary clinics in its stores and launching an online pet pharmacy at CNBC. "...(Walmart) already operates 21 veterinary clinics in its stores across six states, but over the next 12 months it will growth that number to 100...Walmart also will launch an online pet pharmacy, WalmartPetRX.com, rivaling PetSmart’s e-commerce business, Chewy.com." Read more   Save-A-Lot to seek buyer or investor at Reuters. "Save-A-Lot has about 1,230 stores and is the second largest “hard” discount grocer in the United States after Aldi." Read more   How the Apple Store Lost Its Luster by Mark Gurman [...]

  Jobs surge in April, unemployment rate falls to the lowest since 1969 at CNBC. "The U.S. added 263,000 new hires in April, easily beating Wall Street expectations of 190,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% vs. 3.8% expected." Read more   Target ups its ad efforts with revamped media company, Roundel by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. "According to AdWeek, Target wanted to announce Roundel at the NewFronts because it wasn’t only going to focus on display ads — it would also involve social, video and linear TV." Read more | A Bullseye View story   Floor & Decor Q1 [...]

  Jobs surge in April, unemployment rate falls to the lowest since 1969 at CNBC. "The U.S. added 263,000 new hires in April, easily beating Wall Street expectations of 190,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% vs. 3.8% expected." Read more   Target ups its ad efforts with revamped media company, Roundel by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. "According to AdWeek, Target wanted to announce Roundel at the NewFronts because it wasn’t only going to focus on display ads — it would also involve social, video and linear TV." Read more | A Bullseye View story   Floor & Decor Q1 [...]

  CVS closing 46 stores by Nathan Bomey at USA Today. List   UK grocer Sainsbury’s plans investment drive after blocked merger with Walmart-owned Asda at CNBC. "The grocer said it would increase and accelerate investment in its core business to improve over 400 supermarkets this year, and plans to reduce net debt by £600 million over the next three years. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority recently blocked a merger between Sainsbury’s and Walmart-owned Asda." Read more   Inside Ikea's Startup Bootcamp at Bloomberg via Fortune. "For entrepreneurs such as Murthy, a chance to partner with a company that sells [...]

  Walmart-owned Flipkart in talks to buy Indian grocery chain Namdhari’s Fresh: report at Reuters. "Namdhari's operates over 30 stores in the southern city of Bengaluru, and the acquisition will help Flipkart expand its food and grocery segment..." Read more   CVS Health crushes first-quarter expectations, raises full-year forecast at CNBC. "CVS’ retail business also performed better than the Street expected, with same-store sales increasing 3.8%. CVS attributed higher sales in the front of the store to focusing more on health products." Read more   ...CVS won't work with ad or pr agencies who work with tobacco and e-cigarette companies [...]

  U.S. consumer spending posts biggest gain since 2009 at Reuters. "Inflation pressures were benign in March. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding the volatile food and energy components was unchanged after edging up 0.1 percent in February." Read more   Walmart Bets on TV Shows for Families, Date Night in Media Push by Lucas Shaw & Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. "The retailer plans to bankroll at least a half-dozen original programs over the next year, and will unveil the first few to advertisers in New York this week, people familiar with the plans said. Walmart has talked [...]