Target says transgender people can use bathroom that aligns with their identity by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Target’s position also extends to its fitting rooms…Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman, said it is not a new policy, but the retailer wanted to clarify its position…“It’s a restatement of a policy,” she said. “It’s just us being very overt in stating it.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart, Visa move to speed up chip card transactions by Kim Janssen at Chicago Tribune. “Visa says a software update called “Quick Chip” will strip as many as 18 seconds from a typical checkout process using a chip card, while Wal-Mart says it has cut the time of chip card transactions in its stores by as much as 11 seconds.” Read more

 

Bass Pro Teams Up With Goldman for Cabela’s Bid via Fox Business. “The move gives Bass Pro the equity financing necessary to pursue Cabela’s and makes such a deal more likely.” Read more

 

Costco Canada is offering free Hepatitis A vaccine to anyone who bought recalled frozen berries via Financial Post. “The frozen berry mix is sold exclusively at Costco stores in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.” Read more

 

Orchard Supply secures first location in new market by Brian Bandell at South Florida Business Journal. “A site for the first of three planned Orchard Supply Co. stores, a subsidiary of Mooresville-based Lowe’s Cos. Inc., has been obtained in south Florida. The Deerfield Beach location will be Orchard Supply’s first venture into Florida.” Read more

 

**A message from 2016 Sweet & Snacks Expo – When you hit the upscale wood flooring you have arrived at the Specialty Market! Gourmet, premium, free-from and organic products take center-stage this year with more than 120 exhibitors – an increase of 20% in just the past two years. See the list of gourmet exhibitors. See the 2015 most innovative new gourmet product Chicago’s McCormick Place May 24-26.

 

Why your Amazon delivery sometimes comes in a Walmart box by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “I feel a bit cheated, which I don’t love,” Lelong, who places several Amazon orders a week, told Re/code in an interview. “Now that I know, I have my eyes more open.” Read more

 

IRI Announces Most Successful Consumer Packaged Goods Brands of 2015 See the top 10 new brands

 

Costco in consortium eyeing assets of Woolworths’ hardware chain by Matthew Taylor at CNBC. “The Australian newspaper reported on Wednesday that listed Australian property group Charter Hall and the Wesfarmers-owned hardware chain, Bunnings, had teamed up to bid for 43 Masters sites. A source told CNBC that Costco was also part of the bid group.” Read more

 

Porch teams with home decor retailer Wayfair to integrate buying and installation by James Risley at GeekWire. “The partnership initially extends to 15 markets across the U.S., including Seattle, Atlanta and Chicago. Customers are visited by local professionals, already vetted by Porch, for the installation and assembly tasks.” Read more

 

Whole Foods countersuing gay pastor accusing staff of writing homophobic slur on cake for $100k after producing surveillance footage proves he tampered with label by Chris Spargo at Daily Mail. “Whole Foods released their own video soon after however of surveillance footage from inside the store that showed the sticker on the box had been moved after Brown left the store.” See the pics / Read more

 

Staples-Office Depot Fate Falls to Judge Critical of U.S. Case by David McLaughlin at Bloomberg. “During final arguments Tuesday…District Judge Emmet Sullivan needled the government about why its economic expert completed his analysis about the scope of the market only after the agency filed its complaint…”I’m still kind of troubled by that,” he said.” Read more

 

The Real Story of How Amazon Built the Echo by Joshua Brustein at Bloomberg. “Telling Jeff Bezos he’s wrong is always a frightening proposition. In the fall of 2014, though, a small group of the men and women building Amazon’s new voice-controlled speaker felt they needed to confront the CEO…The device looked good, its voice recognition software was improving quickly, and even the boxes it would ship in had been designed and assembled. But there was a lingering issue with the name printed on those boxes: the Amazon Flash…” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Macy’s pulls employee guide praising Donald Trump

Ex-CEO of Sam’s Club to speak at Tech Summit

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos charms AWS staff in Sydney

Teamsters recommends members approve new Costco contract

Chinese retailer JD.com creates a showcase for imported home furnishings

Alibaba’s Rugby Deal and China’s Sports Streaming Gold Rush

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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