Lowe’s Canada CEO says growth, not consolidation after recent Rona acquisition by Damon Van Der Linde at Financial Post. “There’s no plan right now to bring in the Lowe’s banner,” said Prud’homme, adding that major changes to Rona will not likely be seen in Canada until early 2017. “The Rona brand will survive and will be a strong player for us. There’s a lot of power in that brand.” Read more

 

…We believe we can become the No. 1 choice for home improvement retail in Canada” Sylvain Prud’homme, chief executive officer of Lowe’s Canada by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. Read more

 

Nordstrom quietly purging its stores of Michael Kors by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Nordstrom, in a statement, insisted that its not discontinuing its “significant” relationship with Kors. A spokesman, though, declined to comment on the report’s assertion that some 54 stores had stopped carrying the bags in May and that another 60 would do so by June.” Read more

 

TOP 34 – Fortune 500 Proxy Statements – Which Marketing Execs make the Most (Tractor Supply Chief Merchant $1.79M, Dollar Tree Chief Merchant $2.7M, Kohl’s Chief Merchant $3.2M) via DiscoverOrg. See the list of 34

 

Temkin: Publix and H-E-B Earn Top Customer Experience Ratings for Supermarkets “…while Kroger and Save-a-Lot tied for third place, each with a score of 78% and a 3rd overall ranking.” See the full list

 

Kroger exec: Simple Truth ‘unlocks a mystery’ of private-label product sales by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Kroger CFO Mike Schlotman: “I never understand why people are OK drinking my milk, but they want Windex to clean their bathroom mirror instead of Kroger cleaner for their mirror. Our share of wallet in those categories is a lot lower. I think the Simple Truth brand starts to unlock that mystery a little bit…” Read more

 

Wooing Neiman Marcus: How Manhattan’s Hudson Yards Landed Its Luxury Anchor by David Moin at WWD. “How did I get Neiman’s to agree to go to the top — we literally designed a project to make sure the top penthouse levels were the most appealing,” Himmel said. “For a department store, that means very large floor plates, and very high floor-to-ceiling heights with no obstructions or impediments like structural columns and elevator banks.” Read more

 

**A message from Made in Italy – Fabe’s hand-crafted pillows prevent and relieve neck and back pain. Fabe’s Ergo Praxis pillow supports and aligns the head and neck to prevent cervical pain. Created in cooperation with Ludes University in Switzerland – it gets the body in the right position for a good night’s sleep. 100% Made in Italy. Ergo Praxis Specs | Fabe Website | How our Pillows are Made | Retailers request samples at info@eyeonretail.net. Italy-America Chamber of Commerce

 

Walmart Foundation president Kathleen McLaughlin on how Walmart is empowering women via Fortune. See the 1:56 video

 

EX-WALMART PRES SIMON NOMINATED FOR CHICO’S BOARD via Reuters. “Chico’s FAS Inc is headed for a proxy fight with shareholder Barington Capital, as the women’s apparel retailer resists the activist hedge fund’s push to put two nominees on the company’s board…Simon and Chico’s CEO Shelley Broader both worked at Wal-Mart during the same period, starting in 2010.” Read more

 

Retailers Fuel a Warehouse Boom, Racing to Keep Up With Amazon by Patrick Clark & Kim Bhasin at Bloomberg. “Over the past year, prime warehouse rents are up 9.9 percent across the U.S. and up by double-digit amounts in some large urban areas, according to a recent report. In some cities, surging demand has helped set off a speculative-building boom unlike anything in recent memory.” Read more

 

…Amazon to Open Second Fulfillment Center in Joliet and Create 2,000 Full-Time Jobs Read the release

 

Why We Have Jimmy Kimmel to Thank for CVS’ Switch to Digital Receipts by Robert Klara at Adweek. “CVS’ subsequent press release touted Foulkes” “surprise appearance” on the show—but it was, of course, only a surprise for viewers. Foulkes camera moment had been carefully orchestrated behind the scenes. It was funny, effective, and a textbook example of how a brand can seize on the right media moment and turn it into a swell piece of marketing.” Read more

 

Amazon is going to launch its Fresh grocery delivery service in new markets including Boston and the U.K. by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “It has been 18 months since Amazon launched Fresh in a new city, though sources say the company originally planned to launch in the U.K. last year. It’s not clear what has held up that launch…The new launches appear to indicate that Amazon is going all in on the grocery delivery market.” Read more

 

New Crop of Companies Reaping Profits From Wasted Food by Stephanie Strom at NY Times. “I’m convinced there’s a business that’s a kind of Uber for refrigerated trucks,” said Jesse Fink, a founder of the travel site Priceline who now calls himself a food waste evangelist. The businesses have a lot to work with. As much as 40 percent of the American food supply goes in the trash.” Read more

 

Tiffany’s quarterly sales drop 7.4 percent via Reuters. “Sales at the jeweler’s stores open for more than a year fell 10 percent in the Americas region in the first quarter. Analysts on average had expected a 9.1 percent decline.” Read more

 

Walmart has hired 130,828 veterans since it announced its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment in May 2013 Read the release

 

Fast-growing online dollar store Hollar launches its own private label goods by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “Hollar– the brainchild of The Honest Company’s CEO Brian Lee, and run by a former Honest VP, David Yeom – is bringing the both spirit of discount shopping and merchandise quality you’d find in brick-and-mortar dollar stores online. Recently, Hollar had its first million dollar month, and raised another $12 million in Series A funding. Now, the company is moving to manufacture its own goods.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Union uses huge inflatable rat to protest Walmart construction in Great Falls

Grocery store frustration sparks condiment empire

Malls boasting a Tesla shop generate more sales than their peers

Why Victoria’s Secret Won’t Be Mailing Out Any More Catalogs

Best Buy’s CEO Has a Plan to Combat Amazon

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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