Amazon Said to Plan Cuts to Shed Whole Foods’ Pricey Image by Spencer Soper & Craig Giammona at Bloomberg. “Amazon expects to reduce headcount and change inventory to lower prices…according to a person with knowledge of the company’s grocery plans. That included potentially using technology to eliminate cashiers. An Amazon spokesman denied any job cuts were planned.” Read more

 

Here’s Who Helped Amazon Clinch Blockbuster Whole Foods Deal via Fortune. “Goldman had laid the ground for this moment. Last year, it dispatched senior bankers to several North American cities where big companies are based, including Atlanta, Toronto and Seattle…” Read more

 

Will Amazon Pay Big to Unwind Instacart/Whole Foods Contract? by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Instacart and Whole Foods signed a five-year delivery contract in early 2016, Recode first reported, meaning they are in just Year 2 of the deal. At the time, sources said that the deal had some exclusivity around the delivery of perishables, which perhaps means there’s an opening for Amazon to take over delivery of packaged goods and prepared foods.” Read more

 

Credit Card Breach at Buckle Stores at Krebs on Security. ” The Buckle Inc. released a statement saying that point-of-sale malware was indeed found installed on cash registers at Buckle retail stores, and that the company believes the malware was stealing customer credit card data between Oct. 28, 2016 and April 14, 2017. The Buckle said purchases made on its online store were not affected.” Read more | Buckle statement

 

Sights & Sounds from Lidl’s First U.S. Stores at Field Agent. “Among agents with convenient access to their designated Lidl store (n = 26), 65% said they’re completely likely to purchase groceries from the retailer again in the future, while another 19% said they’re very likely.” Video/Read more

 

Blue Apron expects IPO price range of $15 to $17 per share, valuation of about $3 billion by Angelica LaVito at CNBC. Read more

 

Activist Land & Buildings Takes 4.3% Stake in Hudson’s Bay at Wall Street Journal. “Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC, which has accumulated a stake of roughly 4.3% in Hudson’s Bay Co., said in a letter that is expected to be delivered to the company’s board Monday that its real estate is worth four times the stock price.” Read more (subs.)

 

HAPPENING THIS WEEK – Home Depot & Kroger Present at Jefferies Global Consumer Conference on June 21st

 

BEST DAD – How JCPenney CEO Never Misses His Kids’ Special Moments by Sheena Butler-Young at Footwear News. “Marvin Ellison: ‘I’m a person who travels a lot — all around the country and literally all around the world. But not one time have I missed a parent-teacher conference, a band concert or sporting event for my two children. When people ask me how that’s possible with such a busy schedule, I tell them I have a full-proof way to determine what’s important to people: I don’t listen to what they say, I simply look at their calendar because the calendar dictates priorities’.” Read more

 

We tested Amazon’s new Dash Wand with Alexa: Here’s what worked, and what didn’t by Clare McGrane at GeekWire. “Unlike the Echo devices, you need to push a button on the Wand to activate Alexa, making it inconvenient for a baker with hands full of dough, or someone making dinner with messy hands. The Wand also doesn’t have integration with some basic functions that would make it a useful kitchen aid, namely a timer.” Video/Read more

 

World’s largest meatpacker, Brazil-based JBS, is weighing plans to open its first retail stores in North America by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “An internal team working at JBS’ Miami area-offices is developing the designs and coming up with a name for the stores. One under consideration is “Cut 40,” the source said. The stores would be less than 2,000 square feet.” Read more

 

Jack Ma Woos Mom and Pop Shops in U.S. Jobs Push by Selina Wang at Bloomberg. Read more

 

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Walmart pays $310 million in cash for Bonobos – not clear if Bonobos will continue to sell in Nordstrom, which also was an investor in the startup by Jason Del Rey at Recode. Read more

 

Bankrupt Gordmans set to vacate HQ by end of July by Russell Hubbard at Omaha World-Herald. Read more

 

IKEA is selling some of its products — even the Swedish meatball sauce — on Amazon now by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. Read more

 

ANY BUYERS LEFT? – Bass Pro could be forced to sell some stores if deal with Cabela’s goes through by Paige Yowell at Omaha World-Herald. “So what’s taking so long? Maybe they’re getting asked to divest a store or two,” said John Maysles, an analyst with Elevation Securities who has been following the deal. “If that’s the case, who’s out there to buy that store?” Read more

 

Stitch Fix founder built one of the few successful e-commerce subscription services by Tracey Lien at LA Times via Seattle Times. Read more

 

Lululemon Has Invested in a Cycling Apparel Startup by John Kell at Fortune. “Lululemon said it has made a minority investment in 7mesh Industries, a startup based in nearby Squamish, British Columbia, that is a purveyor of $250 cycling jackets and $140 shorts.” Read more

 

Life and death in Apple’s forbidden city by Brian Merchant at The Guardian. “But it turns out that there’s a secret way into the heart of the infamous operation: use the bathroom. I couldn’t believe it. Thanks to a simple twist of fate and some clever perseverance by my fixer, I’d found myself deep inside so-called FoxconnCity.” Read more

 

Exclusive: Behind the scenes on a Nike factory junket at Portland Business Journal. “In January 2016, Nike took three university athletic directors to Southeast Asia. The group visited Nike contract factories in Vietnam and China, toured various sights, ate gourmet meals and stayed at luxury hotels. The Business Journal obtained records, itineraries and photos of the trip through public records requests.” 40 pics / Read more

 

Fidget spinner factories demand ‘bags of cash’ from suppliers by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The ball-bearing weights that cause the spinners to move are in short supply — and some charge that Asian manufacturers are hoarding them and asking for much higher prices than the roughly 25 cents apiece they used to charge.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

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Lowe’s to remain Jimmy Johnson’s primary sponsor through at least the 2018 season

Amazon is granted an anti-showrooming patent

AOL co-founder Steve Case lists his Northern Virginia estate for $49.5M

Macy’s new CEO is so confident in the company, he just bought 13,085 shares

Trump’s criticism of Amazon looms over its Whole Foods deal

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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