Amazon accused of hiring teenage interns in China factory by Gethin Chamberlain at The Guardian. “Some of the pupils making Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo and Echo Dot devices along with Kindles have been required to work for more than two months to supplement staffing levels at the factory during peak production periods, researchers found. More than 1,000 pupils are employed, aged from 16 to 18.” Read more

 

Police arrest armed man at Walmart in Springfield, Missouri at Ozark First. “According to Lt. Lucas, an off duty fireman who was at the Walmart is to thank in some part for the young man’s arrest. For now, investigators will review both the Walmart security footage and the armed 20-year-old’s social media profiles.” Read more/Video

 

Canadian Tire Q2 comp sales +1.9% Press release

 

…Canadian Tire Corp. buys all 65 Party City stores in Canada for $175M at CBC. “It plans to add stand-alone Party City stores as well as sell its products across 500 Canadian Tire retail stores and online at Canadiantire.ca.” Read more

 

Walmart removing violent video game displays, signs from stores by Kelly Tyko at USA Today. “Stores were sent a memo that called for “immediate action” to remove signing and displays that “contain violent themes or aggressive behavior.” The memo circulated on Twitter and Reddit, and Walmart officials confirmed its authenticity to USA TODAY.” Read more

 

Vitamin Shoppe to be acquired by Liberty Tax / Q2 comp sales -7.2% Press release

 

Home Depot’s CFO on How the Retail Giant Returned to Health by Sarah Nassauer at Wall Street Journal. “When we closed our Expo business Frank and I got in a plane and we flew to Florida…We walked into the store and the associates were there who were losing their jobs. I sat down and held the hand of the associates who were crying…I’m like, “It’s not your fault. We had a big, bad business model.”…I vowed to myself on that day that I would never allocate capital again to another store that needed to be closed, because it was just too hard…” WSJ subs.

 

Loblaw won’t face lawsuit over Bangladesh factory collapse after Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear case at Financial Post. Read more

 

Foot Locker is opening more massive ‘Power’ stores across US—and it’s teaming with Nike to do it by Lauren Thomas at CNBC.”These so-called Power stores are four times as big as a typical Foot Locker store in malls. The newest will open Saturday in New York — in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. The retailer plans to open upwards of 50 Power stores over the next three years. It has three in the U.S. today: one in Detroit and two in Philadelphia.” Read more

 

Ingles Markets Q3 net sales +2.7% Press release

 

**A message from X1 Ebike – Up to 37 miles on a single 4-hour charge. Folds into the size of a golf bag in seconds! GPS tracking, VIN # & alarm for security. Video | Website | Contact

 

J.C. Penney faces NYSE delisting at CNBC. “The department store chain has seen its stock plunge more than 70% over the past year, down to 69 cents per share as of Thursday’s close.” Read more

 

…Pier 1 Imports on notice too Press release

 

For kids’ clothes, no one retailer has the lock on back-to-school season this year by Lauren Thomas at CNBC. “Target’s apparel displays are “looking phenomenal,” according to (research analyst) Driscoll…“Sometimes for my two-year-old I buy certain things at Walmart,” (mom) Szylar said. “Because she gets messy in pre-school, and Walmart seems to be affordable. You don’t really care if she gets those things dirty.” Read more

 

Cato July comp sales +4% Press release

 

Startup wants to turn today’s food app delivery workers into “solopreneurs” who build their own book of clients by Connie Loizos at TechCrunch. “(Dumpling now) has $3 million in backing from two venture firms that know the gig economy well, too: Floodgate, an early investor in Lyft, and Fuel Capital…” Read more

 

The Buckle July comp sales -0.5% Press release

 

San Francisco gives Postmates permit to test sidewalk delivery robots by Jay Peters at The Verge. Read more

 

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Revenue in one of Sonos’s sales categories is up 221% thanks to Ikea

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Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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