Costco CEO says company is doubling down on brick-and-mortar, even as it invests in e-commerce at CNBC. “Jelinek: “It’s still important to get people physically in the stores. I still think brick-and-mortar is not going to go away. We want to continue to get people in the stores, and there’s no better way to do it than a $1.50 hot dog and a rotisserie chicken” for $4.99, he said.” Read more/Video

 

FedEx, UPS are managing surge in packages with strict limits on shippers at Fox Business. “Richard Galanti, Costco’s finance chief, said that some days UPS and FedEx aren’t picking up all the packages the retailer wants to ship, which is causing delays. “We, like others, are figuring out other things to do, not on a big scale,” he said. Costco recently started using Instacart to ship items like Apple Inc. AirPods and Instant Pots for same-day delivery, instead of just offering grocery items through that service.” Read more

 

U.S. FDA staff raises no new concerns with Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine at Reuters. Read more

 

Bed Bath & Beyond sells Cost Plus World Market at MarketWatch. “…(sold) to Los Angeles-based private-equity firm Kingswood Capital Management. The deal includes 243 bricks-and-mortar stores, two distribution facilities, an e-commerce business and a corporate office in Alameda, Calif.” Read more

 

Buy now, pay later plans are booming in the Covid economy at CNBC. “Nearly half, or 44%, of consumers said the use of buy now, pay later is somewhat or very important in determining how much they spend during the holidays…Further, 48% said buy now, pay later will allow them to spend at least 10% to 20% more than they would using a credit card.” Read more

 

Amazon plans to open its seventh Amazon Go store location in Seattle at GeekWire. Read more

 

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As Amazon’s Zoox unveils passenger robotaxi, CEO acknowledges potential for package delivery at GeekWire. “First, we’re going to move people around…” (CEO Evans) said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “But yes, I will admit that if we can move people, especially with this footprint, at some point, we could move packages.” Read more

 

Foot Locker, Inc. Appoints Himanshu Parikh As SVP, Chief Information Officer “Most recently, he served as SVP, Chief Technology Officer at The Michaels Companies, Inc.” Press release

 

Toys at risk for lead, poison after US stopped inspections amid COVID-19 at USA Today. “The CPSC did not flag a single toy at the ports between June and July for poisonous lead levels, one of the most frequent violations, internal records show. In August, port inspectors reported their total monthly activity amounted to 47 screenings for all hazards – less than 2% of a typical month before the pandemic hit.” Read more

 

Britain’s biggest sportswear retailer JD Sports buys retailer Shoe Palace for $325 million at Reuters. Read more

 

GameStop Employees Surprised by New Shipment of PS5, Xbox at Yahoo Finance. “One GameStop manager on the East Coast shared an email from the company, sent just a few minutes before the public announcement, saying that their store would have about 15 new consoles available for pre-order. Minutes after the announcement, the manager said, the store had a crowd of about 40 people, violating social-distancing requirements and overwhelming their clerks.” Read more

 

Plug Power expands hydrogen and fuel cell solutions into Walmart ecommerce applications Press release

 

Chewy’s CFO to Expand Pet Products, Explores Monetizing Telehealth Services at The Wall Street Journal. “…now offers about 65,000 items on its online shop, after adding about 20,000 in the past two years, Chief Financial Officer Mario Marte said. The idea is to build out Chewy’s online catalog so pet owners don’t need to shop elsewhere…” WSJ subs.

 

DASH CART DOWNER – Visiting the first Chicagoland Amazon Fresh store at Chicago Tribune. “At the customer service counter, you can return not only groceries but any items purchased on Amazon.com, without the need for packaging or shipping labels…You can’t take the Dash Carts out to your car. You have to carry the bags, which shouldn’t be a big deal because there are just two, right? Well. As I walked across the parking lot to my car, the handle to one of the bags broke and sent my Tide and Califa Farms milk scattering. I rearranged and within a few feet, the other bag broke.” Tiered subs.

 

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