Target says its holiday sales were better than expected — but its profits weren’t at CNBC. “Target raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast Thursday…now expects comparable sales in the fiscal fourth quarter to grow by about 1.5%. That’s better than its most recent outlook that the metric would be approximately flat.” Read more

 

…Target Provides Holiday Sales Update, Announces Leadership Team Changes “During November and December combined, total sales increased 2.8 percent, comparable sales increased 2.0 percent…Mark Schindele…will be retiring…Adrienne Costanzo (named) as its next chief stores officer…Brett Craig…will retire…Prat Vemana…will take on the role of chief information and product officer…Sarah Travis…will be promoted to executive vice president and chief digital and revenue officer and join the leadership team.” Press release

 

Albertsons announces layoffs at Boise HQ at 2 Idaho News. “Several of the jobs lost appear to be moving overseas. “We have been on a multi-year journey to balance our onshore and offshore activities, and we have grown an offshore hub with associates and contract workers supporting an array of administrative operations….” Read more

 

Walgreens Replaced Fridge Doors With Smart Screens. It’s Now a $200 Million Fiasco at Bloomberg. “On Dec. 14, Avakian’s team secretly cut the data feeds to more than 100 Walgreens stores in the Chicago area. The dozen or so smart doors affected in each of these stores either glazed over with white pixels or blacked out altogether…By the time Walgreens caught on and persuaded a judge to issue a temporary restraining order against Cooler Screens forcing it to restore the data feeds, the doors had been offline for a week. Before, it had been annoying for some screens to occasionally black out; it was much more painful for hundreds of them to crash simultaneously.” Bloomberg subs.

 

Apple, Amazon fight off $600 million UK lawsuit over alleged ‘collusion’ at Reuters

 

Why Costco Isn’t Joining the Backlash Against DEI at WSJ. “…some conservative activists encouraged followers to boycott the retailer, but they acknowledged Costco’s loyal following. That group includes the social-media agitator Robby Starbuck, who has pushed other companies to disavow some of their DEI, environmental and LGBTQ-community-support policies. “They are not the worst of the worst, so they weren’t my focus,” said Starbuck. He added that it would take more than a shareholder proposal to spur change at Costco and that he might target the company in the future. “You better have your ducks in a row before you go after a beloved company,” he said.” WSJ subs.

 

Michaels Announces 3-Member Interim CEO Team Press release

 

***A message from Comfy Sacks – Our foam-filled bean bag chairs are long lasting, soft, and resist permanent compression. From bean bag chairs for one person to bean bags big enough for the whole family. Offer shoppers something fun and unique! Website | Program details: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Sam’s Club has launched a comprehensive agency review, according to people familiar with the matter, with incumbents Arnold and Horizon Media defending their accounts, and rival holding companies expected to participate. Ad Age subs.

 

What products contain Red 3 dye? at AP

 

Jeff Bezos’ New Glenn rocket reaches orbit on first test flight at AP. “Bezos took part in the action from Mission Control and Blue Origin employees erupted in cheers once the craft successfully reached orbit 13 minutes later, a feat that drew praise from SpaceX’s Elon Musk.” Read more

 

Home Depot requiring white-collar employees in some departments to come into the office four days a week starting in June AJC subs.

 

Walmart bolsters position in Chile with $1.3 billion investment at Talk Business. “After exiting Argentina and Brazil, Chile remains the retailer’s sole asset in South America…The expansion includes 70 new stores in underserved regions, which will extend Walmart’s reach into areas that have traditionally been difficult to reach.” Read more

 

At 100 years old, JoCleta Wilson still works and drives herself to her job at Home Depot at Today

 

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