“The Inside Account of How Target Executives Responded to Cybertheft” by Monica Langley at WSJ.  “How Target executives responded to one of the biggest challenges in the company’s history is based on interviews with Mr. Steinhafel, Mr. Jones, Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan and other top executives…Mr. Steinhafel’s days have been especially hectic since the crisis began. One day earlier this month, he hit the gym at Target’s headquarters at 4:30 a.m. for a high-intensity P90X cross-training workout. Later, he reviewed loss leaders (including 24-set crayon boxes) for next-fall’s “back-to-school” season, then sneaked into a Target store for an inspection, noticing that there weren’t enough carts in the entry and that a mannequin had an out-of-place arm.”  Read more

 

“How many of the groceries sold at Walmart would be banned by Whole Foods?” by Ben Blatt at Slate.  “Given the popularity of processed foods among American shoppers, and the disdain for preservatives in health food circles, it’s perhaps not surprising that one out of every two products sold at Walmart has an ingredient banned by Whole Foods. Consider the soft drink category. Of the soft drinks sold at Walmart, approximately 97 percent contain ingredients that Whole Foods considers “unacceptable.”  Read more

 

“Walgreen CEO Greg Wasson Named 19th Most Powerful Person in Chicago” at Chicago Magazine.  See the 100 most powerful people in Chicago

 

“Are Grocery Stores Doomed?” by Clare O’Connor at Forbes.  “KRS surveyed over 1200 shoppers and found that 77% percent of respondents across all three demographics – Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers – bought groceries from a non-grocer in 2013.What’s more, a full 96% of those surveyed said they’ll be buying groceries from places other than grocery stores in 2014.” Read more

 

“KRS Study:  Target is Favorite Place to Buy Groceries (Outside of Grocery Stores)”  See the report and Top 20 favorite places

 

“Obama gives speech at Safeway DC; Has ‘soft spot’ for Safeway as Grandmother used to send him there” at Washington Post.  See the 1 minute video

 

“Barack Obama and Safeway: A love story” by Jaime Fuller at Washington Post.  “Obama’s many mentions of Safeway are perhaps understandable outside of politics, given that the grocery store is inarguably the most influential on the D.C. social circuit. Case in point — before Obama’s inauguration in 2009, wax replicas of the soon-to-be president watched over Safeway checkout lines across Washington, D.C.  But, one D.C. Safeway rules them all — the Georgetown’s incarnation, also known as “Social Safeway.” Read more

 

“Cabela’s retail expansion began at Kearney site” by Mike Konz at Kearney Hub.  “I had the opportunity to have dinner with Dick and Mary Cabela on a couple of occasions when Dick would come out in his camouflage tuxedo to hand deliver bonus checks,” Robinson said. “From the kitchen table in small-town Nebraska to hundreds of millions of dollars in payroll, Dick created one of the greatest and most enjoyable success stories in Nebraska.”  Read more

 

“Rona misses expectations as weak economy, housing starts hurt 2013 results” by Ross Marowits at Montreal Gazette.  “Same-store sales fell 3.5 per cent due to poor weather in Ontario and Quebec in December, although the key sales measure turned positive in Ontario and Western Canada following Rona’s decision to close 11 underperforming stores in Ontario and B.C.”  Read more

 

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