Costco’s Jim Sinegal Honored at Univ. of Notre Dame – Reflects on Success by Heidi Prescott at South Bend Tribune. “Q: You said a lot of luck along the way. What kind of luck? A: We were about ready to open our first warehouse in Seattle when we got a letter from the city. They were going to tear down a wooden bridge about 100 yards south of our building and the road would be closed to through traffic for 18 months…I called the city manager and said something really intelligent like, “You can’t do this.” And they said, “Of course we can.” But there were delays that gave us enough time for us to get our feet on the ground and get established. If they had shut it down, I don’t know what in the world we would have done.” Read the interview

 

AP: Slavery taints global supply of seafood by Margie Mason, Martha Mendoza & Esther Htusan via Dallas Morning News. “I want to go home. We all do,” one Burmese slave called out over the side of his boat, a cry repeated by many men. “Our parents haven’t heard from us for a long time, I’m sure they think we are dead.” Their catch mixes in with other fish at numerous sites in Thailand, including processing plants. U.S. Customs records show that several of those Thai factories ship to America.” Read more

 

Amazon Expands Prime Now One-Hour Delivery To Dallas, Now Covering 4 Metros by Ingrid Lunden at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Target Canada will have shut more than half its stores by April 2 by Sophia Harris at CBC News. Read more

 

Charles Armstrong, VP of distribution, leaving Home Depot by David Allison at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “An internal Home Depot memo dated March 24 noted that Armstrong “has decided to leave the Company.”…The memo did not give a reason for Armstrong’s departure.” Read more

 

***A Message from CLUG: The World’s Smallest Bike Rack is Now Available. The CLUG Bike Clip is targeted at the urban cyclist and the casual enthusiast who are short on storage space for their bikes.  CLUG is a patent pending, high quality product that made the list of 2014 Best Stuff by GQ Magazine in their December 2014 issue.  CLUG is now ready for retail with its 100% recyclable, high volume packaging.  See the video.  See the sell sheet. Contact info@eyeonretail.net to request a product sample.

 

We tested Amazon’s one-hour delivery service in Baltimore: Minor hiccups by Catherine Hawley at ABC 2 Baltimore. See the video

 

H-E-B quietly buying potential store sites in North Texas by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “(H-E-B) has bought at least a dozen locations in the region, including in Allen, Carrollton, Corinth, Dallas, DeSoto, Fort Worth, Frisco, Grand Prairie, McKinney, Murphy and Plano…“This market is ready for them,” said Karla Smith, senior vice president and partner in the Dallas office of CBRE/UCR. “I anticipate H-E-B will open a few stores in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2016.” Read more

 

Walgreen nixes ‘Be well’ at checkout line by Ellen Jean Hirst at Chicago Tribune. “A spokesman said the campaign had run its course, though the company didn’t elaborate on why the effort, launched several years ago, was dropped.” Read more

 

Kroger CFO Michael Schlotman Appears on CNBC  See the video

 

Walmart to Provide Strategic Update “Walmart U.S. President and CEO Greg Foran will host investors and analysts at the NYSE on Wed., April 1 to discuss his strategic priorities for the business. Joining Foran will be Judith McKenna, Walmart U.S. Chief Operating Officer, and Jeff Davis, Walmart U.S. Chief Financial Officer. Charles Holley, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will also attend.” Read the release

 

Amazon’s On-Demand Services Marketplace Launches Next Week by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “On the rebranded “Amazon Home Services” website there are a variety categories beyond those that only relate to products Amazon sells. Top-level categories include Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden, Automotive, Computer & Electronics, and Lessons.” See the cities it’s launching in / Read more

 

Report: Radio Shack To Sell Customers’ Personal Information In Bankruptcy Sale “People are looking at Radio Shack now and they are gonna vilify Radio Shack,” said consumer expert Paul Viollis. “But at the end of the day, Radio Shack isn’t doing anything all other major corporations haven’t been doing for many years.” See the video / Read more

 

Purdue sued over Amazon textbook deal by Steven Porter & Joseph Paul at JConline. “To buttress its argument, the suit notes that the association obtained similar information from an agreement Amazon signed to open a store on the University of California-Davis campus.” Read more

 

Fortune: World’s Greatest Leaders  See the list

 

Accenture Omnichannel Study: “Fifty-seven percent of consumers said they would be willing to wait between four and seven days for free delivery…29 percent would wait eight days or more, compared to 23 percent who said the same last year.” Read the release

 

Feds investigate safety of Lumber Liquidators flooring at LA Times. “Chairman Elliot F. Kaye said Wednesday that the agency is taking the issue seriously and is working to get answers for consumers, but it’s too early to tell whether any flooring would be recalled. “As a parent of young children, I completely understand and share the strong desire that parents and other consumers have to know as soon as possible whether these products present a health risk,” Kaye said.” Read more

 

Fred’s Hires Ex-Walgreens Chief Merchandising Officer “Bryan Pugh brings to Fred’s 30 years of retail experience.” Read the release

 

Ashton Kutcher petitions Target & Costco to “provide universally accessible changing tables in their stores” by Caroline Bologna at HuffPo. “Kutcher’s letter on Change.org explains the choice to single out Target and Costco, as “companies that honor diversity, support families, and provide great services to kids of all ages.” He writes, “As leaders in their industry, they can initiate a company-wide policy to provide universally accessible changing tables in their stores.” Read more

 

***

Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@eyeonretail.net.