‘Lost their identity’: Why Target is struggling to win over shoppers and investors at CNBC. "Multiple former employees...said Target’s store standards have slipped in recent years as the company has tried to juggle online and in-store businesses with a leaner store staff — leading to items being out of stock. Customers and analysts also told CNBC they have seen longer checkout lines, messier aisles and fewer employees at stores." Read more   US inflation accelerated last month at AP. "Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase [...]

  Costco June comp sales (Ex fuel & f/x) +6.2%: ...US +5.5% / Canada +7.9% / Other Int'l +8.2% / Ecom +11.2% "Costco net sales for the first 44 weeks were $227.46 billion, an increase of 8.0 percent from $210.55 billion last year." Press release   Deloitte: Parents Hold Firm on Back-to-School Budgets "Back-to-school spending for K-12 students will likely remain steady, estimated to reach a collective $30.9 billion, or approximately $570 per student...shoppers surveyed plan to increase their spending on clothing and accessories (+6%), while spending on technology and school supplies is expected to decline by 8% and 3%, [...]

  Amazon sellers curb Prime Day discounts with tariffs taking bite at Bloomberg/Business Times. "...(Akeneo) conducted a survey of 1,000 US shoppers showing that one in four respondents planned to skip Prime Day due to tariffs while 57 per cent said they would more closely monitor prices...Upstream Brands sells aluminium trays that make decorative ice cubes...He usually sells his products at cost on Prime Day to promote the brand. But with them subject to 50 per cent tariffs, he’s not offering any discounts for the first time." Read more   ...Adobe: Prime Day event expected to drive $23.8 billion in [...]

  US employers added a surprising 147,000 jobs last month at AP. "The unemployment rate ticked down 4.1% from 4.2% in May, the Labor Department said Thursday. Hiring rose modestly from a revised 144,000 in May and beat economists expectations of fewer than 118,000 new jobs and a rise in the unemployment rate." Read more   What the U.S.-Vietnam trade deal tells us about the future of tariffs at CNBC. "...the U.S. will apply a 20% duty on Vietnamese imports — sharply below the 46% rate Trump had imposed in early April. U.S. imports to Vietnam will meanwhile not be subject [...]

  Lululemon sues Costco, claims company is selling ‘dupes’ of some of its products at AP. "Some of the products Lululemon says Costco is making duplicates of include its popular Scuba hoodies, Define jackets, and ABC pants. Lululemon claims one of the duplicates that Costco sells is the Hi-Tec Men’s Scuba Full Zip, with the lawsuit showing a screenshot image of Costco’s website showing the item priced at $19.97." Read more   CRAMER INTERVIEWS JASSY: Despite tariffs, Andy Jassy says Amazon hasn’t ‘seen prices appreciably go up,’ so far at CNBC. "Jassy said that Amazon has about two million sellers [...]

  Amazon to invest £40 billion in the UK over next three years at CNBC. "The company said it plans to spend the money on building four new fulfillment centers...as well as upgrades and expansions to its existing operations buildings across the country...also plans to open two new buildings at its corporate headquarters in East London." Read more   Amazon plans to expand Same-Day and Next-Day Delivery service to more than 4,000 smaller cities, towns, and rural communities Press release   Truckers fear job loss as new English language rules take effect at AP. "In the past, some drivers used [...]

  Amazon Orders Employees to Relocate to Seattle and Other Hubs at Bloomberg/Financial Post. "Workers are being told to relocate to such cities as Seattle; Arlington, Virginia; and Washington DC...One of the people said the relocation policy will affect thousands of employees on several teams." Read more   Insiders Spill the Secrets Behind a Bezos-Sized ‘Super-Wedding’ at WSJ. "Details about the Bezos-Sánchez wedding have remained largely under wraps. The couple hired the wedding planner Lanza & Baucina, a discreet London-based group that planned George Clooney’s 2014 wedding, and is reportedly tying the knot on a Venetian island. Protests against the [...]

  Retail sales fell 0.9% in May, worse than expected as consumers pulled back at CNBC. "However, excluding a series of items such as auto dealers, building materials suppliers, gas stations and others, sales increased 0.4%...miscellaneous retailers gained 2.9%, while online sales rose 0.9% and furniture stores increased sales by 1.2%." Read more   The Aisle-Prowling Albertsons CEO Taking On Kroger at WSJ. "(Susan) Morris is presiding over a cost-cutting plan that aims to save $1.5 billion over the next three years. The company has laid off about 800 employees and shut nearly a dozen stores this year, and Morris [...]