Amazon launches low-cost grocery delivery subscription plan in US at Reuters. "...unlimited grocery delivery at $9.99 per month on orders over $35 from Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and other local grocery and specialty retailers on the platform, including Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid and Pet Food Express...available in over 3,500 cities...SNAP (individuals) would...pay a reduced $4.99 fee per month for the same perks and do not require a Prime membership..." Read more   Walmart-backed fintech One introduces buy now, pay later as it prepares bigger push into lending at CNBC. "Walmart’s majority-owned fintech startup One has begun [...]

  Inside Amazon’s Secret Operation to Gather Intel on Rivals at WSJ. "For nearly a decade, workers in a warehouse in Seattle’s Denny Triangle neighborhood have shipped boxes of shoes, beach chairs, Marvel T-shirts and other items to online retail customers across the U.S. The operation, called Big River Services International...is an arm of Amazon that surreptitiously gathers intelligence on the tech giant’s competitors...Big River uses its sales across multiple countries to obtain pricing data, logistics information and other details about rival e-commerce marketplaces, logistics operations and payments services, according to people familiar with Big River..." WSJ subs.   Amazon exec [...]

  Look inside Amazon’s gigantic new Oregon warehouse, its biggest in the Northwest at The Oregonian. "Five stories tall, 105 feet high, it’s the company’s largest fulfillment center in the Northwest and one of its largest anywhere in the world...Amazon expects to employ around 1,500 at the Woodburn site when it opens late this year or early in 2025. As operations ramp up, the company expects it could have 2,800 working on site before long, and as many as 3,500 Woodburn employees during busy periods. Some neighbors in the small community eye the 3.8 million-square-foot facility with apprehension..." Read more/Pics [...]

  Costco March comp sales +7.7%: U.S. +7.3% / Canada +8.9% / Other Int'l +8.6% Press release   How Walmart’s privileged documents led to $101 million jury verdict for ex-supplier at Reuters. "... jury that found Walmart breached its agreement to buy millions of boxes of nitrile gloves in the first 18 months of the COVID pandemic...The jury awarded Walmart $350,000 in damages based on evidence that London Luxury’s CEO was plotting to open their own nitrile glove factory in Florida." Read more   Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in shareholder letter says he’s committed to cost cutting while investing in [...]

  Two years after its historic win, a divided Amazon Labor Union lurches toward a leadership election at AP. "Two years after clinching a historic victory at a warehouse in New York City, the first labor union for Amazon workers in the United States is divided, running out of money and fighting over an election that could determine who will lead the group in the near future. Despite campaigns at several facilities in the past few years, the warehouse on Staten Island still is the only site in the U.S. where the retail giant’s workers have voted in favor of union [...]

  Amazon Sellers Plagued by Surge in Scam Returns at WSJ. "Amazon shoppers regularly switched Coach wallets for no-name dupes and Nike football cleats for flip-flops. She tried to get Amazon’s help, but filing complaints became a hit-or-miss process. She eventually changed her inventory and now sells consumable products like pet supplies, which has significantly reduced theft." WSJ subs.   Nearly half of Levi’s sales are happening online and in its shops, a shift as department stores fade at CNBC. "In the three months ended Feb. 25, direct-to-consumer sales made up a record 48% of overall sales at Levi’s, up [...]

  Amazon hits pause on controversial seller fee rollout that had caused a revolt at Yahoo Finance. "Hundreds of thousands of merchants on Amazon will get a brief reprieve from a new controversial fee that was to take effect on April 1, a company executive said. Amazon will still charge affected sellers the fee as planned, but will credit them back at the end of April. The company is referring to this grace period as a “transition period" that will show sellers how they would be affected by the so-called low-inventory fee without the sellers yet footing the bill." Read more [...]

  Home Depot is acquiring specialty distributor SRS for $18.25 billion in huge bet on growing pro sales at CNBC. "The acquisition is the largest in Home Depot’s history...CEO Ted Decker...said the deal increases Home Depot’s total addressable market by $50 billion. SRS Distribution sells supplies to professionals in the landscaping, pool and roofing businesses...has approximately 11,000 employees and 760 branches across 47 states. It also has a fleet of 4,000 delivery trucks and a dedicated salesforce that caters to the home pros, Decker said." Read more   Walgreens Boots Alliance Q2 sales increased 6.3 percent year-over-year to $37.1 billion Press [...]