Canadian Tire laying off 3% of corporate staff at CBC “…cites ‘softening consumer demand’ for decision to scale back…Canadian Tire comparable store sales fell by 0.6 per cent. SportChek sales were down by 7.4 per cent. Sales at Mark’s eked out an increase of 0.2 per cent.” Read more

 

Amazon to Expand Grocery Delivery, Resume Supermarket Openings at Bloomberg. “(Claire Peters) said the company plans to resume opening new Fresh stores in 2024, after a pause of more than a year. Amazon also has redesigned five locations, including three in the Los Angeles area that wrapped up renovations recently. “We will have a good pipeline for next year,” Peters said. “What we won’t do is open stores aimlessly.” Read more

 

Pharmacy walkout organizers help launch national push to unionize pharmacists, technicians at CNBC. “The push to unionize, dubbed “The Pharmacy Guild,” also calls for legislative and regulatory change to establish higher standards of practice in pharmacies to protect patients…the vast majority of pharmacists and technicians from Walgreens and CVS have no union representation…” Read more

 

Global fashion brands say to raise purchase prices for Bangladesh-made clothes at Reuters. “Global fashion retailers including H&M and Gap are committed to raising purchase prices for Bangladesh-made clothing to help factories there offset higher workers’ wages…This week, after deadly protests between police and factory workers, the government mandated an almost 60% raise to the minimum monthly wage to 12,500 taka ($113) from December, the first increase in five years.” Read more

 

Loblaw says Canada’s ‘code of conduct’ could cost consumers more than $1 billion at Bloomberg. “If in the end, Loblaw and/or Walmart Canada decide not to sign on to the code, Graydon said another route may be necessary to address the sector’s issues. “I think we will need to have some very interesting conversations with a number of governments around regulation,” he said.” Read more

 

Amazon beefs up Prime loyalty program with One Medical discount at CNBC. “Amazon is integrating One Medical into its Prime membership service after acquiring the primary health-care provider in July 2022 for roughly $3.9 billion. One Medical operates a network of boutique primary-care practices in some parts of the U.S., primarily around major cities.” Read more | WSJ subs. 

 

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson compares Bentonville to heaven at NWA Online. “Boris Johnson, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, told a Bentonville crowd Wednesday he has a more “firm view of the afterlife” from attending the Heartland Summit there, comparing the town to “heaven, absolute heaven” after bicycling along trails there earlier that day.” Read more

 

Casey’s Expands to Texas at WFAA. “Casey’s General Stores, Inc., which claims to be the third largest convenience retailer in the United States, announced that it plans to purchase 22 convenience stores in Texas and open some Casey’s in their place.” Read more

 

Amazon makes job cuts in music division at GeekWire

 

Dillard’s Q3 comp store sales decrease 6% “The Company noted a challenging sales environment during the quarter with particular weakness beginning in September. Cosmetics was the strongest performing category followed by home and furniture. Juniors’ and children’s apparel was the weakest category.” Press release

 

At Home Chairman and CEO Lee Bird to retire after 11 years with company Press release

 

More Executives Vanish in China, Casting Chill Over Business Climate at WSJ. “The chief executive at livestreaming company DouYu and the chairman of a pharmaceutical business are the latest to go missing.” WSJ subs. 

 

Kohl’s Announces Board Leadership Transition – Ex-Home Depot Exec Adolfo Villagomez Appointed to Board Press release

 

Former Wegmans employee sentenced for stealing $500,000+ through fraudulent refunds at WHAM. “Prosecutors said she used the Enterprise System between 2014 and February 2023 to process approximately 350 credit card refund requests worth a total of $568,021.69 in customers’ names.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos’ new home ‘Billionaire Bunker’ island outside Miami has a rich history ‒ literally at USA Today. Read more

 

US Foods Q3 net sales increased 2.1% to $9.1 billion Press release

 

Your New Co-Worker Is a Total Drill Sergeant. Literally. at WSJ.”Businesses’ interest in a Pentagon program that connects service members to companies grew so intense over the summer that the Department of Defense temporarily stopped taking applications from companies to join the ranks of private-sector partners. The SkillBridge program, as it’s known, had 150 participating employers in 2019. Today there are more than 3,800—including Bank of America, Lowe’s and Deloitte—and applications recently reopened, following a review of how to handle the staggering demand.” WSJ subs.