The cult of Costco: How one of America’s biggest retailers methodically turns casual shoppers into fanatics at Fortune/Yahoo. “The most important item we sell is the membership card,” says Ron Vachris, Costco’s new CEO as of Jan. 1….Gersch (consultant), challenged Fortune to clock how long a piece of clothing would remain unfolded after a shopper tossed it back onto a pile. Sure enough, in Fortune’s multiple observations, it rarely took more than two minutes before a store worker swooped in to neaten up.” Read more

 

Walmart, Capital One end exclusive consumer credit card agreement at Fox Business. “In March 2024, a federal judge ruled that Walmart could end its partnership with Capital One earlier than the contractual commitments stipulated because the lender had failed to provide the required level of customer service.” Read more

 

Major retailers are offering summer deals to entice inflation-weary shoppers at AP News. “Retailers recognize that unless they pull out some stops on pricing, they are going to have difficulty holding on to the customers they got,” Neil Saunders, managing director of consulting and data analysis firm GlobalData, said. “The consumer really has had enough of inflation, and they’re starting to take action in terms of where they shop, how they shop, the amount they buy.” Read more

 

Shein’s Quest to Win Over America Gets Stuck in U.S.-China Tensions at WSJ. “…its hopes for a New York initial public offering have faded…Washington lawmakers are suspicious of Shein’s China ties and have demanded more details on its supply chain. Beijing wants Shein and other companies with substantial operations in China to stay in line with its own messaging…Shein has shifted its main listing efforts to London. An IPO filing there could come in the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter said.” WSJ subs.

 

Adani looks to battle Reliance, Walmart in India’s e-commerce, payments race, report says at TechCrunch. “Walmart’s PhonePe and Google Pay lead the mobile payments market in India. Together, they process over 86% of all payments on the UPI network, which handles more than 12 billion transactions monthly. Some of their competitors — and government bodies — are unhappy with Google and Walmart’s growing dominance in the country’s mobile payments market, but regulators currently have no plans to intervene.” Read more

 

Sudden container crunch sends ocean freight rates soaring, setting off global trade alarm bells at CNBC. “Stausbøll said this will bring back memories of the chaos caused by lack of available capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Similarly to back then, some freight forwarders are now being pushed to premium rates to secure space guarantees,” she said. Early Xeneta data suggests rates will increase further at the start of June.” Read more

 

PayPal Is Planning an Ad Business Using Data on Its Millions of Shoppers at WSJ. “PayPal has hired Mark Grether, who formerly led Uber’s advertising business, to lead the effort as senior vice president and general manager of its newly-created PayPal Ads division. In his new role, he will be responsible for developing new ad formats, overseeing sales and hiring staff to fill out the division, he said.” WSJ subs.

 

CVS Co-Founder Stanley Goldstein Passes Away at 89 at Providence Journal. “It is no overstatement to say that Stanley reordered a part of American retailing. When he and his brother Sid created CVS in 1963, drugstores basically didn’t exist. Most health and beauty items were sold in grocery aisles. Stanley helped change that. But speaking about him Tuesday, his wife, Merle, and sons Larry and Gene told me that never changed Stanley’s down-to-earth nature…” Read more

 

Fair 360 2024 Top 50 Companies: Walmart #18 / Target #31 / Walgreens #42 List(s)

 

Housing costs: The 2024 sleeper issue at The Washington Post/MSN. “Given that the last few options haven’t been that great, and nobody really cares about the younger community and generations moving forward, I don’t really know if me voting is going to make a difference,” Carter, 26, said of voting in November.” Read more