Walgreens Owner Nears Deal to Sell British Pharmacy Chain Boots at WSJ. “Walgreens was in the midst of a turnaround effort when Sycamore bought it. Its market value had dropped more than 90% from its roughly $100 billion peak in 2015. Selling Boots at the price being discussed would be an early win for Sycamore, which is poised to make a sizable return on the sale. It would also allow the firm to focus on reviving Walgreen’s U.S. operations.” WSJ subs.

 

Forbes: 2026 World’s Best Employers (Shopify #3 / Costco #4 / P&G #53) Full list

 

H-E-B Outpaces a Resilient Grocery Category at Placer.ai. “Between January and August 2026, H-E-B visits rose 6.0% year over year, compared with 0.9% for the wider grocery category.” Read more

 

Can Hoka be a $100 Million Brand for Academy? at WWD. “Assuming a successful pilot, our bottom-up analysis points to a credible path for Hoka to scale from an initial 15-store launch into a broader fleet rollout,” (Jeffries analyst) Matuszewski said…The pilot commences online and at stores across Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.” Read more

 

McCormick Q3 net sales increased 17% Press release

 

Albertsons Companies, Inc. Appoints Bill Boltz, Chris Drumgoole and Meg Ham to Board “Boltz currently serves as EVP for Lowe’s…Ham…most recently served as President of Food Lion…and currently serves on the board of Tractor Supply Company.” Press Release | Interim CFO Named

 

US tells France and Germany to release diesel stocks or face US export ban, sources say Reuters subs.

 

DoorDash’s drone strategy started on the ground at TechCrunch. “DoorDash said it plans to kick off early pilot deliveries in Northern California with partners including Chipotle (and) Popeyes…” Read more | Press release

 

Why Kroger Is Trying to Be More Like Walmart at WSJ. “The company’s board of directors has questioned Foran on his campaign for fast changes…Foran and his inner circle have talked about jobs for other former Walmart executives at the company and on its board, including Judith McKenna, a former head of Walmart’s international division…A McKenna nomination to the Kroger board isn’t moving forward, according to people familiar with the situation.” WSJ subs.

 

Pandora opens $150 million Vietnam jewelry factory powered by renewable energy at AP. “The new facility in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam will produce up to 60 million pieces of jewelry a year, increasing the company’s manufacturing capacity by 50% while cutting its carbon footprint by 17%…” Read more

 

7-Eleven, Circle K overcharged customers at stores across US, investigation finds at NY Post. “The (Guardian) report found Circle K failed 35% of price-accuracy inspections in Florida, 62% in North Carolina, and…82% in Columbus, Ohio, between 2023 and 2025…7-Eleven, failed 47% of inspections in Colorado and Utah and 79% in Ontario County, New York.”  Read more

 

**Put your brand in front of retail’s biggest decision-makers. Contact us at info@eyeonretail.net to get started.