“Supervalu to sell Albertsons stores” at MSNBC vis Lisa Liddane at Orange County Register.  “Supervalu Inc. announced Thursday that it will sell its Albertsons supermarkets and related in-store pharmacies as part of a broader divestment of five grocery chains to an investment group led by New York-based Cerberus Capital Management…The new sale will reunite and place under one banner Albertsons stores under Supervalu with the Albertsons Market stores under Albertson’s LLC, which has been owned by the Cerberus-led consortium for five years. Read more:  https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50428593/ns/local_news-orange_county_ca/t/supervalu-sell-albertsons-stores/#.UPk_bCdEHX4

 

“Consumer Reports: Clark+Kensington Takes Top Spot In Tests Of Interior Paints”  “In Consumer Reports’ latest tests of interior paints, newcomer Clark+Kensington earned the highest scores of 65 products evaluated for overall finish, ability to hide, and more. The full report on interior paints, which includes information on the best painter’s tape and the best interior colors to help sell houses, is available in the March 2013 issue of the magazine and online at www.ConsumerReports.org.  “When choosing paint, don’t assume a leading brand you swore by last time will do just as well this time around,” said Bob Markovich, home and yard editor for Consumer Reports. “Our tests found paints can vary year to year — and a bigger name does not always equal a better product.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6144378&access=EH

 

“Eight Retail CEOs (Including Wal-Mart’s) Reveal Top Goals For 2013” by Barbara Thau at Forbes.  “Rebuilding American manufacturing, practicing “conscience capitalism” and investing big in online shopping and mobile commerce top retailers’ to-do lists this year.  So said a cross section of retail CEOs during the National Retail Federation’s Big Show this week at New York City’s Javitz Center, who shared their biggest growth opportunities and business goals for 2013 with Forbes.  But it was Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, that stole the spotlight.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2013/01/17/eight-retail-ceos-including-wal-marts-reveal-top-goals-for-2013/

 

“Costco Launches Pharmacy-Benefit Manager Program” by Karen Talley at WSJ.  “Costco Wholesale Corp. has quietly started a pharmacy-benefit program for small and midsize businesses, launching the retailer into the market for handling drug plans currently led by Express Scripts Holding Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. Costco Health Solutions, the pharmacy-benefit manager, or PBM, will fill prescriptions for business customers, much like programs at traditional pharmacies, and the large wholesaler expects its new program to increase foot traffic in stores.”If you’re a business owner, Costco has a program that can save your company and employees money on prescription drugs,” says an article in Costco’s latest magazine.”  Read more:  https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323968304578247982570309620.html

 

“Wegmans No. 5 on Fortune list of best companies to work for” at Democrat & Chronicle.  “For the 16th year running, Wegmans Foods Markets Inc. made Fortune magazine’s list of America’s top 100 companies to work for.  The supermarket chain, headquartered in Rochester, was No. 5 on the 2012 list, which will appear in the magazine’s Feb. 4 issue, available for sale Monday.”  Read more:  https://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130116/BUSINESS/301160028/Wegmans-top-company-work-Fortune?nclick_check=1

 

“OfficeMax Teams Up with Go Daddy to Provide Exclusive Website Service Bundles for Small Business Customers”  “OfficeMax® Incorporated, a leader in office supplies, technology and services, today announced that it’s teaming up with Go Daddy, the world’s leading Web hosting and domain name provider, to bring Go Daddy’s Web services to a wider small business audience through OfficeMax stores nationwide. The move makes OfficeMax the exclusive nationwide retailer for Go Daddy websites and domain names; and provides businesses with significant value on Go Daddy website service bundles available only at OfficeMax stores…”According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly seventy-five percent of businesses don’t have a website. Partnering with OfficeMax means we can help more people leverage the power of the Internet – people who may not realize how easy it can be.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6145094&access=EH

 

“More Luxury Shoppers Use Mobile, But Prove Harder to Please Overall, According to ForeSee Study”  “…Meanwhile, non-luxury retailer Amazon registered a score of 88 in a similar study, meaning even the best luxury sites are still not measuring up to the very best online experiences. Since almost everyone shops at Amazon, customer expectations are being set at a level not yet achieved by any of these luxury e-retailers.

Shopper Satisfaction with Luxury Brands

Luxury Brands/Score

*  Tiffany & Co.: 80

*  Coach: 80

*  Saks Fifth Avenue: 79

*  Nordstrom: 79

*  Hugo Boss: 78

*  Tory Burch: 78

*  Burberry: 78

*  net-a-porter.com: 78

*  Ralph Lauren: 77

*  Neiman Marcus: 77

*  Brooks Brothers: 76

*  RueLaLa.com: 73

*  Gilt.com: 72

Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6145098&access=EH

 

“Whole Foods CEO: ‘Fascism’ Bad Choice of Words” by Tim Hanrahan in WSJ.  “Whole Foods Market Inc. Chief Executive John Mackey has backed off his comments that associated President Barack Obama‘s health law with “fascism,” after his words stirred up a taste of controversy.”  Read more:  https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/01/17/whole-foods-ceo-fascism-bad-choice-of-words/

 

“Build-A-Bear’s low-budget makeover started with trip to Home Depot” by Kavita Kumar at St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  “Build-A-Bear Workshop pulled back the curtain this week to show National Retail Federation convention-goers how it put together its new store design. The story included, curiously enough, pink foam-core board bought from Home Depot.  Brandon Elliott, Build-A-Bear’s director of digital ventures, said during a presentation that the company didn’t have endless capital to prototype the store, which was unveiled in September at West County Center.  To save time and money, he built models for many of the new bear-making stations out of material that many people use to insulate their homes.  Read more:  https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/build-a-bear-s-low-budget-makeover-started-with-trip/article_3dce9176-a475-59e1-9166-525e1ac5645e.html

 

“Michaels Stores, Inc. Reports Holiday Sales Results”  “Michaels Stores, Inc. announced net sales for November and December fiscal periods were $1.164 billion, a 4.6% increase over the same period last year. Same-store sales for the two month period increased 2.4%.  Read more: https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6147196&access=EH

 

“Family Dollar authorizes $300 million share repurchase” by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Business Journal.  “Family Dollar also increased its regular quarterly dividend payment by 23.8 percent to 26 cents per share. That’s up from 21 cents for the preceding quarterly dividend. The increase will be effective with the next quarterly dividend.”  Read more: https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/01/17/family-dollar-authorizes-300-million.html

 

“Target store janitors file OSHA complaints” by David Phelps at Star-Tribune.  “The complaints allege that the workers, who are employed by maintenance companies that contract with Target, have to find a manager to unlock a door when they need to exit the building.  “What would happen if a fire were to break out in one of those stores?” said Lucila Dominguez of the Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL) workers’ center in Minneapolis.”  Read more:  https://www.startribune.com/business/187395671.html

 

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