“Even Wal-Mart Thinks ‘Made In The USA’ Can Be Competitive Again” by Sam Ro at Business Insider.  “As rising overseas labor costs and higher shipping costs are forcing U.S. companies to bring manufacturing back to the states. This is being touted as the American manufacturing renaissance…WMT U.S. kicked off the initiative this week with Georgia state sourced towels, priced at $8.97 for bath size. They are offered in 600 stores and will be in an additional 600 stores by Sept., supported by local marketing.”  Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-selling-made-in-the-usa-2013-3#ixzz2Nq3ccJUl

 

“Amazon’s sellers unhappy about fee hikes, eye rivals” at Reuters.  “A brewing conflict between Amazon.com Inc and its merchants over fee hikes could benefit rival eBay Inc, and provide an opening for Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Google Inc, which are just getting into the space.  Amazon’s online bazaar generates margins many times higher than traditional retail as the company takes a cut of every sale on its site made by a merchant, known as a third-party seller, and charges extra fees for handling logistics. The growth of this business, which now accounts for almost 40 percent of unit sales, has helped push Amazon shares to record highs.”  Read more:  https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/us-amazon-sellers-idUSBRE92H0CR20130318

 

“Home Depot to help kick off N.J. rebuilding”by Christopher Steward at Atlanta Journal Constitution.  “Atlanta-based Home Depot and Coca-Cola Co. will be front and center Monday when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie kicks off a rebuilding effort in an area hard hit by Superstorm Sandy last November.  Home Depot will open a satellite storm recovery store in the new Seaside Heights Business Improvement District…Scott Murry, the home improvement retailer’s regional vice president for New York and New Jersey, said the store’s staff of 25 includes six disaster relief associates who will drive around in company pickups to offer consultations.”  Read more:  https://www.ajc.com/news/business/home-depot-coca-cola-to-help-kick-off-nj-rebuildin/nWs4n/

 

“Google doubling Kirkland (WA) campus, planning for 1,000 new jobs” by Brier Dudley at The Seattle Times.  “The Seattle area is feeling lucky.  Google today announced that it’s doubling the size of its campus in Kirkland, creating room to hire 1,000 more employees.  The project comes amid a remarkable surge of investment by tech companies in the Seattle market, including Amazon.com’s enormous Seattle campus.”  Read more:  https://blogs.seattletimes.com/brierdudley/2013/03/12/test-2/

 

“Walmex expands online presence in Mexico” at The City Wire.  “Walmex recently announced its plans to launch the online site, Walmart.com.mx, in response to the quickly growing e-commerce market in Mexico.  Walmart already operates the URL, but doesn’t sell on the site.”  Read more:  https://www.thecitywire.com/node/26913#.UUcHHxyG3X4

 

“Small online merchants file suit against Amazon.com” by Amy Martinez at The Seattle Times.  “Amazon.com was hit with a class-action lawsuit Friday by online sellers who allege the Internet giant violates its own terms as well as Washington state law by holding the sellers’ money for more than 90 days…The suit revolves around Amazon’s third-party-seller business, which enables merchants both large and small to sell their products on its website. The complaint argues that, by holding sellers’ money longer than allowed, Amazon racks up interest and uses the extra cash to support its operations.”  Read more:  https://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020568463_amazonsellersuitxml.html

 

“This Hiroshima Costco Charges A Ridiculous $32 for Parking” by Aziza Sullivan at Dailybeast.  “Yes, $32 just to park. That’s less than two days of parking at Disneyland, and they don’t even offer tram rides to the cashier! But, wait. Costco knows their parking fee is a little cray, so they offer a deal: Make a purchase of $53.50 (5,000 yen) or great, and you get an hour of free parking. Make a purchase of $107 (10,000 yen) or greater, and get two hours of “free” parking. In other words, it’s a race.”  Read more:  https://foodbeast.com/content/2013/03/15/this-hiroshima-costco-charges-32-for-parking/

 

“Out-of-state online grocery enters the local produce scene (in Missouri)” by Georgina Gustin at St. Louis Post Dispatch.  “Green BEAN Delivery, an Indiana-based company, has set up shop in the St. Louis area, and with a few clicks on its website, customers can have a weekly or biweekly infusion of produce whisked to their doorsteps. No trip to the store necessary.  The company, which now has operations in 10 cities, emphasizes locally grown produce but also distributes national brands, offering something that other subscription-style produce businesses don’t.”  Read more:  https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/out-of-state-online-grocery-enters-the-local-produce-scene/article_94a75a4a-45a1-596e-a5d3-2cb85f7e823f.html

 

“11 Google Products And Services You Never Knew Existed” by Kevin Smith at Business Insider.  “Some former and current Googlers have listed lesser known Google products over at answers site Quora.  Google has products and services all over the internet that aim to inform users, make their lives easier, and more secure too. We had no idea that some of these existed.”  Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/google-products-youve-never-heard-of-2013-3?op=1#ixzz2NtYlSITf

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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