“Target Beat Out J.C. Penney in Landing Brian Cornell” by Joann S. Lublin at WSJ.  “The battered department store chain pursued Mr. Cornell about succeeding CEO Mike Ullman. Penney, which has been seeking Mr. Ullman’s successor for a year, contacted Mr. Cornell earlier this year.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart’s website to personalize shopping” by Anne D’Innocenzio at AP via SF Gate.  “Other retailers, including home-improvement chain Home Depot and office-supplies retailer Staples, have been ahead of Wal-Mart in the race to personalize the online shopping experience. In fact, a quarter of customers who visit Home Depot’s home page see product recommendations that are based on recent purchase or browser history, according to the company.” Read more

 

“Starbucks Pays Some of Its Employees Less Than Wal-Mart” at Motley Fool.  “Wal-Mart surprisingly far outpaces Starbucks. Even though the pay is lower at Starbucks, the study also highlights one of the reasons this may be is that “its establishments are smaller…Wal-Mart’s size makes it the easy target for low-wage criticism, but compared to other retail outlets,Wal-Mart’s pay policies are extremely unique.” Read more

 

“Target Canada opening new stores in Ontario, Quebec” at CTV News.  “Target says it’s opening three new stores in Canada, two in Ontario and one in Quebec, bringing the total number of Target stores in Canada to 130. The stores are in Mississauga and Barrie, Ont. and Candiac, Que. Target says three more stores are scheduled to open later this fall in Canada.” Read more

 

***A message from Orchard Road Canning Co. – Target Millennials to Grow Canning Category Sales. Young female canners are the future of the category and there is untapped potential within this segment.  Orchard Road targets this demographic with a simple and elegant glass jar design and unique package graphics that feature authentic food-filled jars.  See the package design. See the sell sheet. www.orchardroadcanning.com.  Contact info@eyeonretail.net for more information.

 

“Lawsuit blames Home Depot’s roof design in Joplin tornado deaths” by Wally Kennedy at Joplin Globe.  “The Joplin tornado was a seminal event that undoubtedly will lead to changes in the way these buildings are constructed,’’ he said, in a recent interview. “One thing that has already happened is a dramatic increase in requests for storm shelters inside of big boxes.’’ Read more

 

“Amazon donating 50m hours of computing time to White House for climate change research” by Emily Gertz at The Guardian.  “Walmart noted that it is already working with “eight of the largest food companies to ensure that tomorrow’s food supply is more sustainable” – in part by expanding its sustainable agriculture programs by 8 mn acres, although no time frame was mentioned.” Read more

 

Target or Walmart — which is busier in Canada? For shoppers, the choice is clear” by Francine Kopun at Toronto Star. “Shopper research conducted for the Star shows that Target stores across Canada seem to be failing to attract customers, at least compared to nearby Walmart stores. The data was collected on Saturday, July 26, at 40 different stores in 19 different cities, from Vancouver to Dartmouth.” Read more

 

Claim: “E-commerce to account of 50% of retail in China by 2020” at Want China Times. “Nie Linhai, deputy inspector for the ministry’s Department of E-commerce, said the prediction is if anything conservative. “I would say probably everybody will be involved in e-commerce by then.” Read more

 

“Ingles Q3 Comp Sales +2.1%” “The number of customer transactions (excluding gasoline) increased 0.3%, while the comparable average transaction size (excluding gasoline) increased 1.8% compared with the same quarter last year.” Read the release

 

“Mother-daughter duo find a market for packaged fresh fruit” by Robert Rodriguez at Fresno Bee.  “The mother and daughter team of Kim Gaarde and Brittnie Hammack have taken a simple idea of selling sliced tree fruit in a package and made it into one of the hottest food ventures in the San Joaquin Valley. In its first full year of operation, the Fresno-based company Fresh Fruit Cuts has landed its product on the shelves of the nation’s largest retailers, including Walmart, Sam’s Club and Target.” Read more

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