Fortune: The Inside Story of Family Dollar’s Sale to Dollar Tree by Shawn Tully. “When (CEO Howard) Levine, 56, stepped out of the elevator into Icahn’s 11,000-square-foot duplex, he and fellow Family Dollar board member George Mahoney were escorted by a butler to the expansive balcony. There they found Icahn mixing a batch of ­martinis—Ketel One vodka, up with a lemon twist—for himself and two lieutenants. “Can I get you a drink?” Icahn asked Levine. “I’d love one,” replied Levine, “but I’ll say no, since I want to keep my wits about me.” Icahn didn’t miss a beat. “Not drinking isn’t going to help you,” he fired back, “so you might as well drink.” Levine decided to stay sober anyway.” Read more

 

Amazon Wants to Show U.S. Drones Can Safely Deliver Cargo by Alan Levin at Bloomberg. “The letter from the world’s biggest online retailer mirrors comments by other companies and industry groups…Friday was the deadline for companies to formally petition the FAA” Read more

 

Target Named ‘Top 50 Company for Diversity’ at DiversityInc.  See the top 50 list

 

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Walmart’s David Cheesewright Speaks to The Times of India “Startups are cropping up in this space everywhere across the world. However, I think national players will have a big role to play because technology is fairly generic. There will be a few global players who will dominate. Amazon will be one; there will be Alibaba and us.” Read the interview

 

Dollar Tree Stores ordered to pay $2.72 million for illegal hazardous waste disposal by Malaika Fraley at Mercury News. “An investigation by Alameda County and 47 other DA’s and city attorney offices around the state found that Dollar Tree Stores were illegally dumping into landfills hazmat products like batteries, corrosive liquids and e-waste.” Read more

 

Etsy invites designers for Open Call to get retail placements for the holidays by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. “Etsy Open Call will select 50 designers…to attend a one-day event this summer at Etsy’s headquarters in Brooklyn, where they can pitch their product lines directly to buyers from five retail partners: Nordstrom, Lou & Grey, Clementine, the Walker Art Center’s Walker Shop and The Land of Nod.” Read more

 

Doug McMillon Pens Story for McKinsey publication “In the long term, a company’s business interests and the interests of society converge. Companies, communities, individuals, and governments: we are all interdependent. Every healthy, high-performing company has an obligation to use its strengths to help society, and each can do so in ways that enhance the viability of the business, too.” Read more

 

Amazon’s One-click Apple Watch shopping App is too trigger happy at 9 to 5 Mac.  See the video

 

LA Times: Pico Rivera Wal-Mart closure a worry for city by Samantha Masunaga. “Salcido estimated that Pico Rivera receives about $1.4 million a year in tax revenue from the retailer, potentially 10% of the city’s sales tax revenue.” Read more

 

Retail’s new reality: Invisible shopping centers and virtual assistants by Lance Eliot at CNBC.  Read more

 

$4.6 billion windfall: CEO Jeff Bezos made higher profit Friday than Amazon by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Business Journal. “His shares were worth $32.7 billion when the market closed Thursday at a share price of $389.99. Bezos’ shares are now worth a whopping $37.4 billion.” Read more

 

E-commerce not quite clicking in Mexico’s populous consumer market ― yet at Fox News.  Read more

 

Honest Walmart worker finds $4,400 cash while picking up trash in the parking lot and helps return it to relieved owner at Daily Mail. Read more / See the pics

 

Consumer Group Says Sears, Kohl’s Mislead Customers by Michael Finney at ABC 7 News. “In a bold statement, Bay Area Consumers’ Checkbook Executive Editor Kevin Brasler said, “I think that Sears and Kohl’s and often Macy’s and some other stores clearly are trying to mislead their customers.” Checkbook has been keeping track of sale prices at seven national retail chains for nearly a year. They’re now telling a good news and bad news story about what was found.” Read more

 

P&G Joins Movement to Cut Ad Costs by Nathalie Tadena & Serena Ng at WSJ. “Procter & Gamble Co. is preparing to make deep cuts in the number of advertising agencies it works with, hoping to save up to half-a-billion dollars in fees that it now pays to outside firms.” Read more (Subscription)k 

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@eyeonretail.net.