Owners of Radio Shack and Pier 1 Imports accused by SEC of operating $112 million Ponzi scheme at NY Post. “The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Alex Mehr and Tai Lopez, founders of Miami-based Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), of duping investors out of roughly $112 million, according to the federal Southern District of Florida filing obtained by The Post.” Read more

 

Walmart teams up with Spain’s La Liga at CNBC. “The Spanish league’s multi-year deal with Walmart is meant to build on this growing audience for La Liga soccer in the U.S., as well as the growing soccer fanbase ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the U.S., Mexico and Canada. “We came in knowing that the World Cup was happening in 2026 and that the sport was growing significantly in in the U.S., and that we needed to be part of that growth…” Gartner said.” Read more

 

Birkenstock lifts sales outlook on demand boost for clogs and shoes at Reuters. “The company, whose shares were up about 6% in premarket trading, now expects sales of at least 2.09 billion euros ($2.45 billion), implying growth of about 17.5% at constant currency rates over last year.” Reuters subs.

 

H&M shares jump on Q3 sales beat as turnaround takes pace at USA Today. “Operating profit at the fashion retailer rose 40% year-on-year…It marks the second consecutive quarter of expectation-beating results…as tight cost controls and a return to core product lines under CEO Daniel Erver begin to bear fruit.” Read more

 

iPhone 17 Scratch Mystery Solved? at CNET. “Apple confirms the scratch culprit is its MagSafe display stands for in-store iPhone demo units…Apple said that cleaning removes the material…The iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro units CNET has been testing for the past two weeks don’t show any scratches, chips or scuffs.” Read more

 

Target Unveils Bullseye’s Top Toys List Press release

 

J.D. Power: Appliances with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth have an average of 87 problems per 100 appliances, those without connectivity experience an average of 63. “Front-load washers have most reported problems…Clothes dryers and cooking appliances have the lowest rates of reported problems.” Read more

 

AutoZone Q4 comp sales +5.1% Press release

 

Viral collision of delivery robot and man in mobility scooter sparks online firestorm at LA Times/Yahoo. “Mark Chaney…shared the video…Less than two weeks later, it has more than 26 million views on TikTok and Instagram combined, generating fierce backlash against the company that created the bot (and death threats against Chaney).” Read more

 

‘Nightmare bacteria’ cases are increasing in the US at AP. ” Infection rates from drug-resistant “nightmare bacteria” rose almost 70% between 2019 and 2023, according to (CDC)…It’s likely many people are unrecognized carriers of the drug-resistant bacteria, which could lead to community spread, the CDC scientists said.” Read more