This is the beginning of the end for Lord & Taylor’s flagship store by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The upscale retailer’s 104-year-old flagship store at 424 Fifth Ave. — New York City’s oldest — is set to launch a final “store closing” sale on Thursday that will hawk deals on fashions and accessories throughout the holidays before the store shuts down for good.” Read more

 

These retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving at CNBC. Long list

 

Amazon Enters Bed Market With Low-Cost Basic Foam Mattress by Spencer Soper at Bloomberg. “The AmazonBasics foam mattress, starting at $130, was spotted Friday by TJI Research…Amazon’s furniture brands already included bed frames and bedding, but this is the first Amazon-branded mattress, according to TJI.” Tiered subs.

 

JCPenney CFO Jeffrey Davis left to become CFO at Qurate Retail Group, which owns QVC, HSN & Zulily by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. Read more

 

…JCPenney has been without a CEO since June 1 by Tatyana Shumsky at Wall Street Journal. “The retailer must finalize its CEO pick before it can turn to filling the CFO spot, said Peter Crist, chairman for executive recruiter Crist|Kolder.” WSJ subs.

 

Best Buy stocked an unannounced Chromecast ahead of Google’s hardware event at TechCrunch. “The cashier wasn’t able to scan the item because it wasn’t in the system yet. The release date was labeled October 9 — the same day as the 2018 Google hardware event. “But since I already had it in my hand and was the same price as the 2nd generation Chromecast, they let me have it under the old SKU,” the post read.” Read more

 

Canada, US confirm new deal with Mexico updating NAFTA at Fox Business. Read more

 

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Chicago’s Beloved Treasure Island Grocery Chain Will Close All Six Stores by Micheline Maynard at Forbes. “Julia Child once described the chain as “America’s Most European Supermarket.” Treasure Island was upscale, with a locally focused approach, years before similar shopping trends swept the country.” Read more

 

Amazon’s new 4-star-product store in NYC is like a mini-Target by Jimmy Im at CNBC. “…unfortunately, for me, “Top Selling” didn’t necessarily translate to cool or interesting. Many of the products seemed to be things you could just as easily find at Target or Walmart.” Read more

 

…The giant Roomba installation eats up a fair amount of floor space. You’re telling me iRobot isn’t paying Amazon a hefty sum for that exposure? by Chris Welch at The Verge. Pics/Read more

 

In holiday ‘war for talent,’ retailers offer turkey dinners and haircut deals to lure temp workers by Abha Bhattarai at Washington Post. “Nationally, retailers say they plan to pay as much as 54 percent more than they did a year ago…They are increasingly offering a chance at other perks, too: $500 gift cards at Target, all-expenses-paid vacations to Miami and New York, as well as $5,000 “prize packages” at J.C. Penney….Gap and Old Navy are advertising employee discounts of 50 percent, as well as backup child care and free flu shots.” Tiered subs.

 

…Retailers tout big hiring plans this holiday season, but workers will be hard to find at CNBC. “Roughly 23 percent of retailers weren’t able to hire all the temporary workers they wanted for the 2017 holiday season, according to new Korn Ferry report.” Read more

 

Target’s new fashion line goes a different route by Charisse Jones at USA Today. “Target is about to launch one of its signature limited collections. But rather than its typical team-up with a celebrity or haute label such as Victoria Beckham or Missoni, Target’s new fashion collaboration for the first time will be with a nonprofit.” Read more

 

Nearly a quarter of US households own a smart speaker, according to Nielsen by Micah Singleton at The Verge. Read more

 

Harley-Davidson to sell apparel, riding gear on Amazon at CNBC. “Previously, customers could only purchase Harley apparel and riding gear from the company’s website or licensed dealerships.” Read more

 

Indonesians Loot Markets After Tsunami Creates Shortage Of Food, Water at NDTV. “Men and women made off with plastic bin bags and baskets full of biscuits, crisps, nappies, gas canisters, tissue paper and more. “There has been no aid, we need to eat. We don’t have any other choice, we must get food,” shouted one man. “We are in a crisis,” cried another.” Pics/Read more

 

South Korean cookie shop sold Costco desserts as store-made at UPI. “The roll cakes were hand-baked at our store at first, but we made the wrong choice as the orders surged,” said Mimi Cookie in an apology statement, according to Korea Joongang Daily.” Read more

 

Health officials seek woman who delivered rabies-infested bat to Target employees at Fox 40 News. “…she placed the bat in a Starbucks cup before bringing it into the store and giving it to two employees…The bat bit one of the Target employees, who has now received a rabies vaccination. The other employee has also been treated.” Video/Read more

 

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