Ulta Beauty Q2 comp sales +6.2% Press release

 

…Ulta shares plummet as profit and sales miss expectations and company slashes outlook at CNBC. “(CEO Mary) Dillon said consumers haven’t been picking up new rituals such as contouring or brow styling this cycle. Consumers have also been increasingly bypassing brick-and-mortar stores like Ulta and Sephora and turning to digitally native makeup brands like Glossier.” Read more

 

U.S. consumer spending increases solidly; income tepid at Reuters. “The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending advancing 0.5% last month.” Read more

 

Walmart will offer mental health and other services at a new clinic in Georgia at CNBC. “It also went online with the site “Walmarthealth.com,” where patients can set up appointments. Walmart is testing the concept with the initial clinic and could open more in the future, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the plans are confidential.” Read more

 

Big Lots Q2 comp sales +1.2% Press release

 

Broward Residents Preparing Homes, Getting Gas, Supplies Ahead Of Possible Hurricane Dorian Strike by Carey Codd at CBS 4 Miami. “This morning, cars sat backed up along State Road 84 in Davie waiting to get into Costco for gas. The lines to get into the store were long, too. “I’ve never seen anything like this ever,” said one Costco shopper.” Video/Read more

 

Build-A-Bear Q2 revenue -4.8% Press release

 

Amazon now owns part of the YES Network by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. “The New York Yankees, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Amazon, and other partners acquired the 80 percent stake of the YES Network not already owned by the Yankees. The total enterprise value of the deal is $3.47 billion.” Read more

 

Puma is opening a massive flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Here’s a first look inside at CNBC. Pics/Read more

 

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Hy-Vee thinks smaller; offers no update on five proposed large format stores by John Ewoldt at Star Tribune. “When it entered the (Twin Cities) market in 2015, Hy-Vee CEO Randy Edeker said the Iowa-based chain aimed to roll out four new stores a year in the Twin Cities. Its eventual goal was to make the Twin Cities its largest market, surpassing Kansas City. But Hy-Vee now has several proposed stores for which it has no updates…And earlier this year, Hy-Vee dropped plans for a distribution center in Austin, Minn.” Tiered subs.

 

Hong Kong retail sales in July fell 11.4% – steepest in three-and-a-half years amid protests at Reuters. Read more

 

Walmart’s robot army has arrived by Katharine Schwab at Fast Company. “To find other ways that the robot could communicate with people, Skaff turned to what he thought would be a convention that everyone would understand: a car’s turn signal…“We expected the turn signals to just work,” Skaff says. “It was a big surprise that actually the answer is no. People had a hard time transcribing an experience from the road to one that’s indoors.” Read more

 

Senators ask Jeff Bezos to crack down on thousands of unsafe products on Amazon at CNBC. “Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., asked (Bezos) to take action to stop the sale of unsafe products on Amazon…The letter was in response to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, which found more than 4,000 items for sale on Amazon’s site that have been declared unsafe by federal agencies…” Read more

 

New Costco chicken plant in Nebraska is ready to go by Ken Anderson at Brownfield Ag News. “The new Costco poultry plant in Fremont, Nebraska will begin processing its first chickens next week…there will be a 45-week ramp-up to full production…will be providing Costco with more than two million chickens each week.” Bldg pic/Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Publix rankles some with hurricane-themed cookie cake

Fry’s Electronics to shutter Palo Alto store

Sam’s Club expands service offerings to its members

Some men’s health start-ups make it a pain for customers to cancel

Probes of e-cigarette giant Juul under way in Illinois, DC

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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