Macy’s Woos Millennials With Ramped-Up Wedding Business by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “We have an opportunity to service the couple throughout the entire wedding journey, not just at the point of registry,” Shawn Outler, the Macy’s senior vice president overseeing the wedding strategy, told Fortune on a tour of the retailer’s Manhattan flagship. “We weren’t quite messaging to those opportunities but we knew we were selling the product.” Read more

 

Canada: Loblaw aims to add medical marijuana by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw, which acquired Shoppers Drug Mart two years ago, said on Thursday that the company is part of a pharmacy industry initiative to push for the sale of medical marijuana at drugstores across the country.” Read more

 

Study: What Retailers Make Women Feel Good? by Sarah Mahoney at MediaPost. “Amazon, Publix, Victoria’s Secret, Costco, and Sephora are the five retailers most women say make them feel good while shopping…Whole Foods Markets, Nordstrom, Ulta, Aldi and Bath & Body Works also made the top-10 “feel good” retailers.” Read more

 

NY Post: JCPenney taking emergency measures to stay afloat by Lisa Fickenscher. “As the end of its first fiscal quarter approached, the mid-priced department store told store managers to take the emergency measure because the chain faced “an expense challenge,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Post. “We have an expense challenge for the month of April and are asking all stores to do their fair share by closely monitoring all expenses,” the memo said.” Read more

 

Judge Tosses Suit Against Walmart and J.C.Penney Over Bangladesh Clothes Factory Collapse by Hannah Sheehan at Law 360. Read more

 

FORT MCMURRAY RELIEF EFFORTS

Walmart Canada makes immediate $500,000 commitment Read the release

Home Depot Canada Donates $100,000 To Help Those Affected By Alberta Wildfires Read the release

 

BJ’s Appoints Chief Growth Officer “Lee Delaney will be responsible for the Company’s merchandising and supply chain organization, and will report directly to BJ’s President and CEO Chris Baldwin.” Read the release

 

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Jeff Bezos sells $671M worth of Amazon shares in his largest stock sale ever by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. Read more

 

Apple VP of Online Retail Bob Kupbens leaves company by Marc Gurman at 9 to 5 Mac. “It is currently unclear if Kupbens’s replacement will be an outsider or someone promoted from within.” Read more

 

Finalists announced for Retail Council of Canada’s Excellence in Retailing Awards “87 finalists from 50 retail companies are in the running for the prestigious awards, which recognize the pinnacle achievements of retail organizations in 10 retail categories.” See the finalists

 

BJ’s is Consumers’ Favorite Box Store for Fuel (Takes Top Spot from Costco) “Costco dropped to second, Kroger ranked third and Sam’s Club dropped a spot to fourth. When Market Force looked at the attributes that drive customer satisfaction, Costco led in three of the five categories, including fuel price, fuel quality and appearance. However, it lagged behind for ease of entering and exiting and availability of cleaning tools at the fueling area.” Read the release

 

What happens if Bass Pro acquires Cabela’s? by Thomas Gounley at News-Leader. “Yates said he believed the most natural targets of consolidation would be Bristol, the greater Chicago area — where each company has two stores — and Colorado.” Read more

 

Amazon Leases 20 More Planes For Air Cargo Network by Leena Rao at Fortune. Read more

 

CEO of Claire’s Stores resigns by Becky Yerak at Chicago Tribune. “The new CEO is Ron Marshall, who has been a board member since December 2007.” Read more

 

Best Buy hires former Accenture exec Trish Walker to lead Geek Squad by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Walker was most recently senior managing director of Accenture’s retail practice, and her bio on Best Buy’s website says she worked with Nordstrom, CVS, L.L. Bean, Macy’s and The Limited.” Read more

 

Gilt Groupe’s CEO is becoming a venture capital investor by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Michelle Peluso, the Gilt Groupe CEO who led a failed turnaround of the discount shopping site, is joining Technology Crossover Ventures as a venture partner in New York City.” Read more

 

Louisville: Sand sculptor gives Kroger shoppers a little taste of Derby fever by Brandi Ratterman at WDRB. “A 20-ton pile of sand in the parking lot was turned into a work of art by international grandmaster sand sculptor Damon Farmer Thursday.” See the video / Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

At Best Buy, women make up the majority of company’s leadership team

Chicago: Thieves Hit Neiman Marcus in Broad Daylight on Magnificent Mile

Weber grills maker sues competitor in three-legged case

Top 5 Fashion E-commerce Websites That Change The Way You Shop

Company grants family’s final wish – makes urn in the shape of White Castle Slider

Who are the Top 10 Global Licensors?

Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan face off in tense retail battle

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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