Robot collision at Ocado warehouse near London sparks fire, delaying customer orders at BBC. “The online grocer said the blaze started when three of the robots that help pick its groceries collided at the Erith site. About 800 staff had to be evacuated and firefighters worked through the night to contain the incident. It is the second fire involving robots at Ocado. Its Andover facility burned down in 2019 after an electrical fault.” Read more

 

After concerns from Amazon, Apple removes product review analyzer Fakespot from App Store at The Verge. “Amazon also tells us that Fakespot injects code into its website, opening up an attack vector and putting customer data (including email, addresses, credit card info, and your browser history) at risk, though it says it doesn’t actually know if Fakespot is using this information.” Read more

 

Woman with Down’s Syndrome awarded $125m by court after being fired by Walmart at The Independent. “She was awarded $125 million, which Walmart argued would be reduced to $300,000 because of a federal law that caps compensatory and punitive damages at that figure. It also called the EEOC lawsuit’s demands “unreasonable”.” Read more

 

Star Tribune: Pay among Minnesota’s top CEO’s:

• #2 Target’s Cornell @ $77.5M in total compensation
• #15 Best Buy’s Barry @ 8.4M in total compensation

List/Tiered subs.

 

Amazon is getting hauled into court for not recalling dangerous products the right way at The Verge. “CPSC’s move is also about finding the authority to force recalls on broad online seller marketplaces like Amazon to begin with, marketplaces which weren’t around at the time the laws were written — that way, it wouldn’t always need to rely on Amazon being willing to comply.” Read more

 

**A message from Readywise – Consumers are looking for emergency food supplies – are you offering the variety they want? Up to 25-year shelf life. High quality and great taste. Website | Catalog | Sample: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Victoria’s Secret scrubs the Angels from its stores in revamp at NY Post. “Customers can also bid farewell to the videos that ran on a constant loop on television screens of its fashion shows and interviews with models, a spokesperson confirmed. Located in the heart of a busy shopping district on Fifth Avenue near Rockefeller Center, the flagship is currently among hundreds of Victoria’s Secret stores undergoing major makeovers as the lingerie seller scrambles to revamp its image from a company that objectifies women to one that empowers them.” Read more

 

Circle K has sold 4,700 home EV chargers in Norway making it the third-biggest supplier there at Financial Post. “The minimum amount of charging activity Circle K expects will happen at Norwegian EV owners’ homes is 55%, as opposed to at fuel stations. That figure could be as high as 75 per cent, said Høidahl, with another 20 per cent to 35 per cent of charging happening at the drivers’ destination. That leaves only about 10 per cent to 20 per cent of charging happening in transit.” Read more

 

After Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin sees a ‘robust pipeline’ of future paying space fliers at GeekWire. “We think we had 7,500 people in the auction from over 150 countries,” (CEO Smith) said. “Generally, there’s really high interest. So the question really gets down to what’s the price point. … Our early flights are going for a very good price. You saw the interest during the auction was quite high. We had people well into the twenties [$20 million], all very interested. Some of that was skewed, obviously, by the auction.” Read more

 

Amazon wants to use radar so Alexa can watch as you sleep at LA Times. “The company described its radar sensors as “capturing motion in a three-dimensional space.” This suggests that rather than logging all the tosses and turns of a restless night’s sleep, as wearables now do, the new device would project an electromagnetic bubble over users. It would then monitor all movement within that bubble throughout the night…” Read more

 

J&J exploring putting talc liabilities into bankruptcy at Reuters. Read more

 

Reports of forced labor are driving brands to abandon Chinese cotton at Fortune. “…few are willing to talk about it for fear of disrupting their operations in China…Fortune asked more than two dozen apparel companies how they’ve responded to reports of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Only Patagonia and Reformation—which earn little to no revenue in China—made representatives available for interviews.” Tiered subs.

 

 

Tipsheet Extra

Nike could run out of sneakers made in Vietnam as Covid crisis worsens

Panera adapts its catering business for the remote and hybrid workforce

Reliance Retail acquires a controlling stake in Indian search and discovery firm Just Dial

China is buying up American farms. Washington wants to crack down.

Harry Potter New York is the first official Harry Potter flagship store

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

**

Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Put your product or service in front of the most powerful retail execs in the world, send advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: eyeonretail.net