Macy’s launches pop-up marketplaces in its stores at CNBC. “Brands pay a one-time fee for the space and retain all their sales. The program, which formally launches Monday, will initially be tried in 10 cities, including at the Herald Square flagship in New York, Boston, Las Vegas and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.” Read more

 

Target helps NFL players think about their next careers by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “CEO Brian Cornell told the 15 or so players in attendance that he once wanted to be in their shoes playing for the NFL. “Unfortunately, I peaked when I was about 13 years old,” he said to laughs. “I was 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. … The problem is, I’m still 5-9 and 170 pounds.” Read more (tiered subs.)

 

…Players also met with Rick Gomez, Target’s CMO; Mark Schindele, SVP of Target properties; Mike Jewison, VP of store operations; and Cara Sylvester, VP of divisional merchandising by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. Read more

 

Bon-Ton files for bankruptcy protection at CNBC. “Bon-Ton said Sunday it received a commitment of as much as $725 million in financing from existing lenders to support its operations.” Read more

 

Best Buy to pay up to $1,000 in bonuses to 100,000+ workers via USA Today. Read more

 

Is Walmart Coming to Israel? Netanyahu Says the Door Is Open by David Wainer at Bloomberg. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to use the power of his office to help bring the world’s largest retailer to Israel. That was Netanyahu’s message to John Furner, a senior Walmart Inc. executive…according to Netanyahu’s economic adviser, Avi Simhon. They discussed the idea of Walmart’s opening a retail branch and investing in Israeli technologies, said Simhon.” Read more

 

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In Australia, Amazon is still finding its way by Tom Westbrook & Byron Kaye at Reuters. “From Dec. 12 to Jan. 7, Australians looked online more often for Myer Holdings Ltd, a 118-year-old department store chain with a market capitalization of A$540 million ($431 million) and a steady run of profit warnings, than they did for $630 billion Amazon.” Read more

 

Best Buy to Stop Selling CDs, Target Might Be Next by Ed Christman at Billboard. “…sources say that Target has demanded to music suppliers that it wants to be sold on what amounts to a consignment basis. Currently, Target takes the inventory risk by agreeing to pay for any goods it is shipped within 60 days, and must pay to ship back unsold CDs for credit.” Read more

 

Costco’s plan has millennials in their stores by Benjamin Romano at Seattle Times via Toronto Star. “Reports that millennials are not joining Costco are “not accurate,” Jelinek said, noting that the generation represents over 40 per cent of its new-member sign-ups.” Read more

 

Whole Foods introducing ‘Real Food’ campaign by Jon Springer at Supermarket News. “A television ad debuting the “We Believe in Real Food” tagline has premiered on the retailer’s website and Youtube channel this week.” See spot/Read more

 

Brian Cornell Appeared Friday @ CNBC “The CEO pointed out that Target, unlike rival Walmart, has a much more “balanced portfolio,” which includes apparel, home goods, electronics and grocery. Food accounts for only 20 percent of the brand, compared with 60 percent of Walmart’s products.” 5:38 video/Read more

 

Amazon settles long-running dispute with French tax authorities, who have been seeking nearly 200 million euros ($249 million) at Fox Business. Read more

 

Nordstrom Sets Campaign for First Stand-Alone Men’s Store by David Boin at WWD. “The retailer’s first full-line New York City store will be a big flagship complex with separate men’s and women’s stores.” Read more (subs.)

 

Why Whole Foods employees are crying on the job by Michael Bartiromo at NY Post. “Making matters worse are the new “scorecards” that managers are expected to grade their employees with…Any employee who scores below an 89.9 is possibly subject to termination…store leaders and even one regional vice president have quit “because they consider OTS to be absurd.” Read more

 

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Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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