Amazon eyes Office Depot deal to launch office supply business by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “A prominent activist investor has taken a stake in Office Depot, believing the workplace supply chain could be near a deal that will clear all regulatory barriers to its merger with Staples, The Post has learned.” Read more

 

Kohl’s Releases List of 18 Stores it Plans to Close (Half are in CA) by Melanie Lawder at Milwaukee Business Journal. See the list of 18

 

Michael’s Q4 Comp Sales +3.1% Read the release

 

Jet.com to add 200 HQ jobs in 2016 by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. Read more

 

Leaked memo: Loblaw pulled French’s ketchup because it was ‘cannibalizing’ private label brand sales by Aleksandra Sagan at Canadian Press via Financial Post. “French’s ketchup became an Internet darling after a man’s Facebook post lauded the U.S.-based company for using 100 per cent Canadian-grown tomatoes.” Read more

 

Small Town (pop.406) Manufacturer Boosts Payroll from 1 to 250 with Walmart Business by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “When I went down to Wadley to see about buying the plant, I was taken back by what I saw. Former employees were there mowing the lawn, weed eating around the plant’s perimeter…One guy said that nobody was paying him but he had worked for the plant for 15 years and his father has also worked there and they wanted to see the plant reopen,” Harbaugh told Talk Business & Politics.” Read more

 

…Walmart’s Fourth Annual U.S. Manufacturing Summit is Slated for June 28th in Bentonville – Registration Required by May 27th via The City Wire. Register Here/Read more

 

**A message from Man Dip – Sour cream is for sissies – Eat like a man! Sour cream is something you slap on a baked potato. It is NOT a dip. Man Dip uses real cream cheese loaded with chunks of meat and peppers to create dips that are rich and savory with just the right amount of kick. Protein rich – Gluten free – Served hot. See the five new flavors. Named 4th best new dairy product of 2015. Mandip.com. Retailers request samples at info@eyeonretail.net

 

Kroger Promotes Mary Ellen Adcock to Group VP of Retail Operations Read the release

 

Will Sports Authority Make $3.6M Payment to Keep Denver Broncos Stadium Naming Rights? by Monica Mendoza at Denver Business Journal. Read more

 

Fortune: Sorry, Bernie: Walmart Says Higher Wages Are Motivating Workers by Phil Wahba. “I can feel the difference, I can see the difference,” Wal-Mart Stores Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs told analysts at an investor conference in New York this week. “It pays off in a number of areas: clean, fast, friendly store scores go up.” He added: “The stores are cleaner.” Biggs also praised the quicker checkout.” Read more

 

Ross Stores Appoints Bernie Brautigan President, Merchandising, Ross Dress for Less Read the release

 

Bloomingdale’s: Sarah Jessica Parker signs her creations as she serves customers via Daily Mail See the pics / Read more

 

FedEx CEO Smith Calls Amazon Challenge Reports ‘Fantastical’ by Mary Schlangenstein at Bloomberg. “Concerns about industry disruption continue to be fueled by fantastical — and I chose this word carefully — articles and reports,” Smith said on a conference call with analysts and investors. Read more

 

Why J.C. Penney store managers were receptive to CEO Marvin Ellison’s ‘BS’ by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “I want to reinforce BS, which can stand for business simplification or whatever else you want it to stand for,” he said. “We’re very serious about this. It’s very difficult for a business to simplify.” Read more

 

Gap Accepts 2016 Catalyst Award “Catalyst, a leading nonprofit organization accelerating progress for women, recognizes Gap Inc.’s culture of equality and dedicated efforts related to the advancement of women.” Read the release

 

…Target CEO Brian Cornell Joins Catalyst’s Board of Directors via A Bullseye View. “He and Laysha Ward, Target’s chief corporate social responsibility officer, (were) both guest speakers at the annual Catalyst Awards Conference in New York…”Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to work with—and for—excellent leaders. Like Indra Nooyi at Pepsi, and before that, Ellen Marram, CEO of Tropicana..” Read more | See other featured speakers

 

True Value Sees Strong 2015 Performance “Destination True Value (DTV) comparable store sales were up 4.7 percent for the fiscal year…wholesale comparable store sales, on a gross billings basis, were up 1.8 percent for the year. Retail comparable store sales were up 3.1 percent.” Read the release

 

Black Enterprise: Meet the female execs behind some of the most admired corporate brands by Lisa Fraser. “Tracey Brown, Sam’s Club: “I not only want people who look like me and think like me, I also want the polar opposite of that” Read more | See the list of leading women

 

Coke Thinks Designer Milk Could Be a Billion-Dollar Brand by Shruti Singh & Jennifer Kaplan at Bloomberg. “We look at milk, honestly, as one of nature’s superfoods,” says Melanie Kahn, vice president for marketing at Fairlife.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Safety notice issued for Disney sleeping bags over ‘strangulation’ fear

Politico: The inside story of how Michelle Obama decided to change American nutrition.

Benton County, Arkansas farmers saluted by Walmart for stewardship efforts

Kroger execs speak at conference – tout organic growth and why deflation can be a good thing

E-Commerce Gets Its Own Consumer Price Index

Apple design chief Jony Ive describes meeting Steve Jobs for first time

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories