Costco May Comp Sales +4% (ex. gas & f/x) “Costco reported net sales of $9.23 billion for the month of May, the four weeks ended May 29, 2016, an increase of three percent from $8.98 billion during the similar period last year.” Read the release

 

Amazon targets sellers for first time in latest crackdown on fake customer reviews by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “The company has filed demands for arbitration against three Amazon sellers, seeking to enjoin them from selling products on Amazon or opening new accounts on the site, and asking an arbitrator to require the sellers to hold in trust any illegal profits from the sale of products on Amazon based on fraudulent reviews.” Read more

 

Staples CEO Sargent to receive as much as $14M after stepping down by Greg Ryan at Boston Business Journal. Read more

 

COSTCO CEO AT BUSINESS CENTER GRAND OPENING IN DENVER by Alicia Wallace at Denver Post. “Costco CEO Craig Jelinek stood near the front of his newest store and quietly watched the opening-day activity unfold. He pointed to a customer’s bright orange cart that was Jenga-stacked with boxes of eggs, milk, lettuce, vinyl gloves and laundry detergent. “That’s what we want there,” he said, “a big flatbed like that.” Read more

 

Lands’ End swings to $5.8 million loss for Q1 by Melanie Lawder at Milwaukee Business Journal. “Retail segment net revenue slid 10.4 percent to $41.2 million, which the company said was driven by a 7.1 percent decrease in same-store sales and a reduction in the number of Lands’ End Shops at Sears locations.” Read more

 

Forbes: America’s Richest Self-Made Women “#3: Iconic retailer Gap might have been called “Pants and Discs” if not for Doris Fisher. She and her husband Donald (d. 2009) settled on that name until she came up with “Gap” –shorthand for “generation gap.” See the top 60 list

 

Home Depot’s Richard McPhail Presents at RBC Capital Markets Consumer and Retail Brokers Conference via Seeking Alpha. Read the transcript

 

Fitbit Adds Williams-Sonoma CEO & Whole Foods CFO to Board Read the release

 

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Smiley returns to Walmart to reinforce ‘happiness’ through low prices by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “…The entire meeting theme was about sharing happiness as Family Feud host and television personality Steve Harvey took the stage…Harvey joked that he would like to get a job at Walmart under one condition – that it would be in the fishing department, his favorite part of the store. He said there was one store he likes better than Walmart as an avid bass fisherman and that’s Bass Pro Shops.” Read more

 

Micheal Kors backs away from department stores to save image by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Last month, several analysts reported that Nordstrom stores had been carrying fewer Michael Kors bags…Disputing reports that MK bags had fallen out of favor, Idol said, “It’s not true that the brand is dead,” but he also pointed to department stores’ “aggressive promotions” to generate traffic into empty malls. “We’ve seen that magnified over the last 12 months and it’s not healthy for the Michael Kors brand,” Idol said.” Read more

 

Amazon brings Martha Stewart back to TV — for a hefty price by Carlos Greer at NY Post. “It’s a one-hour TV show where she’s going to assert herself into businesses and help people craft and create goods. She’ll get her hands dirty and help them create and build a better business and products to sell,” a source explained.” Read more

 

Moose passes up Target to give birth at Lowe’s via NBC 12 News. “It’s not everyday you see a moose born at Lowe’s.” See the video

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Walmart’s supplier contract changes force hard decisions

Bite-sized Spam Snacks discontinued after six-month run

Target Shutting Down Curbside Pickup Pilot Program Effective June 15

Chicago: Lighting, home goods retailer Rejuvenation opens 7th store

J&J to buy hair care products maker Vogue for $3.3 billion

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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