‘They offered us everything but the kitchen sink’: Direct to Consumer brands are mostly spurning Amazon by Hilary Milnes at Digiday.”Several brand founders told Digiday that Amazon has offered them special deals to get them to sell. Those deals include financial investments ranging from $500,000 to $1 million if the brand would commit to selling on the platform, $1 million worth of free advertising on Amazon, and free inventory management through Fulfilled By Amazon.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney Struggles to Avoid a Fate Worse Than the Sears Scenario by Suzanne Kapner at Wall Street Journal. “Last week, Fitch Ratings Inc. downgraded its debt one notch closer to junk. One of Penney’s most actively traded bonds, the 6.375% notes due 2036, were trading last week at 37 cents on the dollar, down from 69 cents in March, according to MarketAxess.” WSJ subs.

 

Jeff Bezos sits down for fireside chat at aviation awards ceremony by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. “If somebody is telling you how many children you can have, and how much energy you can use, that doesn’t sound like freedom to me,” Bezos said. “What sounds like freedom to me is moving out into the solar system, where we have, for all practical purposes, unlimited energy, unlimited resources.” Read more/Pics

 

Products made of threatened African wildlife sold at US expo at AP News. Read more

 

FDA threatens to pull e-cigarettes off the market by John Bowden at The Hill. “Speaking at a public hearing Friday in Silver Spring, Md., FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he could see the entire category of e-cigarette and vaping products removed from store shelves if companies don’t stop marketing such products to youth.” Read more

 

Dodge County, Nebraska says no to large Costco poultry farm at Lincoln Journal Star. Read more

 

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Glowing space billboards could show ads in the night sky by Trevor Mogg at Digital Trends. “The plan, as demonstrated in a StartRocket video, is to use the satellites to light up different messages for up to six minutes at a time, with the constellation located between 250 and 310 miles above Earth.” Video/Read more

 

These Are Canada’s Top Employers For Young People And New Grads In 2019 (Canadian Tire, Labatt) at Mediacorp/Globe & Mail. Read more

 

Non-alcoholic mocktails are creating lots of buzz by Zlati Meyer at USA Today. “Dry January is the most “in” month since Movember started grizzling men’s upper lips in November…”It’s been frustrating for me. My husband still drinks. When we go out, he gets to partake and my choices are limited,” (National Mocktail Week founder) Clark said. “I had a bad virgin mojito and thought, ‘I can’t believe nobody’s fixed this.'” Read more

 

Oreo slapped with a complaint by rival for ‘hiding’ its cookies at Fox Business.”The Oreo guys saw us as a threat, so they started hiding our cookies on shelves to get us discontinued” (trademark owner) Kassoff said. Read more

 

Amazon warehouse workers are getting utility belts that ward off robots by James Vincent at The Verge. “Employees can wander into the robot enclosure whenever they need rather than having to mark out a safe zone beforehand. Amazon says the RTV has been introduced to more than 25 sites over the past year, and claims it’s been a “huge success.” Read more

 

Chinese accuse McDonald’s of supporting Taiwan independence at AP News. Read more

 

Amazon’s $60 Alexa microwave not a hit at GeekWire offices by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. “Frank Catalano, contributing writer: “It was just too distracting. Every time someone used it, they spoke to it, sometimes a little too loudly, as though Alexa was an elderly grandparent. There’s enough noise in a kitchen area without adding shouting at a small appliance.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Trading Cards Continue To Trounce The S&P 500 As Alternative Investments

Costco-style membership for hay aims to modernize handshake deals

Big League Chew is now selling pouches with female packaging

NYC’s beloved Westsider Books to remain open after crowdfunding campaign raises $50k

MIT and Stanford Professors Are Designing a Cryptocurrency to Top Bitcoin

Cub Foods founder’s daughter opens fair-trade store to help stamp out poverty

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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