Pinterest Snags Former Walmart Head of Marketing by George Slefo at Ad Age. “Pinterest has tapped Brian Monahan as its new head of vertical strategy, the company said Wednesday. Mr. Monahan previously was head of marketing at Walmart and recently left to focus on his company, NewCo.” Read more

 

American Apparel warns 3,500 Southern California workers of possible layoffs by Shan Li at LA Times. “It’s a big number,” said Craig Johnson, president of consumer research firm Customer Growth Partners. “There are not a ton of U.S. large-scale apparel manufacturers left.” Read more

 

Prime Air pilots to protest outside Amazon’s Seattle HQ for better working conditions from carriers by Nat Levy at GeekWire. “A group of pilots that fly Amazon’s Prime Air delivery jets will land in Seattle Wednesday to protest short-staffing and what they say are sub-standard working conditions at the airlines contracting with the online retail giant.” Read more

 

Costco CFO tells Mercer Island Chamber about company’s history, philosophy by Katie Metzger at Mercer Island Reporter. “Galanti said that the company also has a great work culture and a sense of humor. He showed the Chamber a clip from the popular TV show “Modern Family,” in which characters Mitch and Cam take a trip to Costco, looking for diapers but finding much more. Cam likens himself to the store at the end of the clip, saying, “I’m sort of like Costco. I’m big, I’m not fancy and I dare you to not like me.” Read more

 

Kroger officer who led ClickList development to retire by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Chief digital officer Kevin Dougherty will retire Jan. 27…Kroger named Yael Cosset, who is chief commercial officer and chief information officer at Kroger’s 84.51 data analysis subsidiary, to replace Dougherty when he retires.” Read more

 

Dollarama Q3 Comp Sales +5.1% Press release

 

Makers of Snuggie Blanket and Seen-on-TV Products Sue Amazon via Fortune. “…accusing the Internet retailer of trademark infringement for letting an “astronomical” number of counterfeit products to be sold through its website.” Read more

 

Neiman Marcus digitizes beauty demonstrations via Memory Mirror counters at Luxury Daily. “The Memory Makeover provides consumers with a video of the counter experience and make-up application session. The video created then serves as a tutorialized resource for recreating the beauty look at home.” Read more

 

Apple is still thinking about replacing ‘everything in your wallet’, says Apple Pay boss by Dan Frommer Recode. “Bailey wouldn’t elaborate on plans to digitize forms of identification, such as drivers licenses…Bailey did want to talk about transit, especially in Japan, where the company recently launched Apple Pay support for the country’s native Suica transit and payments system. More than a million customers are already active on Apple Pay there.” Read more

 

…Apple Pay is now accepted at 35% of U.S. merchants at Fast Company. “Apple Pay was only accepted at 4% of merchants just two years ago. Bailey said one of the reasons for the rise of Apple Pay is because people have been annoyed by the new EMV chip cards.” Read more

 

**A message from Made in Italy – Enjoy the innovative, yet simple elegance of Alma Cookware. Alma Cookware produces non-stick aluminum cookware products and delivers healthy and tasty foods with the security of a professional product. La Sughiera – the thick-tempered glass lid with upper hole allows for spice-adding and stirring without removing the lid. Egizia – this warm color pottery connects modern technology with a traditional rural aesthetic. Website | Italy-America new product inquiries | Retailers request samples at info@eyeonretail.net

 

Whole Foods Market Serves Up Top 10 Trends for 2017 Press release

 

HEB Grocery gets accreditation to expand pharmacy services across Texas by W.Scott Bailey. “…HEB Specialty Pharmacy can now expand its scope to address patients with health issues such as auto-immune, Hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and oncological diseases.” Read more

 

Starbucks Sets 5-Year Growth Targets, to Open 12,000 Stores at Fox Business. “Starbucks set an annual revenue growth target of 10 percent and profit growth target of 15-20 percent for the next five years, and the coffee chain said it planned to open 12,000 stores globally by 2021.” Read more

 

Staples to sell controlling stake in European unit to Cerberus at Reuters. “Staples’ European unit consists of retail, contract and online businesses in 16 countries, generating aggregate annual sales of about 1.7 billion euros ($1.82 billion).” Read more

 

New IRI Study Reveals Cross-Generational Interest in Adult Beverages “40 percent of buyers walk into the store undecided on what product to purchase. Of the 60 percent who do have a planned beverage purchase, 21 percent end up changing their mind in store, and 50 percent of those who changed their mind ultimately buy a different brand than they originally intended.” Press release

 

Amazon Announces Best-Selling Books of 2016 Press release

 

Adobe: All but one day so far this holiday season has produced $1 billion in online sales in the U.S. by Matt Linder at Internet Retailer. Read more

 

Tiffany puts a spotlight on art in the contemporary space by Brielle Jaekel at Luxury Daily. “The jeweler has collected a group of experts in the art industry to give their insights on art and what it means in the modern age. The first episode of New Ways of Seeing titled “Art Contains Multitudes” touches on different thoughts in the art world.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Target to Host Quiet Holiday Shopping Event for Kids with Autism

Dollar General, Walmart Even in Kantar Opening Price Point Study

Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky finds buyer for sprawling mansion (pics)

Starbucks courts millennials with $10 coffee at new Reserve bars

Apple Says Its iPhone 6s Battery Bug Extends Further Than It First Thought

Researchers discover backdoor accounts in more than 80 different Sony cameras 

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

QUICK-SUBSCRIBE to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here