U.S. consumer spending rebounds; income plunges at Reuters. “consumer spending…jumped 8.2% last month…Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending rising 9.0%…personal income dropped 4.2%, the most since January 2013, after surging by a record 10.8% in April…” Read more

 

Microsoft to permanently close all of its retail stores at The Verge. “Microsoft locations in NYC, London, Sydney, and Redmond will be turned into experience centers.” Read more

 

Texas rolls back its reopening at CNBC. “All bars and similar establishments that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages are required to close at 12:00 pm Friday.” Read more

 

Albertsons pulls off a downsized IPO after years of trying at CNBC. “Albertsons said it sold shares in its IPO at $16 a piece, below its $18-$20 target range…The downsizing of the IPO came after heated discussions between the underwriters and Cerberus, which deliberated whether to walk away from the offering at the last minute, as it did in 2015, a source familiar with the deliberations said.” Read more

 

Kanye West and Gap team up to create line of Yeezy apparel at Fox Business. “Aimed at young shoppers, the Yeezy-Gap line, which will offer items such as hoodies, basics, T-shirts and joggers…Gap said Yeezy would receive royalties and potential equity based on sales results. Yeezy said the brand is valued at $2.9 billion…As a teen, West, 43, worked at a Gap store in the Chicago area.” Read more

 

…Gap stock soars at CNBC. “Shares were up by about 39% early Friday. The move added more than $1.4 billion to Gap’s market cap of $3.8 billion.” Read more

 

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Target adds fresh grocery pickup nationwide at USA Today. “…adding 750 fresh and frozen grocery items for in-store and Drive Up curbside pickup, including produce, dairy, bakery, meat and frozen products. Target says the expanded assortment will roll out to more than 400 stores in the Midwest by the end of June and more than 1,500 stores “in time for the holidays.” Read more

 

49% of Costco’s stores are located in states where coronavirus cases are spiking at CNBC. List of retailers impacted

 

Amazon acquisition of robotaxi startup Zoox would add self-driving cars to its growing robot army at GeekWire. “At a reported purchase price of $1 billion, the acquisition would rank among the largest in Amazon’s history, in the realm of what the company paid for Twitch, Ring and Zappos…” Read more

 

Rite Aid Q1 Revenues Increased 12.2 Percent Press release

 

Saks Fifth Avenue says shopping hasn’t dropped as coronavirus cases rise in Florida, Texas at CNBC. “On CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Saks Fifth Avenue President Marc Metrick said shoppers are still going to stores to buy handbags, shoes and other items. “We’re still seeing the traffic there,” he said. “We talk to our store, our teams everyday and they’re telling us they’re really not feeling it or seeing it in traffic or even in the attitude and the sensibilities in how they’re shopping.” Read more

 

Amazon is renaming the Seattle NHL stadium Climate Pledge Arena at The Verge. “Climate Pledge Arena will be the world’s first net zero carbon-certified arena, Amazon says, and the venue will be powered with 100 percent renewable energy and generate zero waste from operations and events. In addition, it will use reclaimed rainwater to create the ice surface for hockey games.” Read more

 

Schnucks Invests in Local Produce and Goods at Progressive Grocer. “Schnuck has unveiled a plan to purchase more than $5 million of local produce and goods this year from farmers who live and work in the communities served by the St. Louis-based grocer. To that end, Schnucks has formed a partnership with logistics and marketing platform Foodshed.io…” Read more

 

Macy’s to slash 3,900 corporate jobs – about a fourth of Macy’s corporate workforce at CNBC. “The department store chain said it expects to save about $365 million through the layoffs in fiscal 2020. It said it will save roughly $630 million on an annualized basis.” Read more

 

Meijer to offer free support to blind and low vision customers “…partnering with the Aira app to increase accessibility and ease in their shopping trip…At the touch of a button (on a smartphone), Aira will connect customers who need immediate visual assistance with anything from reading in-store signage to product labels.” Press release

 

Tipsheet Extra

Venezuelans take extraordinary steps to beat water shortage

Amazon launches ‘Smart Stores’ in India to win mom and pop

L’Oreal to drop words such as ‘whitening’ from skin products

Amazon Alexa leader: COVID-19 has sparked ‘a huge increase in the use of voice in the home’

Postponed Seafood Expo North America now canceled

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