J.C.Penney Q1 Comp Sales -0.4% / EBITDA +63% “Marvin R. Ellison, chief executive officer, said, “The first quarter was clearly challenging from a sales perspective…while our first quarter sales were below our expectations, we are maintaining our annual comp guidance of 3 % to 4 % as a result of the positive nature of our recent sales trends.” Read the release

 

Nordstrom Q1 Comp Sales -1.7% / Retail EBIT Down $107 Million “Full-price net sales, which consist of U.S. full-line stores and Nordstrom.com, combined with Canada and Trunk Club, decreased 2.2 percent and comparable sales decreased 4.3 percent.” Read the release

 

TRY NEW THINGS – Nordstrom Discovers It’s No Amazon, Will Reduce Online Assortment by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “So now, because of the new approach, Nordstrom’s buyers will need to look harder for items that will set Nordstrom apart. Koppel said Nordstrom’s new approach will give company buyers “opportunities to try some new vendors, some new programs, some new things.” Read more

 

Kroger CEO McMullen gets big pay hike by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “McMullen hauled in a 17 percent raise in the fiscal year ended Jan. 30, lifting his total compensation to $11.2 million, according to the company’s proxy statement filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. McMullen earned $9.6 million the prior year.” Read more

 

Dillard’s Q1 Comp Sales -5% “Dillard’s reported net income for the 13 weeks ended April 30, 2016 of $77.4 million, or $2.17 per share, compared to net income of $109.6 million, or $2.66 per share, for the prior year first quarter.” Read the release

 

Canada: Loblaw stores were temporarily closed on Thursday because of a ‘technical error’ via Financial Post. “There are no privacy concerns as the glitch only impacted cash register functions, and Loblaw is investigating the matter.” Read more

 

Rona takeover by Lowe’s gets Competition Bureau approval via CBC News. Read more

 

Etsy Names Ex-Alibaba Exec to New COO Position by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. “Linda Kozlowski , who has 20 years of experience leading cross-functional and global teams in operations, joins the Brooklyn-based e-commerce marketplace, effective May 16.” Read more

 

** Trade show spotlight – The 2016 National Stationery Show Starts this Sunday and is the ONLY stationery market in North America!

“I travelled from Brazil for the first time to visit NSS. It’s the best place to source Greeting Cards, Stationery, Boxed Notecards and all kinds of unique gifts.” Retail chain owner. On May 15-18 at Javits Center, NYC come and discover new & unique products from 800 exhibitors. Celebrating 70 years. See show categories | Website | Register now

 

Ralph Lauren shows signs of a turnaround under new CEO by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “International net revenues rose 3 percent, while sales were down 1 percent in North America, where the retailer had bloated inventory levels. Same-store sales declined 6 percent in the quarter.” Read more

 

Saks Fifth Avenue Q1 Comp Sales -5.7% “HBC Off Price (Saks OFF 5TH and Gilt) comparable sales decrease of 4.1%, cycling against an increase of 10.3% reported in the prior year” Read the release

 

Canadian Tire’s innovative digital move raises sales by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “The catalogue is having such a big effect on Canadian Tire’s e-commerce business that immediately after the launch of the book, the retailer’s weekly online sales doubled, Mr. Medline told the company’s annual meeting…Same-store sales…grew 1 per cent at Canadian Tire.” Read more

 

…Canadian Tire CEO says its not looking to get smaller as earnings beat expectations by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. Read more

 

Banks’ $39M Settlement Over Target Data Breach OK’d by Cara Salvatore at Law 360 “The pact stems from a consolidated complaint filed in August 2014 by Umpqua Bank, Mutual Bank, Village Bank, CSE Federal Credit Union and First Federal Savings of Lorain after more than 40 million payment cards used at Target in late 2013 were compromised.” Read more (subscription)

 

American Girl Is Debuting the ‘Store of the Future’ by Julia Rubin at Racked. “A media studio is also being introduced…Opland says there are plans to hold stop-motion workshops…as well as cooking and yoga classes “for health and wellness”…touchscreen kiosks that will help you navigate the space, book salon appointments and cafe reservations, and sync up with a special American Girl app.” See the pics / Read more

 

Cramer: Retail is a dying newspaper industry via CNBC. “Both Macy’s and Kohl’s saw the internet coming, Cramer explained, but assumed it wouldn’t impact them because they thought they were something special. Then they thought they could beat the web by joining it.” Read more

 

Sen. Durbin blasts credit card group for botched rollout of more secure cards by Adam Belz at Star Tribune. “He said the transition to EMV chips in cards in the United States has been “plagued by problems,” such as merchants not being able to use EMV card readers because of a backlog in the software certification process and consumers facing longer wait times at retail counters.” Read more

 

TRUMP: “AMAZON IS GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER TAX-WISE” – Trump accuses Bezos of using the Washington Post to avoid taxes by Hanna Trudo at Politico. “He’s using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don’t tax Amazon like they should be taxed.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

92-year-old Costco sample lady tops in sales

Wayfair opens an innovation lab focused on virtual reality

Petco opens new Reno distribution center, will employ more than 150

Piggly Wiggly buys Joe Caputo & Sons assets

Kroger’s 84.51 relocating Chicago office

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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