Retail CEOs meet with President Biden at White House at Washington Post. “The meeting also included Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart; Sonia Syngal, chief executive of Gap; Marvin Ellison, chief executive of Lowe’s; and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Vice President Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also took part. The meeting with the business executives came as the White House accelerates its push for Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief proposal…” Read more

 

Best Buy Is Cutting Some Store Workers’ Jobs, Reducing Hours at Wall Street Journal. “Jordan Diaz, 27 years old, quit working at Best Buy on Wednesday. “I was told I would be capped at 28 hours, which is not full time and thus losing my insurance,” he said. The Denver resident previously worked around 30 to 40 hours a week, earning health insurance for himself and his wife, he said. Some of his co-workers were laid off Wednesday, he said.” WSJ subs. | USA Today

 

Walmart’s Janey Whiteside Discusses Marketing as an Investment, Not Just Spend at Adweek. “From the physical and digital products to launching Walmart+, their ever-growing membership program, Janey oversees all that surrounds and powers the core business. Most importantly, she works closely with the CMO, who she believes is critical to driving growth for the company.” Adweek subs.

 

Hibbett Sports Q4 comp sales +21.9% Press release

 

Jeff Bezos & MacKenzie Scott lead list of top U.S. philanthropists for 2020 at GeekWire. “…the Amazon wealth generated by Bezos and Scott accounted for more than half of the big donor money tracked as part of The Philanthropy 50 list. In total, the magazine tracked $24.7 billion donated by the top 50 donors. That compares to $15.8 billion donated in 2019.” Read more | Donor list (registration required)

 

How GameStop missed out on capitalizing on the Reddit rally at Reuters. “GameStop decided it was restricted under U.S. financial regulations from selling shares because it was in possession of significant information about its finances that was not yet available to the public, the sources said. The SEC requires companies to have released such information when conducting stock sales.” Read more

 

Amazon inks another sports deal as AWS will power NHL’s digital transformation and in-game analytics at GeekWire. “Jassy joined NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to discuss the new partnership before the broadcast of Wednesday night’s Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers game.” Read more

 

PVH Corp. names Trish Donnelly, former CEO of Urban Outfitters Group, as CEO of PVH Americas Press release

 

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Animal rights group targets Costco poultry farm in Nebraska at Lincoln Journal Star. “Lincoln Premium Poultry spokeswoman Jessica Kolterman did not dispute the video, saying it depicts “normal and uneventful livestock activity.” Mortality is common in the livestock industry, and animals routinely get sick or injured and die, she said, noting that as much as 4%-5% of livestock can die prematurely at operations of all sizes.” Read more

 

Costco Wholesale Commits $1 Million to Venture Capital Firm Fearless Fund to Support Women of Color Founders Press release

 

Lowe’s saw a $47.82 increase in monthly spending by rewarding customers in stock “…along with an additional .84 visits per month. The average reward-spend-ROI for Lowe’s was 69.5x, thanks to the 62% of customers who changed their behavior after becoming an owner.” Press release

 

Yeti Q4 net sales +26% Press release

 

CVS and Walmart Decide Who Gets Leftover Covid-19 Vaccine Doses at Wall Street Journal. “The companies say they are determined that no doses will go to waste, and are compiling wait lists and putting their own workers on standby in case extra shots become available. Some 6,500 pharmacies in all 50 states…will get 1 million doses from the federal government starting Thursday.” WSJ subs.

 

Mom on desperate drive to find discontinued waffles for son with autism at Vancouver Sun. “Nature’s Path maple cinnamon waffles are the only thing Jenna Roman’s autistic son, who has extreme oral aversion and complex eating challenges, will eat.” Read more

 

WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT – Watch an Oklahoma State player get surprised with scholarship while working at Walmart at Sportskind/USA Today. “Dee Mitchell took on a full-time job at Walmart just to help his mom make ends meet, all while attending Oklahoma State University and being a fixture on the Cowboys’ basketball team…” Video/Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

United Airlines: Small electric air taxis will zip people to airports

Amazon’s new Virginia headquarters building compared to a poop emoji

Woman scammed out of $10,000 at Costco parking lot

Almost 4 in 10 adults said they plan to skip Valentine’s Day altogether 

“He can’t wear a mask’: father of child with autism speaks out about Costco policy

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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