Costco Q3 Comp Sales (w/o gas & FX) +7.0% “Net sales for the quarter increased 12.1 percent, to $31.62 billion, from $28.22 billion last year…E-commerce +35.5%” Press release

 

…Costco to Raise Starting Wage to $14 an Hour by Sarah Nassauer at Wall Street Journal. “(Costco will) increase its starting hourly wages by $1 to $14 or $14.50 an hour. Other hourly workers will receive raises of between 25 cents and 50 cents. The new wages take effect on June 11. Executives said the company was using some of its savings from last year’s U.S. tax overhaul…” Subscription required

 

Ulta Beauty Q1 Comp Sales +8.1% “Retail comparable sales increased 4.7%, including salon comparable sales growth of 3.2%; E-commerce sales increased 48.0% to $154.4 million.” Press release

 

Whole Foods halts plan to require mandatory GMO labeling by Jade Scipioni at Fox Business. “…the company is pushing back the (Sep 1, 2018) deadline for its mandatory GMO labeling policy as the U.S. Department of Agriculture “finalizes its Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard” to give the food industry time to assess the impact.” Read more

 

Nonfarm payrolls increase by 223,000 in May, vs 188,000 estimate at CNBC. Read more

 

SHOPPING BY TEXT – Walmart rolls out Jetblack, a members-only service at CNBC. “The service isn’t exclusive to products on Walmart.com and Jet.com. Other retailers, including Saks and Pottery Barn, are included in the service.” Read more

 

GameStop Q1 Comp Sales -5.3% (vs. -4.2% expected) at CNBC. Read more

 

…GameStop names another interim CEO by Brian Womack at Dallas Business Journal. “Shane Kim, a former Microsoft executive, will serve in the temporary role until a permanent replacement is found… He replaces Dan DeMatteo, executive chairman, who took the title about three weeks ago after CEO Mike Mauler stepped down “for personal reasons.” He had the top spot for just three months.” Read more

 

Nordstrom plans to open at least two more stores without clothes by Coral Garnick at Puget Sound Business Journal. “After launching Nordstrom Local on Oct. 3 in Los Angeles, the company said Tuesday it plans to open two more in the L.A. market and is looking to expand into other cities such as Manhattan if the concept continues to prove successful.” 14 pics/Read more

 

TreeHouse Inc. – an environmentally-friendly option likened to Home Depot and Lowe’s — is closing its original store in Austin and shifting its home office to Dallas at Dallas Business Journal. Read more

 

Walgreens opening in Mall of America by David Clarey at Chicago Business Journal. Read more

 

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Former Home Depot CEO Frank Blake speaks to Rotary by Patrick Yost at Morgan Citizen. “…the number one quality of a strong business leader is “generosity.” “At first that didn’t make sense to me,” remembered Blake. “But you have to be fueled by the success of those around you and if you are fueled by the success of those around you that will give you the energy to succeed. It is profoundly true.” Read more

 

Sephora in talks for major Oakland office lease at San Francisco Business Times. Subscription required

 

Ex-CVS Exec Steve Gold named Chief Technology Officer at Hudson’s Bay Press release

 

KROGER FAN – Speaker of the House Paul Ryan Praises Kroger by Scott Wartman at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Ryan, R-Wis., and Chabot, R-Westwood, toured Kroger’s Springdale Ice Cream & Beverage plant…“For the past eight years, America had a Speaker of the House that is a big Kroger fan,” Ryan said. “I shopped at Kroger for four years in Oxford, Ohio when I went to Miami University.” Read more

 

Atlanta Business Chronicle sits down with Home Depot CEO Craig Menear Subscription required

 

Google’s ‘Reserve’ tool winning converts, taking search to next level by Paresh Dave at Reuters. “The service…spares users the phone calls, online searching and form filling typically associated with appointments…in interviews with Reuters, seven software firms that supply schedule data to Google described the volume as significant, with as much as 75% of bookings representing new customers.” Read more

 

How Nata Dvir Is Helping Macy’s Beauty Go Millennial by Alexa Tietjen at WWD. Subscription required

 

For Master Class in Amazon’s Success, Look at Its Cloud Business by Jay Greene & Laura Stevens at Wall Street Journal. “The giant’s cloud-computing business offers a look inside its model for expanding. ‘You’re stupid if you don’t get scared by that,’ says one partner; others praise the unit’s chief for straddling the line between ally and rival.” Subscription required

 

Home Depot CEO Craig Menear Presents at Bernstein Brokers Conference at Seeking Alpha. Transcript

 

Supermarkets near Salem, Oregon, were stripped of products after residents were sent a cryptic emergency alert telling them to “Prepare for Action.” at AP. “Officials wanted to warn…that elevated levels of a natural toxin…had made area tap water unsafe for children and people with compromised immune systems. But that information got cut off, and a more ominous-sounding default message went out in its place…” Read more

 

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