Lidl’s US growth spurt is losing steam by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “When you are shrinking the size of the store by 50 percent that’s a pretty big shift,” said Dan Glickberg, with food consultancy Rodeo CPG. “It looks like they are retrenching from their initial strategy.” Read more

 

Online Petition Calls for Target to Drop Mario Batali’s Product Line Amid Sexual Harassment Claims by Stephanie Chan at Hollywood Reporter. “The petition on Care2 is calling on Target CEO Brian Cornell “to disavow Batali’s behavior by vowing to stop selling his cookbooks and branded products.” (Target’s website currently sells Batali pasta sauce and cookbooks.) “ Read more

 

MoviePass and Fandor Partner with Costco “…both companies are partnering with Costco to offer a one-year subscription plan for a flat fee of $89.99.” Press release

 

Target adds an e-gifting option to its website by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “The recipient can choose to accept the gift by providing their shipping address, or they can change the size, or even use the money you spent to buy themselves something else entirely.” Read more

 

New Stand, the Boutique C-store Popping Up Across the U.S., Wants to Improve Your Day by Sami Main at Adweek. “Other companies like Hudson News or Wawa are also out there to be helpful for people,” said Deitchman. “What we’re trying to do is change the idea of routines and how we can fit into your everyday life.” Pics/Read more

 

Sports Direct shareholders veto payment to brother of founder Mike Ashley at Reuters. Read more

 

Wal-Mart Turns to Virtual Reality for the Future of Shopping by Lindsey Rupp & Jennifer Kaplan at Bloomberg. Podcast

 

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Kroger builds-out its advertising business by Yuyu Chen at Digiday. “You can say that we borrowed the Triad model, but the differentiation is our ability to personalize the experience,” said Pratt. “We can connect 96 percent of Kroger transactions to a customer, which allows us to serve very targeted product placement and drive better conversion.” Read more

 

Bass Pro Shops extends Richard Childress Racing deal at Sports Pro. Read more

 

Kroger and Chase Pay Announce Mobile Payment Partnership “Through the partnership, Chase’s 65 million customers will have an opportunity to use Chase Pay at Kroger for online and in-lane purchases.” Press release

 

Macon Brock, co-founder of Dollar Tree, passes away at CBS 19 News. Read more

 

Kellogg Is Going All In on Cereal Cafes by Craig Giammona at Bloomberg. “The cafe will be about fives times larger (than Times Square store) and feature an Instagram station with props and professional lighting, designed to help customers perfect their social-media posts. There’s a full cereal bar, giant murals of Kellogg characters like Tony the Tiger, a station to heat up Pop-Tarts and a special iron to cook fresh Eggo waffles.” Read more

 

Morgan Stanley buys stake in Overstock cryptocurrency by Kevin Dugan at NY Post. “The disclosure, in a regulatory filing by the bank, sent the retailer’s shares soaring on Monday 22 percent, to $55 — putting them up 270 percent since June 12.” Read more

 

Sephora Mastered In-Store Sales By Investing in Data and Cutting-Edge Technology by Lauren Johnson at Adweek. Read more

 

The next generation of Walmart’s giant pickup towers could be coming to a Zara store near you by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. Pics/Read more

 

Florida Georgia Line to Open New Retail, Event Space in Nashville at Rolling Stone. “The space will include three main components: the Tribe Kelley Trading Post (home to Kelley and his wife Brittney’s signature clothing line), the headquarters of Tree Vibez Music (a publishing company founded by the country duo in 2015) and a private gathering-place concept.” Read more

 

Google AdWords advertisers can use phone numbers & addresses for customer match targeting at Search Engine Land. Read more

 

Front-yard vegetable gardens banned in Florida town by Linda Robertson at Miami-Herald. “They may park a boat or jet ski in their driveway. They may place statues, fountains, gnomes, pink flamingoes or Santa in a Speedo on their property. Vegetables, however, are not allowed.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

H-E-B goes to great lengths to reunite boy with beloved stuffed ‘Rabby’

Woman rescued at Dick’s store after mouthing ‘help me’ to strangers

Wawa seeks permit for massive store near Independence Hall

Disney’s acquisition of Fox could be a boon for Amazon

Jack Link’s to open a lounge for theater-goers in downtown Minneapolis

Five Busy Beaver home improvement centers to open in 2018

Nordstrom plans pop-ups and pick-ups to woo holiday shoppers

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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