Walmart Tests New Dress Code for Workers by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. “Employees in some of Walmart’s stores will now be allowed to wear shirts of any solid color, rather than just blue or white, according to an employee manual obtained by Bloomberg News. Blue jeans are also permitted — as long as they’re solid blue — whereas previously only khaki-colored or black denim pants were allowed. Visible facial tattoos are forbidden for those hired after April 14, the manual said.” Read more

 

Women’s tall rain boots in Hunter for Target collection won’t be sold due to production issues by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Turns out $40 Hunter boots sold by Target really were too good to be true…(Target) issued a mea culpa this morning in announcing the retailer decided to pull them from the collection altogether, which it acknowledged would be disappointing news for many customers.” Read more (tiered subs.)

 

The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders (#23 – Walmart Chief Sustainability Officer) at Forbes. Top 50 list

 

Target leads the way as U.S. corporations look to go big on solar at CNBC. “Target added over 40 MW of solar capacity to its portfolio in 2017. The retailer now has more than 200 MW of installed capacity…The top 10 corporate solar users in the U.S. include businesses such as Walmart, Amazon, Apple and Kohl’s.” Read more

 

Fairfax agrees to buy Toys ‘R” Us Canada in $300 million stalking horse bid, source says by Scott Deveau at Bloomberg via Financial Post. “The so-called stalking horse bid allows other potential buyers to enter competing proposals by Monday, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.” Read more

 

Amazon courts Pentagon with marketing blitz ahead of $10 billion cloud contract decision at CNBC. “A series of AWS advertisements promoting an upcoming summit have recently appeared on the walls and floors of the two-leveled Pentagon metro station.” Pics/Read more

 

Staples to offer TSA Precheck enrollment by David L. Harris at Boston Business Journal. “Staples stores in the Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle metro areas will be among the first to provide the service.” Read more

 

Walmart testing a new mobile checkout service for garden center in 350+ stores by Kim Souza at Talk Business. “Employees wearing the “Check Out With Me” sash can scan the product on site and process a card payment. Cash transactions must go through a register.” Read more

 

**A message from 2018 Sweets & Snacks Expo – Be first to market with the newest candy and snack products!  See the 2017 Innovation Winners. The single largest gathering of confectionery & snack companies under one roof. Chicago, May 22-24, 2018. Website | Exhibitors

 

CVS Launches Ad Campaign Featuring Unaltered Beauty Imagery Press release

 

Retailers Say LA’s False Markdown Suits Must Go by Daniel Siegal at Law 360. “J.C. Penney, Sears, Kohl’s and Macy’s on Thursday urged a California judge to dismiss the Los Angeles city attorney’s suits alleging the retailers trick consumers with inflated “original” prices on sale goods, arguing the city is pushing an unnecessarily narrow definition of “original” that consumers don’t share.” Read more (subs.)

 

Walmart Canada commits to zero food waste by 2025 Press release

 

Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen open to new ideas on food deserts by Dan Monk at WCPO. “In his first public comments since Jackson visited Cincinnati to protest Kroger store closures in minority communities, McMullen said Kroger will continue conversations with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.” Read more

 

Pier 1 Imports’ stock craters on disappointing earnings report at CNBC. “Same-store sales were down 7.5 percent for the period, which included one more week than in 2017. For the current quarter, Pier 1 expects same-store sales to drop as much as 8 percent.” Read more

 

Publix brings home blue ribbons at National Pie Contest Press release

 

Meet the Walmart Activists Leading the Fight for Paid Family Leave by Valentina Zarya at Fortune. “Carolyn Davis insists she’s a terrible public speaker. “Oh, my goodness, it’s like being on the chopping block!” says Davis, an associate at Walmart’s New Bern, N.C., store. It took hours of practice, encouragement from coworkers, and “determination,” she says, to get her ready to address 15,000 people at the University of Arkansas’s Bud Walton Arena last June.” Read more

 

Temple Students Explore Role of Gender Toys in Merchandising at Target Case Competition by Elliot Sharp at Fox School News. “The winning team consisted of students Cong No, Tung Nguyen, Quyen Le, and Thao Nguyen, whose pitch to Target was a plan titled “PlayVenture.” It included the implementation of an indoor play area where kids could test new toys and shoppers could earn rewards.” Read more

 

PPG Investigating Internal Report of Accounting Violations at Wall Street Journal. “PPG said Thursday it had started an “extensive review” of its cost structure after losing a customer. PPG said in February that Lowe’s would discontinue the sale of its Olympic branded paints and stains later this year. In a separate announcement Thursday, the company said it has expanded a partnership with Home Depot Inc. for its Olympic stains to be sold in nearly 2,000 U.S. Home Depot locations.” Read more (subs.)

 

Whole Foods Market Recognizes ‘Supplier Award’ Honorees Press release

 

Prince’s assistant is seen on multiple trips to Walgreens to collect pills in new videos of the star’s final hours at Daily Mail. Video/Read more

 

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