Walmart earnings and outlook fall short as holiday season disappoints at CNBC. “Same-store sales: up 1.9% in the U.S. vs. growth of 2.3% expected. “Sales leading up to Christmas in our U.S. stores were a little softer than expected,” CEO Doug McMillon said.” Read more

 

…Sam’s Club (comp sales) climbed just 0.8%, compared with growth of 3.4% a year earlier

 

Walmart employees say they’re preparing for job cuts as retailer rolls out its ‘Great Workplace’ program by Abha Bhattarai at Washington Post. “Everyone’s on pins and needles right now,” said a customer service manager at a Neighborhood Market in South Carolina who has been working for Walmart for 14 years…The store where she works, she said, is replacing six customer service managers with four newly created positions. Employees who don’t make the cut will either be terminated or asked to apply for lower-paying positions, according to two store employees briefed on the transition.” Tiered subs.

 

Belk eliminates 80 positions at corporate office by Catherine Muccigrosso at Charlotte Observer. “The company had about 1,200 employees in 2018 at its Tyvola Road headquarters in Charlotte, down 200 people from two years prior, the Observer previously reported.” Tiered subs.

 

Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For (Wegmans #3, Publix #39, REI #60, Sheetz #80) Ranked list

 

Bed Bath & Beyond agreed to sell online retailer PersonalizationMall.com to 1-800-Flowers.com for $252 million at Fox Business. Read more

 

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Bezos launching initiative that commits $10 billion to combat climate change at The Hill. “The fund will provide donations — not investments that Bezos could potentially profit from, The New York Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the plan. The initiative is reportedly separate from Amazon’s work.” Read more

 

Advance Auto Parts Q4 comp sales +0.1% Press release

 

IKEA to offer home insurance with Swiss financial group at Fox Business. “The product is being rolled out in Switzerland and Singapore first.” Read more

 

Amazon Changes the Way It Recruits M.B.A.s by Patrick Thomas at Wall Street Journal. “In the recent past, (Amazon) has hired as many as 1,000 full-time and intern M.B.A.s each year, concentrating on a couple dozen elite programs…Now, in its quest for recruits with a combination of technical skills and business acumen, Amazon says it has broadened its scope and has extended offers to students from 80 M.B.A. programs, curtailing some campus visits and putting a heavy emphasis on virtual meetings.” WSJ subs.

 

Pier 1 files for bankruptcy at CNN. “(Pier 1) released a statement saying that it reached a plan with lenders to provide it with $256 million. It will try to find a buyer for the company.” Read more

 

Warren Buffett buys $500M stake in Kroger by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has acquired a 2.3% stake in Cincinnati-based Kroger, government disclosures say.” Tiered subs.

 

Amazon stops working with several small delivery contractors, forcing companies to lay off hundreds at GeekWire. Read more

 

How H-E-B helped reduce utility company’s request for electricity price hike by L.M. Sixel at Houston Chronicle. “H-E-B was experiencing so many power outages at its Houston-area stores that three years ago it began installing its own backup generators to keep food at the right temperature. So when CenterPoint Energy, the regulated utility that distributes electricity to the Houston area, asked Texas regulators to raise rates this spring by $161 million and to boost its profit to 10.4 percent, H-E-B stepped up and said the utility didn’t deserve either.” Tiered subs.

 

Tipsheet Extra

Can San Francisco be saved?

70,000 ceiling fans sold at Lowe’s recalled because the blades can fly off

Publix faces lawsuit for selling knife after child fatally stabbed

Kroger gives CPG advertisers more sales visibility

20K sign petition to save movie theatre from being demolished for a Costco

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