Walmart looks to airports as inspiration of new store layout at AP. “(Walmart) said that the look, which includes signs with bold dimensional typeface spotlighting sections, is currently in one store. It will be rolled out to 200 stores by early next year. with plans to add another 800 stores by early 2022. Walmart says it was working on a new store layout a year ago. But the pandemic accelerated those efforts as customers are increasingly focused on contactless shopping amid safety concerns.” Read more

 

CLOTHING GLUT – Clothes mountains build up as recycling breaks down at Reuters. “We are reaching the point where our warehouses are completely full,” Antonio de Carvalho, boss of a textile recycling company in Stourbridge, central England, wrote to a client in June, asking for a price cut for clothes he collects. De Carvalho pays towns for clothing collected in his containers then sells it on at profit to traders overseas.” Read more

 

US private employers add 749,000 jobs in September, topping the 650,000-job increase that economists surveyed by Refinitiv had expected at Fox Business. Read more

 

Fortune Interview: Ann-Marie Campbell, EVP of U.S. Stores at Home Depot &  Judith McKenna, president and CEO at Walmart Int’l “Campbell says (customers are) doing “a lot” more research before buying and are more inclined to substitute if there’s a brand the retailer doesn’t have. “That has implications around assortment and how you narrow the assortment to drive more simplicity and consumer satisfaction,” she said. “Those are some of the things we think are going to stay.” 4:18 video/Read more

 

Big Lots estimates Q3 comp sales will increase in the mid-teens Press release

 

At Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, a New CEO Adapts to How We Shop Now at Wall Street Journal. “WSJ: You were one of the first brands to sell directly on Amazon. How did you arrive at that decision?… Mr. Chirico: It was always an easy decision for me. We did a lot of analysis, but the key is, Amazon has the eyeballs. Consumers love shopping on Amazon. It didn’t make any sense not to be there. Core products like Calvin Klein underwear and socks sold unbelievably well. The question was whether consumers would get more comfortable buying fashion online. That is happening.” WSJ subs.

 

Shooting breaks out at Amazon fulfillment center in Florida, killing 1 at Fox Business. “Authorities believed those involved may have been in a relationship.” Read more

 

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Shopify shuffles C-suite as longtime executive Craig Miller departs at Financial Post. “CEO Tobi Lütke will “step into the role of leading product” after the exit of Craig Miller, who joined the firm in September 2011 from Kijiji and led marketing for nearly seven years.” Read more

 

Amazon starts offering virtual classes and sightseeing tours via new Explore platform at The Verge. “Amazon says the video is one-way, meaning only the host is on camera during the virtual experience, but the audio is two-way so you can ask questions and make requests…These include relatively cheap sessions like a $10, 40-minute virtual shopping experience in Ridgeland, USA, to a 45-minute virtual tour of a mansion in Lima, Peru for $70, or a $129 bagel cooking class.” Read more

 

Costco CFO Juggles Managing Inventory For Products in High, Low Demand at Wall Street Journal. “The supply chain continues to improve, but it will still take six to nine months on some categories or products,” Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said.” WSJ subs.

 

Report: 11% of Americans have already subscribed to Walmart Plus within two weeks of its launch at PIPLSAY. Read more

 

Nordstrom to ban fur, exotic skins in its stores at NY Post. “The upscale department store’s announcement comes a year after Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s said they will no longer sell fur. But it goes a step further by banning products made from the skins of alligators, crocodiles, pythons, kangaroos and ostrich, according to the Humane Society of the United States, which has been working with the department stores.” Read more

 

Investigation into Amazon warehouse safety finds higher rate of injuries at robotic facilities at GeekWire. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Duracell’s new coin batteries have a bitter coating that makes them taste terrible

Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series resumes filming in New Zealand

Bed Bath & Beyond taps former Target exec for new role

Liquid Death canned water raises $23 million more

Rare Harry Potter book could be worth $65G after it was found ‘sitting on a shelf’

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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