Techstars choose firms for bootcamp at Target this summer by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The founders of the start-ups and their core teams are heading to Minneapolis later this week and will get started on Monday. They will set up in an 8,000-square-foot space that Target built in its City Center office. About 40 people in all, with two to seven from each company, are expected to spend the summer in Minneapolis to be part of the accelerator.” Read more

 

…Meet the 10 Startups Picked to Be Part of Target’s First-Ever Accelerator via A Bullseye View Read more

 

Walmart to Cut 1,500 Administrative Jobs at Stores by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “The retailer is eliminating three administrative jobs related to accounting and invoicing at each of 500 stores, mostly West of Colorado, in a test to see if those functions can be replaced by workers in the home office and machines.” Read more

 

Kroger Q1 Total Sales +4.7% “Total sales, excluding fuel, increased 7.8% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Total sales, excluding fuel and Roundy’s, increased 3.5% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.” Read the release

 

NYC: Macy’s reaches tentative deal with union via AP. “Macy’s Inc. said Thursday that it worked overnight with the union on negotiations. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, represents 5,000 workers, including 3,500 from the store.” Read more

 

Rite Aid Q1 Comp Sales +0.4% “…consisting of a 0.1 percent increase in pharmacy sales and a 1.2 percent increase in front-end sales.” Read the release

 

WE ALREADY FIXED IT – Whole Foods: Sanitary issues at Massachusetts food plant have been fixed by Will Anderson at Austin Business Journal. “The Austin-based grocery chain said Wednesday it has already corrected the issues highlighted by federal officials…”We were honestly surprised,” Ken Meyer, Whole Foods’ global vice president of operations, said in a statement. “We’ve been in close contact with the FDA…” Read more

 

Visa Slams Walmart in Open Letter Over Credit Card Fees via The Canadian Press. “Walmart is unfairly dragging millions of Canadian consumers into the middle of a business disagreement that can and should be resolved between our companies,” it wrote in an open letter published this morning in several Canadian daily newspapers…“And they are using their size and scale to give themselves an unfair advantage,” said the unsigned letter.” Read more

 

Amazon’s Third Bookstore Will Be In Portland by Leena Rao at Fortune. “According to the listing, the Portland bookstore will be in the Washington Square Mall, on the city’s outskirts. Several job openings are listed on the company’s employment website.” Read more

 

Apple Pay fuels massive sales for vending machines by James Covert at NY Post. “Vending machines advertising Apple Pay increased overall revenue by 22 percent, according to a study begun in March. Contactless purchases — mostly completed through Apple Pay — soared 89 percent.” Read more

 

**A message from Pirola Italy – Colorful, designer-inspired ironing boards add spice to any home. Exclusively made in Italy for 45 years, these high-quality boards bring design and excitement to the category. Featuring the Arco board from the Design Line and Luna from the Plus Line. Custom colors and designs available. Retailers request samples at info@eyeonretail.net. Italy-America new product connection

 

Walmart CFO Brett Biggs Presents at Deutsche Bank dbAccess Global Consumer Conference Read the transcript

 

Amazon Cuts Shipping Fees in Threat to Alibaba’s U.S. Business by Spencer Soper at Bloomberg. “The new rates will take effect July 1, according to an Amazon e-mail to marketplace sellers obtained by Bloomberg News.” Read more

 

Theranos competitor looks to expand test centers in Safeway stores by Ron Leuty at San Francisco Business Times. “Quest Diagnostics…will open a dozen testing sites in Safeway supermarkets in California and select other states within two months…wouldn’t disclose the specific Safeway stores in which it would open its 400- to 500-square-foot “patient service centers.” It did say those locations would be in California, Texas, Colorado, Virginia and Maryland.” Read more

 

Inside the Macy’s Store of the Future by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “If you want to see how Macy’s plans to shake its deep and lengthy sales funk, look no further than the retailer’s newly renovated store in Easton, Ohio…including new areas where it will give master classes to demonstrate beauty products, larger spaces to allow mannequins to display the latest trends, and an overhauled area for selling athletic wear and wellness products. The store, whose work will be done by June 25th, is serving as a prototype for how a lot of Macy’s stores will look in the future.” Read more

 

Nordstrom family ends controversial aircraft arrangement with namesake retailer by Coral Garnick at Puget Sound Business Journal. “The move came shortly after a federal judged dismissed a lawsuit brought against, Nordstrom, members of the Nordstrom board and companies operated by Nordstrom family members, for allegedly spending millions of company dollars on family-owned planes.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney CEO discusses plans to meet yearly goals at investor conference by Korri Kezar at Dallas Business Journal. “We’re not trying to be number one in market share (in appliances), we’re just trying to be disruptive,” Ellison said…will continue to add other sales categories, including piloting Ashley Furniture merchandise and Empire Today flooring in test markets, adding 60 more Sephora concepts to stores and expanding the space dedicated to window coverings by 25 percent in 500 stores.” Read more

 

Southeastern Grocers Unveils New Banner – Fresco y Más  Read the release

 

JEFF BEZOS Q&A – Jeff Bezos talks space exploration with former astronaut by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. Q: “Will you be able to order something on Amazon from up there? A: “Yeah, but you won’t be able to get it delivered up there.” Read the Q&A

 

St.Louis: Teamsters to boycott Schnucks stores in layoff dispute by Lisa Brown at St.Louis Post-Dispatch. “The nearly 7,000 members of Teamsters Local 688 plan to boycott Schnuck Markets following the chain’s decision to lay off more than 200 union warehouse employees and outsource the jobs. The move, announced early Thursday, represents an escalation in the months-long dispute.” Read more

 

Nielsen: 59% Of Global Consumers Enjoy The Hunt For A Good Deal “This is a particularly strong motivator in North America (68%) and Latin America (64%)…Despite the thrill of a good deal, nearly half (46%) of respondents around the world say grocery shopping is something they try to spend as little time as possible doing.” Read the release

 

Walmart Introduces Walmart Pay in Alabama and Georgia

 

Nordstrom Cuts Rack Forecast via Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Nordstrom also will slow the pace of opening off-price Rack stores. (CFO Mike) Koppel said the company hoped to have 270 Rack stores open across the U.S. by 2020, a goal that was 10 percent lower than its prior forecast of 300 stores during that timeframe.” Read more

 

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