Walmart CMO Out, Former Target guru Michael Francis In by Sarah Nassauer & Paul Ziobro at Dow Jones via Pioneer Press. “Walmart is hiring Francis as a marketing consultant; he spent nearly three decades at Target in Minneapolis and was an architect of Target’s cheap-chic image. Francis will initiate a broad revamp of Walmart’s marketing department and will likely work closely with Quinn’s eventual successor, said a person familiar with the situation. A Walmart spokesman said Francis will start Jan. 1 “ Read more

 

What Amazon Wants for Christmas: 100,000 Temps by Adam Satariano & Spencer Soper at Bloomberg. “SMX and Kelly Services also send Amazon thousands of seasonal workers each year, but Integrity got in earlier. The company, founded in 1997, landed its first contract with Amazon that year. “We did things others weren’t willing to do,” Chief Executive Officer Todd Bavol told a local radio station earlier this year.” Read more

 

Sam’s Club CEO on Costco: ‘We plan to win’ at CNN. “Sam’s Club CEO Rosalind Brewer tells CNN’s Poppy Harlow she’s “competitive” and is focused on beating competitor Costco.” See the video

 

Macy’s offers buyouts to hundreds of senior executives by Andy Brownfield at Cincinnati Business Courier. “About 360 executives across the country will qualify for the offer, and terms of separation will vary depending on individual circumstances.” Read more

 

‘Amazon Mom’ becomes ‘Amazon Family’ in U.S. after long campaign by dad bloggers by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “The campaign for the name change goes back more than two years, but it was reignited earlier this year after the death of Oren Miller, a dad blogger who passed away in March. Miller had originally helped to popularize the name change campaign.” Read more

 

UPS Struggles to Keep Up With Surge in Web Orders by Laura Stevens at WSJ. “Andrew Barrall, an Albany, N.Y., resident, ordered two garage-door openers from Home Depot Inc. on Thanksgiving, and was still waiting for one that was finally delivered by a UPS employee who identified himself as a manager on Tuesday, Mr. Barrall said. It was “delivered at 8:30 p.m. in a rented truck—one week after arriving at the delivery facility 5 miles from my house,” he added.” Read more (subscription)

 

Amazon expands Prime Now delivery service to include 4,000 new items by Ashley Stewart at Puget Sound Business Journal. Read more

 

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Kroger adds former Disney exec to board by Erin Caproni at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Anne Gates is the president of MGA Entertainment Inc., a privately held developer, manufacturer and marketer of toy and entertainment products for children.” Read more

 

Taipei: Costco to honor refund policy amid controversial Ting Hsin boycott at Focus Taiwan. “Costco said six of its 11 outlets in Taiwan have reported shoppers buying Lin Feng Ying-brand milk made by Ting Hsin subsidiary Wei Chuan Corp., then immediately opening the containers and asking for a refund.” Read more

 

Waco: HGTV stars parlay ‘Fixer Upper’ success into country charm megastore by Arnold Wells at Austin Business Journal. “The grounds are a former grain processing and storage facility complete with two large silos and a 20,000-square-foot storage building.” See the 14 pics

 

Whole Foods hires global VP of culinary and hospitality at Supermarket News. “Whole Foods Market plans to elevate its prepared foods and bakery departments with the creation of a new role, global VP of culinary and hospitality, to be filled by noted chef Tien Ho.” Read more

 

Mich. woman who shot at shoplifters leaving Home Depot gets 18 months probation, vows to ‘never help anybody again’ by Michael E. Miller at Washington Post. “Duva-Rodriguez did not contest the charge in court, but she was hardly contrite. “I tried to help,” she told WJBK after her sentencing on Wednesday, before wryly adding: “And I learned my lesson that I will never help anybody again.” Read more

 

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