“No More Waiting In Line:  Lowe’s & Other Leading Retailers Scheduling In-Store Appointments” by Andria Cheng at Market Watch.  “Besides enticing them to come to stores, retailers also survey these customers and then proactively aim more relevant marketing campaigns at them, he said.  The number of shoppers using those tools is expected to double to 50 million this year, he said, adding his company also is expected to triple its retail client account to 90 this year.”  Read more:  https://blogs.marketwatch.com/behindthestorefront/2013/07/17/best-buy-staples-nordstrom-unveil-online-scheduling/

 

Street View:  “EBay’s Growth Disappoints, Shares Slump” by Gren Bensinger at WSJ.  “Mr. Donahoe said he expected eBay to continue to expand its same-day delivery experiment, which is already operating in several U.S. cities. Ultimately, he said, it could facilitate sales from individual sellers and not just retail stores.”  Read more:  https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324263404578612262046006812.html?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f

 

Company  View:  “eBay Inc. Reports Strong Second Quarter 2013 Results” (Company Release).  “Revenue for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, increased 14% to $3.9 billion, compared to the same period of 2012. The company reported second quarter net income on a GAAP basis of $640 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $822 million, or $0.63 per diluted share.”  Read more: https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130717006192&div=-1245645151

 

“Woolworths/Lowe’s finds itself in a hardware quagmire (in Australia)” by Stephen Bartholomeusz at Business Spectator.  “Overall the hardware business, owned two-thirds by Woolworths and a third by the US retailer Lowe’s, lost $139 million compared with the forecast loss of $81 million.  Woolworths has said in the past that it would take five years for the business, which opened its first store in 2011, to be built and be profitable. It said today that it was confident that it remained on track to be a business that will be built in the first five years “and deliver returns in the following years”.  Read more: https://spectator01.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/7/18/retail/woolworths-finds-itself-hardware-quagmire#ixzz2ZOfbrSmg

 

“Shareholders file lawsuit over Harris Teeter acquisition” by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer.  “Attorneys representing Harris Teeter shareholders have filed a lawsuit seeking to block acquisition of the Matthews-based company by Cincinnati grocer The Kroger Co.  The lawsuit, filed Tuesday afternoon in Mecklenburg County court, alleges that Harris Teeter failed to get a high enough premium to its closing price.”  Read more:  https://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/17/4171093/shareholders-file-lawsuit-filed.html#storylink=cpy

 

“Whole Foods boosts its presence in Twin Cities with new stores” by Mike Hughlett at Star Tribune.  “That would bring to six the number of Whole Foods markets in the Twin Cities, and grocery industry analysts say to look for more.  “They’ve set a goal of 1,000 [nationally] over the next decade,” said Ken Perkins, a stock analyst at Morningstar. Whole Foods currently has just over 350 stores, but it’s building out at least 30 new stores annually.”  Read more:  https://www.startribune.com/business/215927671.html

 

“Retailers from Home Depot to Target urge veto of D.C. ‘living wage’ bill” by Mike DeBonis at Washington Post.  “The executives do not threaten outright, as Wal-Mart has, to close stores or cease plans to expand in the city. But they said that following the passage of the living wage bill, known as the Large Retailer Accountability Act, “any future plans for retail expansion in the city must be revisited.” Read more:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/wp/2013/07/17/more-retailers-urge-veto-of-living-wage-bill/

 

“Millennial Parents’ Surprising Shopping Habits”.  “What one retailer would millennial parents shop at for the rest of their lives?  When given the choice to shop at one store for the rest of their life, millennial parents gave a surprising answer. Between Amazon.com, Wal-Mart and Target, millennial parents chose Wal-Mart. When broken down by income level, the answer shifts slightly. High-income millennial parents chose Target, while middle and low income brackets chose Wal-Mart.  Overall, those millennial parents who chose to shop at only Amazon for the rest of their life tend to be the most conservative politically.”  Read more: https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130717006108&div=-1245645151

 

“Six Apps for Scoring Extra Savings at the Supermarket” at Sacramento Bee.  “More than one in 10 respondents said they either never make a list or they make one but never stick to it. However, many are sticking to their lists more often than they did a couple of years ago. ShopSmart recommends the following free apps to help shoppers prepare for their next trip to the supermarket.”  See the list: https://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/16/5569446/shopsmart-six-apps-for-scoring.html#storylink=cpy

 

“Several Retailers Including Walgreen’s, CVS and BJ’s Decide Not to Carry Controversial Rolling Stone Issue” at ABC 40.  “Several retailers, many of which have ties to New England, have decided to not sell the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine.  The cover of the issue has a picture of surviving Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The image coincides with an article published inside the magazine that talks about the teen, the events of April 15, and insight from those who knew Tsarnaev before his arrest.”  Read more:  https://www.wggb.com/2013/07/17/cvs-tedeschi-stores-decide-not-to-carry-rolling-stone-featuring-bombing-suspect/

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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