Walmart’s mobile chief just joined PepsiCo to lead its new e-commerce push by Shelly Banjo via Quartz. “Gibu Thomas, who helped to drag Walmart into the digital age and spearheaded the launch of its Silicon Valley tech shop @WalmartLabs, quietly left the mega-retailer and started at PepsiCo this month, a PepsiCo spokesman confirmed to Quartz. Thomas didn’t respond to a request for comment.” Read more

 

PR Week: A talk with Home Depot’s Stacey Tank “The keys are to make sure you’re monitoring constantly,” Tank told PRWeek after her Q&A session at the PRWeek Conference on September 16, 2015. “You have to jump right into the news cycle, because if a reporter is getting ready to publish and they reach out to you and you’re not available to them…inaccuracies will be published.” See the video / Listen to the podcast

 

Target Techstars accelerator’s big rewards will draw stiff startup competition by Nick Halter at Minn./St.Paul Business Journal. “The 10 companies in the 2015 Sprint program already received $2.6 million in funding combined, including about $2.3 million a New York-based health sensor developer Vertisense Inc. Only about 1 percent of companies that apply get accepted, according to the Techstars website.” Read more

 

Walgreens Retakes Perception Lead Over CVS at YouGov. “In YouGov BrandIndex’s most recent rankings of the best perceived brands of the first half of 2015, Walgreen’s came in at #12 while CVS was #22 (out of 1,400+ possible brands).” Read more

 

Fortune: Lowe’s Omni-Channel Chief Brent Kirby Talks Culture  Read more

 

Wal-Mart to build two e-commerce fulfillment centers in central Florida by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The planned Florida facilities will each add more than 1 million square-feet of storage capacity for goods sold on Walmart.com…One center will stock smaller products such as computers, apparel and toys. The other site will house oversized items such as large electronics, select home products and exercise equipment. These two centers are slated to open late next year.” Read more

 

**A message from Dig It® Handwear – Protect finger nails when gardening! Revolutionary garden glove protects female finger nails from chipping or breaking with patented “pillow-top” finger nail protection. See them at www.digithandwear.com. Peggable gloves merchandise easily. Retailers contact info@eyeonretail.net to request samples.

 

How Home Depot is Winning with How-To Video Content by Andy Smith at Reelseo. Read more

 

Walmart and Texas set to meet in court next year over booze sales by Craig Hlavaty at Chron. “Next year at this time Walmart and the state of Texas are due in a Texas courtroom to argue whether or not the discount retailer can sell hard liquor at its stores in the Lone Star State. The Southeast Texas Record reported this week that a Sept. 26, 2016 trial date has been set for the two to square off over the decision.” Read more

 

Apple Pay begins working at select Best Buy stores by Roger Fingas at Apple Insider. Read more

 

Amazon gives Shopify a vote of confidence by Leena Rao at Fortune. “Amazon is advising users of its soon to be shuttered software for small online retailers, Amazon Webstores, to move their stores to Shopify. Earlier this year, Amazon decided to shut down its Shopify competitor.” Read more  Read the release

 

Alibaba’s Wipeout Leaves Investors Questioning What Comes Next by Lulu Yilun Chen at Bloomberg. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

CNBC: Target’s Fitbit offer to workers may miss its mark

If You Don’t Offer Same-Day Shipping, You’re Pissing Off 56 Percent of Millennials

Survey: Just 27% of card-accepting merchants in the U.S. will be EMV-ready by October 2015

Now everyone can shop on Twitter – Site rolls out its ‘Buy’ button

Aldi infuriates hundreds of Welsh rugby fans due to marketing fail

First renderings of new Under Armour campus emerge (5 pics)

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail. See our website at www.eyeonretail.net