Walmart Canada says no more free shipping for most orders under $50 by Ashante Infantry at Toronto Star. “Walmart Canada is implementing a $50 minimum order for free standard online shipping, and shoppers can thank Target Canada’s demise for the change, a retail expert says. “It’s a fall-out of easing competition,” said Schulich School of Business marketing professor Detlev Zwick of Walmart’s move.” Read more

 

We May Have Just Uncovered Amazon’s Vision for a New Kind of Retail Store by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “A recently filed patent application by Amazon reveals details about a new kind of retail establishment that would allow shoppers to pick items and leave without stopping at a cashier station or kiosk. Based around the idea of complete convenience, such a store would work using a system of cameras, sensors or RFID readers that would be able to identify shoppers and the items they’ve chosen.” Read more

 

Home Depot hires first chief information security officer by Phil W Hudson at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “The Home Depot Inc. hired Jamil Farshchi as its first chief information security officer.” Read more

 

5 Questions With DICK’S Sporting Goods VP Ryan Eckel by Dale Buss at Brand Channel. “Ryan Eckel, DICK’S Vice President of Brand, chatted with us about the CALIA launch, the sporting goods retail opportunity and the company’s omnichannel approach.” Read the interview

 

Former Walmart CEO Bill Simon compares business world to health care by Allie Robinson Gibson at Bristol Herald Courier. ” I think we’ve been able to maintain the quality standards in our health care … but the costs and the complications … have started to run away,” (Bill Simon) said. “And well-meaning efforts to try to fix it sometimes make it worse. It needs to be redesigned and stripped down to its basic form and almost rebuilt from the bottom up and I’m not sure the government has the capability to do that.” Read more

 

***A Message from CLUG: The World’s Smallest Bike Rack is Now Available. The CLUG Bike Clip is targeted at the urban cyclist and the casual enthusiast who are short on storage space for their bikes.  CLUG is a patent pending, high quality product that made the list of 2014 Best Stuff by GQ Magazine in their December 2014 issue.  CLUG is now ready for retail with its 100% recyclable, high volume packaging.  See the video.  See the sell sheet. Contact info@eyeonretail.net to request a product sample.

 

Retail clothing lines grow, shrink with economy by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune. “I’ve seen this movie too many times before. The ending will be the same,” Marshal Cohen, apparel analyst at the NPD Group. “When business gets tough, as it does in recessions, retail shrinks down the less popular businesses and expands the higher-margin categories like shoes, cosmetics or accessories,” he said.” Read more

 

CVS Health’s CEO reports $32M in pay, another $11M in stock value for 2014 by Jessica Bartlett at Boston Business Journal. Read more

 

Amazon officially rolls out Home Services, expanding beyond physical and digital goods by Tricia Duryee at GeekWire. “Peter Faricy, Amazon’s Marketplace vice president, said the services business could eventually be as massive as those two other core categories for the company. “The part that is incredible to me is that people spend four times as much on services as they do on physical products,” he said.” Read more

 

Target Canada sells signs, shopping carts for $2.2M by David Friend via CTV News. “About 28,000 branded shopping carts, 912,000 shopping bags and 1,500 checkout lane lights were also included in the sale.” Read more

 

Europe’s Biggest Home Improvement Retailer Plans to Close 60 by James Davey at Reuters. “Britain’s home improvement sector is overspaced and last October Homebase, the country’s No. 2 player, said it would close a quarter of its 323 stores by 2018 as Britons had fallen out of love with home improvement.” Read more

 

Amazon tests delivery drones at secret Canada site after US frustration by Ed Pilkington at The Guardian. “What can be revealed is that the company’s formidable team of roboticists, software engineers, aeronautics experts and pioneers in remote sensing – including a former Nasa astronaut and the designer of the wingtip of the Boeing 787 – are now operating in British Columbia.” Read more

 

City Target Coming to Downtown LA at DTLA Rising. “Specific details pertaining to this City Target are still unclear, such as the store’s exact size, but an internal scheduled announcement for the USC Village project stated that City Target would be made public next month sometime in April 2015.” Read more

 

Best Buy Canada employees claim severance packages inadequate at CTV News. “What I’ve heard from these individuals that I’ve spoken with, and I’ve spoken with quite a few, is that they have not received proper severance … provincial standards could be maybe a quarter, maybe a half of their full entitlement so that’s not the end of the story right there.” Read more

 

***

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 happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@eyeonretail.net.