“Target to Shutter 11 Stores” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “It also swatted away an investment firm trying to buy shares on the cheap and started selling tchotchkes made by 3-D printers, latching on to one of the hottest things in high-tech…The 11 stores will be shuttered by Feb. 1, around the end of Target’s fiscal year. In May, it also closed eight stores.” Read more

 

…the List of Stores Target is Closing.  See the list of 11

 

“Berkeley, CA Passes Nations First Soda Tax” by Laura Mandaro at USA Today. “More than three-quarters of the votes cast were in favor of Measure D, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. The measure will place a 1-cent-an-ounce tax on soft drinks. It only needed a majority of “yes” votes to pass.  In nearby San Francisco, city voters rejected a similar measure to tax sugary drinks.” Read more

 

“Former Dollar General CEO, David Perdue, Wins Georgia Senate Race” by Cameron McWhirter at WSJ. “With more than 50% of the vote, Mr. Perdue is on track to avoid a runoff –and avoid a Democratic pickup.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“GOP Win Boosts Prospects For Stalled Data Security Efforts” by Allison Grande at Law 360. “Republicans’ takeover of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday increases the chances that Congress will pass long-stalled data security and cyberthreat information-sharing legislation, with the measures likely to be narrower and more business-friendly than many Democrats would prefer.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Canada: “Amazon.ca raises stakes in same-day delivery service” by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “Amazon.com Inc. is raising the ante in Canada’s e-commerce battle by offering same-day shipping in Toronto and Vancouver just as retailers head into the crucial holiday shopping season.” Read more

 

“Eurozone Retail Sales Plunge In September” by Dina Spector at Business Insider. “Eurozone retail sales fell by 1.3% between August and September, verses an expected drop of o.8% Eurostat said the decline is due to falls in the non-food sector and a 0.1% fall in”food, drinks, and tobacco.” Read more

 

Forbes: “With GOP Senate, Freer Trade Is Up First” by Tim Ferguson. “The trade universe is wide but Asia is the big ballgame. Whether it is the Trans-Pacific Partnership or a less grand agreement, the first move–ironically– is likely to be “fast track” trade-negotiating authority for the president…Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, stands to chair the Senate Finance Committee, a key trade bottleneck and he has talked a good trade game (just don’t threaten the Utah vitamin industry).” Read more

 

“Costco Eyes Location in Downtown Jamaica (NYC), Developers Say” by Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska at DNAInfo. “Chris Xu…who spent $22 million in cash to buy a large property in Downtown Jamaica, said he was recently approached by a Costco representative to discuss the possibility of opening a store on that lot, on Archer Avenue and Guy Brewer Boulevard…the deal on his property hit a sticking point after the company asked for 600 parking spaces for its customers.” Read more

 

36% of Americans “hate” the practice of shopping on Thanksgiving by Clare O’Connor at Forbes. “…while another 26% “dislike” it. A mere 12% “like or love” the trend of stores opening on this special day.” Read more

 

“Ethan Allen CEO Aims for a More Modern Touch” by James R. Hagerty at WSJ. “Farooq Kathwari, the 70-year-old chief executive of furniture maker and retailer Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. has survived wrenching changes in the industry, such as the continuing surge in low-cost imports that drove many of his former rivals out of the business.” Read the interview (Subscription)

 

“In the business of fruit, who’s really top banana?” by Claire Zillman at Forbes. “Specialty fruit in 2009 it was 2% of sales, now it’s 15%,” Frey says. “When you used to hear ‘specialty fruit,’ you’d think pineapple and mango. Now it’s guava and starfruit.” See the Top 5 selling fruits

 

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