Canada: “Target’s ‘sexist’ baby pajamas spark social media outcry” by Colin Perkel at The Canadian Press via Globe & Mail. “Hundreds of people have denounced Target for selling “sexist” baby pyjamas after a university professor posted a photograph of the clothing on social media. The boy clothing features a Superman logo and the line, “Future Man of Steel,” while the girl item has the same logo but the line: “I Only Date Heroes.” Read more

 

“Amazon.com, Disney Back at Peace” by Ben Fritz & Greg Bensinger at WSJ. “Amazon.com appears to be close to settling a nearly two-month dispute with Walt Disney Co. during which the e-commerce giant stopped offering Disney DVDs for preorder. Among the subjects at issue were pricing, promotion on the Amazon website and questions over who makes up the difference when Amazon loses money to match the prices of competitors.” Read more

 

“Target’s Lack of CISO Was ‘Root Cause’ of Systems Breach” by Clint Boulton at WSJ. “The absence of a chief information security officer was a “root cause” of the major computer systems breach at Target last year, said a former manager at the retailer, during a panel discussion here at the Work-Bench Enterprise Security Summit Tuesday. Without a CISO, no one was able to articulate cyber risks to senior executives, said Karl Mattson, who worked at Target from 2008 until 2013, most recently as manager of cyber and global intelligence. “[Target] didn’t have an advocate at the C-level, as an executive, advocating for IT security investment.” Read more

 

“REI revamping online store” by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Online commerce, which accounts for nearly a quarter of its sales, has been its fastest-growing segment, CEO Jerry Stritzke told an audience of retail executives Tuesday at the Shop.org summit in Seattle. REI executives are working on giving their online store the same luster as its physical flagships. The launch of the first iteration is expected in the first half of 2015, said Brad Brown, who is in charge of digital efforts.” Read more

 

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“Walgreen suffers 4Q loss on acquisition charge” by Ellen Jean Hirst at Chicago Tribune. “Revenue for the quarter rose 6.2 percent, to $19.1 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of retailer health, increased 5.4 percent.” Read more

 

“Walgreen Q4 Front-End Comp Sales +1.3%” Read the release

 

“Diapers.com Founder Wants to Raise $600 Million for New Startup Jet.com” by Jason Del Ray at Recode. “Many details about Jet.com are still under wraps, but sources have previously told Re/code that it will be a shopping site that sells many of the same types of everyday goods that can be found on Amazon.com. Part of Jet.com’s model, sources say, involves pricing products based, in part, on how close to the customer they are being stored.” Read more

 

Tracy Morgan: “Walmart Blaming Me for an Accident They Caused” by Hilary Lewis at The Hollywood Reporter.  “My friends and I were doing nothing wrong. I want to thank my fans for sticking with me during this difficult time. I love you all. I’m fighting hard every day to get back.” Read more

 

“Dem Senators urge Kroger to ban guns” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “Democratic U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, of California and Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, urged Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen to explicitly prohibit the open carry of guns in grocery stores.” Read more

 

“Paul Ryan squawks and Amazon.com listens” by Ben Miller at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. “According to the New York Times, Ryan went on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Aug. 20 and complained, saying he was “frustrated” with the company’s actions with his book and “clearly Amazon is making kind of a power play here.”Suddenly, “The Way Forward” became way more visible on Amazon’s site.” Read more

 

“CA Governor signs plastic bag ban” by Allen Young at Sacramento Bus. Journal. “Gov. Jerry Brown approved the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags Tuesday morning. The ban applies to grocery stores and pharmacies beginning on July 2015, and to convenience stores and liquor stores the following year.” Read more

 

“D.C. mystery: Jeff Bezos’ plan for the Washington Post” by Dylan Byers at Politico. “The disappointment at the Post, several sources there agreed, is best described as the feeling of being promised a flying car and receiving only a glow-in-the-dark keychain.” Read more

 

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