December 2018

NEW FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT RULES IN INDIA COULD DISRUPT AMAZON. If more than 25% of a vendor’s sales come from Amazon’s platform—the vendor must be

2018 BROUGHT FACEBOOK STOCK TO ITS KNEES. Facebook lost -25% of its value, Apple lost -8%, Google dropped -1%. Netflix took off at +33%, and

THERE ARE NOW 30,000 DOLLAR STORES IN AMERICA. It’s like a strain of retail Ebola for small merchants: https://m.ctpost.com/business/article/Wave-of-dollar-stores-creates-opportunities-for-13496270.php Read more on Facebook

WALMART BODY COUNT: Here’s another headline Walmart wants you not to see. Walmart: the most dangerous place in America to shop: https://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/roanoke/at-least-injured-after-shooting-at-roanoke-walmart/article_325a2711-849c-5b7a-b689-d759f946db4c.html Read more on

WALMART BODY COUNT: The most dangerous place in America to shop: https://www.newschannel5.com/man-dies-in-officer-involved-shooting-at-tullahoma-walmart Read more on Facebook

GOP ANNOUNCES NEW SLOGAN: “BETTER OFF? NYET!” Read more on Facebook

WALMART’S JET.COM SALES ONLINE PLUMMET -53%, while rival Amazon captures 81% of e-commerce holiday sales. So WMT was NOT the “big winner”: https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2018/12/walmart-is-big-winner-in-online-holidaysales.html Read more

LAWS IN INDIA TO PROTECT SMALL MERCHANTS MAY TRIP UP WALMART. “WMT is a great domestic company…however it has blundered several times internationally.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2018/12/28/why-walmart-loses-sales-growth-and-opportunity-in-india/#61fce6886023 Read

AS OF 2018, 94% OF E-COMMERCE SALES IN THE WORLD ARE NOT AT AMAZON, but 48% of US e-commerce sales are—a 25% growth over 2016.

EVEN WITH ALL ITS LATE DECEMBER BEATING, AMAZON STOCK has risen +14.9% year-to-date while the S&P 500 fell by -12%: https://www.zacks.com/research-daily/200146/top-stock-reports-for-amazon-johnson-johnson-home-depot Read more on Facebook

THIS IS ANOTHER HEADLINE THAT DRIVES WALMART PR PEOPLE CRAZY: https://www.wxyz.com/news/police-man-pushes-down-elderly-woman-takes-her-purse-at-walmart-in-warren Read more on Facebook

NORTH POLE: Santa Claus, LLC has inked a deal with Amazon Prime Air for “last mile” delivery services to homes in North America and Europe.

FAKE BILL SIGNING The Apprentice President issued a photo of himself busy at work—ready to sign blank pieces of paper next to a stack of

FLIPKART MIMICS AMAZON: Walmart’s Flipkart is starting a video streaming service in India to expand its “loyalty construct,” by copying its main rival Amazon, which

INDIAN WARS: WALMART’S FLIPKART TOOK 51% 0F E-COMMERCE SALES IN OCT. VS. 32% FOR AMAZON: https://retail.emarketer.com/article/five-ways-amazon-betting-big-on-india/5c197571b979f105909c1b03?ecid=NL1016 Read more on Facebook

THE FATAL MISTAKES WALMART MADE IN BRAZIL: Not understanding their customers: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/11/walmart-fail-brazil-carrefour-retail.html Read more on Facebook

WALMART RELEASES ITS TOP SELLING ITEMS ONLINE FOR 2018. Crayons were a top item in eight states. Pretty good for a nation headed by someone

FEDEX SAYS ITS NOT WORRIED THAT AMAZON IS BUYING DOZENS OF CARGO PLANES and expanding its cargo facilities. Amazon Air is moving inventory from one

AMAZON WAREHOUSE WORKERS WANT BEZOS TO CANCEL CONTRACTS WITH HOMELAND SECURITY/ICE Amazon software helps ICE track and deport immigrants: https://action.mijente.net/petitions/tell-amazon-stop-building-trump-s-deportation-machine Read more on Facebook

INTERNET USERS IN INDIA WILL GROW BY 39 M (+9%) BY END OF 2019. Amazon now has 67 warehouses in India, compared to 75 in

25 YEAR BATTLE TO BLOCK WALMART SUPERSTORE IN MASSACHUSETTS TOWN REACHES COURT THIS MARCH A proposed WMT on the edge of Greenfield,MA (pop 17,456) was

LAST JULY TRADER JOE’S WAS SUED by consumers who thought they were buying “100% pure manuka honey” from New Zealand, but it was cut with

WHEN WALMART PULLED OUT OF VICTORIA, TX. AFTER 36 YEARS, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED: “We didn’t expect we would have higher sales tax after Walmart

WALMART’S GLOBAL ETHICS OFFICER RESIGNS AFTER 6 YEARS, just as Walmart prepares to settle a 7 year Federal Corrupt Practices Act investigation with the SEC

RANK & FILE SEARS/KMART WORKERS WORRY ABOUT THEIR SEVERANCE PAY while Sears proposes $25 M in bonuses to 340 executives: https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2018/12/14/bankruptcy-court-oks-sears-plan-to-pay-25-million.html?ana= Read more on Facebook

‘ONE CLICK’ PAYMENT OPTIONS ARE DRIVING ONLINE SALES: smartphone retail mobile commerce sales will grow nearly 38%, from $148.79 B in 2018, to $205.15 B

TARGET AGREES FOR 2ND TIME TO PAY $7.4 M FINE TO CA. over their handling/disposal of retail hazardous waste like electronics, batteries, aerosol cans, light

WAL MART BODY COUNT: A SPECIAL XMAS GIFT (DEAD BODY) WAS LEFT IN THE TRUNK OF A STOLEN CAR at a Walmart in Florida City.

WALMART WORKER QUITS OVER STORE’S LOUD SPEAKER: “No one should work here, ever. F*** Walmart!” Read more on Facebook

AG IN NY SUES WMT, TARGET FOR SELLING HIGH-LEAD TOYS: “Cra-Z-Jewelz” kits have lead levels up to 10 x higher than federal limits. Both big

HOW GIANT RETAILERS WORM INTO NEW YORK CITY: Walmart couldn’t locate a store in Manhattan—so it bought a giant warehouse under a different corp. name.

WELFARE FOR AMAZON NAILED IN NEW YORK: “Amazon is a 1 trillion dollar company is that accurate?” one city councilor asked. “I think it’s close

INSTACART PARTS WAYS WITH AMAZON’S WHOLE FOODS and will stop doing same day grocery deliveries at 76 WF stores, affecting 1,415 employees who “pick, pack,

AMAZON GO IN A MICRO BOX: It’s latest cashierless store in Seattle is merely 450 sf—a sandwich & salad/grab-n-go shop perfect for an office lobby

IS MORGAN STANLEY SHILLING FOR AMAZON? In urban areas where Amazon has 5 or more warehouses, MS says: “job growth has been 1.9% greater than

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MASS. TOWN SAYS NO TO DOLLAR GENERAL After a six month process, the Planning Board in Deerfield, MA. has denied a site plan permit for

WALMART TRIES OUT A BURGER-FLIPPING ROBOT AT ITS HQ IN ARKANSAS. It can grill up to 150 burgers per hour. WMT is also looking for

WALMART BODY COUNT An 18 year old boy was shot and killed in a Walmart in Temple, TX. Two 16 year old girls were charged

VA. CHAMBER STUDY SAYS AMAZON HQ2 WILL GENERATE A “TRANSFORMATIONAL ECONOMIC BOOST”. By 2030, it will create 25,021 direct jobs + 33,687 induced jobs, annual

NY CITY COUNCILOR PLEDGES TO BLOCK AMAZON HQ 2 DEAL IN QUEENS 3 city council members, including Brad Lander, Jumaane Williams & Jimmy Van Bramer,

TARGET REACHES HAZARDOUS WASTE SETTLEMENT WITH CA. The $7.4 million agreement includes $3.2 million in civil penalties for 2,083 violations over disposing of batteries, hairspray,

EVERYDAY SOME ECONOMICS PROFESSOR MUSES ABOUT WHETHER AMAZON OR WALMART IS BEATING THE OTHER. The reality: these 2 giants are crowding out the rest of

40% OF US ONLINE SALES ARE FROM MOBILE DEVICES, reaching $208.1 billion. By 2021, mobile e-commerce will be the majority of e-commerce spending.” Millennials and

AMAZON IMPOSES NEW FEES ON HAZARDOUS PACKAGES SENT BY 3rd PARTY SELLERS. “Unmarked packages have leaked hazardous materials like gasoline and lye, and others have

WALMART BUYS INTO ART, as new owner of Art.com, which claims: “We exist so you can have the art you love.” Every time you buy

AMAZON HIRES CONSULTANT TO DEAL WITH FLAK RE: QUEENS HQ2 Anger from local pols caused the company to seek “a politically connected public affairs firm

ALEXA *COUGH* I’M HUNGRY *SNIFFLE* Amazon Technologies has applied for a patent for a speaker that recognizes a user’s “abnormal physical or emotional conditions” and