Al Norman

THIS KIND OF HEADLINE PUTS HD PR DEPT INTO HYPERDRIVE. “Employees said they followed the suspect outside the store where they attempted to confront him

FAKE PRESS RELEASE SAYS WMT will “give its millions of shoppers across the world an opportunity to seamlessly make payments with cryptocurrencies. Crypto hoax fools

WMT building more “mini-fulfillment centers,” & wants “to grow our [3rd party] marketplace aggressively, with some level of curation.” That’s a dig at AMZN—which has

WMT SAYS ITS GOING TO STOP PAYING WORKERS A QUARTERLY BONUS, because workers prefer higher wages. But WMT’s min. wage is “still lower than what

WHITE HOUSES’ NEW WORKPLACE COVID GUIDELINES will be applied to businesses with more than 100 workers. But Home Depot says it’s “not yet requiring vaccinations

AFTER YEARS OF IGNORING ONLINE SALES, WMT NOW HAS A “DIGITAL-FIRST MINDSET”—which is great, because they’ve stopped building those “sprawlful”superstores. Now it’s just enormous warehouses.

AS AMZN’s PROFITS SOAR, LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT INCREASES TO REGULATE WAREHOUSE WORKER QUOTAS, & reduce repetitive motion injuries. Workers like canaries in the mine. California Bill

IT’S FUNNY THAT LOCAL TOWNS WILL PUSHBACK AGAINST THE LOCATION OF A FEW AMZN LOCKERS at a gas station—yet put up no resistance to a

WATCH THIS 1 MINUTE AD ABOUT CLOSING THE BILLIONAIRE’S TAX LOOPHOLE THAT WOULD BRING IN $325 B over the next decade if closed. End the

THE FOCUS OF AMZN CRITICS ON ANTI-MONOPOLY has obscured the voracious sprawl created by AMZN warehouses across the globe. Local citizen groups are fast asleep.

BEZOS TELLS AMZN INVESTORS “Amazon will be disrupted one day” and eventually “will go bankrupt.” “Bezos has been dumping roughly $1 billion worth of Amazon

DEATH IN PARADISE: This kind of headline drives Home Depot exec’s crazy. Crime at Big Box stores—this one from the Virgin Islands—is a problem the

“SURGING LUMBER COSTS had given Home Depot a big sales lift earlier this year,” but “fewer people were shopping in Home Depot stores…customer transactions, down

HURRICANE IDA LEFT 5 FEET OF WATER INSIDE NJ HOME DEPOT, 80 stranded shoppers climbed shelves, cars in lot submerged, rescue boats had to go

R.I. TOWN OFFERS AMZN A 20 YEAR PROPERTY TAX BREAK & STATE WELFARE FOR ROADWORK to build a 3.9-million sf warehouse on 200 acres of

AMZN MUSIC IS DEVELOPING “A DIGITAL RADIO-LIKE SERVICE FOR LIVE-STREAMING PERFORMANCES…& podcasts & talk radio” (!?) Alexa: play me a right wing talk radio rant…

DEAD KMART NOW AN AMZN DELIVERY STATION: “A generation of…residents did much of their shopping at the former Kmart on this site, & now the

“WMT BABY FOOD IS NOT AS HEALTHY AS IT CLAIMS TO BE, a class action lawsuit against the company says…plaintiffs claim the baby food contains

WALMART’S WAGE DECEPTION: “WMT’s U.S. AVERAGE hourly wage is now $16.40, Chief Executive John Furner said in a memo to staff.” The current HIRING wage

WMT SAYS ITS SUPPLY CHAIN WORKERS MAKE $20.37/HR. That’s an AVERAGE wage, not a STARTING wage. Order fillers still start at $18.56/hr says Indeed. Cashiers

THE NLRB HAS THREATENED TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST HOME DEPOT if the company doesn’t settle its dispute with employees about wearing BLM logo on

SINCE THE END OF WW II, U.S. PRODUCTIVITY HAS SOARED, ALONG WITH WAGES OF THE TOP 1%, while workers who helped make that wealth watched

THEY CAN DELIVER HAND CREAM IN 1 DAY, BUT IT TOOK AMZN WEB SERVICES 5 MONTHS TO DISABLE AN ISIS TERRORIST WEBSITE that celebrated the

AMZN GETS MILLIONS IN PROPERTY TAX SUBSIDIES IN RETURN FOR HIRING LOCAL WORKERS. Then seeks (& gets) waivers to avoid hiring locals. “Some municipalities, desperate

SELF-DRIVING TESLA CRASHES—THIS TIME INTO A HIGHWAY PATROL CAR–of all places, in Orlando, Florida. “No one was seriously injured in the crash, though the Tesla

PA. DEVELOPER BUYS 135,268 SF DEAD SAM’S CLUB IN FL. FOR $17M, 6 months later flips it to Home Depot for $26 M. SAM’S closed

SMALL TOWN IN VERMONT TRIES TO PRETEND BAD LAKESHORE WATER QUALITY has no impact on property values. That’s how “Muck Wars” began. https://www.wcax.com/2021/08/30/new-help-homeowners-facing-muck-problem-maquam-bay/ Read more

AMERICAN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ALLIANCE invites independent business alliances, neighborhood associations, & local economy-minded business networks to join the Shop Indie Local movement, a year-round campaign

235,000 HOVERBOARDS RECALLED BY WMT, AMZN: Razor’s Hovertrax 2.0 hoverboard has a “battery pack, which could overheat & start to smoke or cause a fire.”

ELDERLY/DISABLED TRANSIT IN MY COUNTY IS SO BROKEN: Medicaid requires a 3 day advance reservation for a medical appt—so same day MD visits are out.

GROCERY DELIVERY COMPANY SHIPT, OWNED BY TARGET, NOW ALLOWS YOU TO CHOSE YOUR “PREFERRED SHOPPER” TO PICK YOUR ORDER. Shipt says “preferred shoppers” get higher

SURVEY SAYS 45% OF SHOPPERS WHO BUY GROCERIES ONLINE use home delivery. “Consumer’s reliance on e-commerce — are here to stay.” But this is an

“STORE OPENINGS ARE NOT A MEANINGFUL GROWTH DRIVER FOR WALMART.” The company built too many & too large brick & mortar stores, got pushed online

BIDEN INVITES AMAZON, GOGGLE, APPLE CEOs TO HELP THE GOVT. WITH CYBERSECURITY, while at the same time the govt. is pursuing anti-trust investigations against the

BIDEN INVITES AMAZON, GOGGLE, APPLE CEOs TO HELP THE GOVT. WITH CYBERSECURITY, while at the same time the govt. is pursuing anti-trust investigations against the

BIDEN INVITES AMAZON, GOGGLE, APPLE CEOs TO HELP THE GOVT. WITH CYBERSECURITY, while at the same time the govt. is pursuing anti-trust investigations against the

WMT LAUNCHES “GO LOCAL” DELIVERY SERVICE THAT WILL GET PRODUCTS FROM LOCAL MERCHANTS to their customers—for an undisclosed fee—but not in branded vehicles like Prime

HOME DEPOT FIRES WORKER WHO WORE “BLM” ON HIS APRON to raise awareness of racial discrimination & harassment issues where he works. HD dress code

WALMART PARKING LOTS & BATHROOMS ARE EXCELLENT PLACES FOR DRUG DEALS & SHOOTOUTS. Be thankful if your town doesn’t have one. The most dangerous place

AMZN WANTS YOU TO KNOW THEY LIKE TO SHOP TOO! They buy $120 B in goods from 200,000 US companies: equipment, supplies & services—to put

“LABOR CHALLENGES” PROMPT BJs to give full-time workers a $300 “1 time appreciation bonus”, $150 for pt-timers. Managers got undisclosed amt. “Labor pressure” has put

Front yards in New England just don’t compare to this majesty in California (Richmond). Read more on Facebook

AMZN, WMT, CANADIAN TIRE ARE ALL BUILDING OR BUYING PORT CAPACITY to protect their supply chains, making it harder for other retailers to access goods.

Win Two Seats on A Virgin Galactic Space Flight! “Live out your astronaut dreams…Experience weightlessness & awe-inspiring views of Earth.” Escape low wages, abject poverty

“COMPRESSED MARGINS” AT HOME DEPOT? Lumber prices doubled. Yet HD made $41 B in Q2 sales, & made $13 B in profits last year. Profiting

FACEBOOK FACES NEW ANTITRUST LAWSUIT FROM THE FTC. FB “harms consumers by keeping them trapped in Facebook’s social media ecosystem, with fewer alternative apps.” FB