Target, Inc.

Walmart is determined not to cede any ground to Amazon.   In a partnership that takes direct aim at the online giant and its Alexa voice-controlled device, Walmart is teaming up with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items available for voice shopping via Google Assistant, the search giant's online shopping platform that lives on its smart speaker Google Home and other smart devices. It will be the largest number of items currently offered by a retailer through the platform, according to Walmart.   

Target has given its two-level store at Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis a $10 million top-to-bottom overhaul that combines the best of the retailer's digital and technology upgrades, elevated merchandise presentations and fulfillment services, with a goal to making the shopping experience  fast, efficient and fun.  

The man who resigned from the number two position at Uber after six months on the job has been named chief executive of the nation's largest tax preparer.   H&R Block named Jeffrey J. Jones II president and CEO, effective Oct. 9, 2017. He will succeed Tom Gerke, who will continue to serve as interim president and CEO until then. Gerke will remain general counsel and chief administrative officer.  

The Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC) has announced featured speakers for its Retail Cyber Intelligence Summit, held October 3 - 4, 2017, in Chicago.    Among the keynote speakers are Rich Agostino, chief information security officer at Target Corp, who will lead a session titled, "Stepping into Leadership: Staying Ahead of Today's Threats and the Evolving CISO Role," and Kostas Georgakopoulos, CISO at Procter & Gamble, leading a session on the next evolution of information security.  

Back-to-school advertising appears to be losing some of its resonance with consumers.    Walmart, Target and Old Navy scored the highest awareness levels among consumers (with children under the age of 18) in a survey of BTS advertising from 30 retailers by YouGov BrandIndex. But many retailers scored less than last year.   

Target Corp. is giving shoppers an early look at three new private brands that will debut in its stores starting in late August.    The retailer has posted details about the brands, along with photos from their look books, on its website. The three new collections are part of 12 private-label brands Target plans to launch during the next 18 months.    Here is a look at the three brands:

A New Day

Target Corp. came roaring back in its second quarter from a year-long sales slump amid evidence that its investments in online and store remodels are paying off. The discounter raised its outlook for the year.   Sales rose 1.6% to $16.43 billion in the quarter ended July 29, beating analysts' estimates of $16.30 billion. Same-store sales rose 1.3%, also more than analysts had expected. Comparable digital sales surged 32%.  

Retailers need to update their approach to targeting millennials.   That's according to a new report by management consulting firm L.E.K., which provides insight into Millennials and their predecessors Gen X and the Baby-Boom generation.