Target, Inc.

The Wendy's Co. is offering an update on a cyberattack it first reported in February 2016, and it contains some decidedly unsurprising details.   Wendy’s believes the breach resulted from third-party service providers' remote access credentials being compromised. This allowed access, and the ability to deploy malware, to some franchisees' point-of-sale systems. To date, Wendy’s said there has been no indication that any Company-operated restaurants were impacted.  

Target Corp. is tapping into its consumer base, including kids, to stay on an upward trajectory.

Market Track compared retail circular advertising in June 2016 vs. June 2015 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains.    Kroger increased their total circular pages by nearly 42% in June. Whereas in 2015 their 6/28 circular featured a handful of deals on patio furniture and accessories, their 6/29 circular this year featured a July 4th theme with several pages dedicated to grilling proteins, grilling accessories, patio equipment, and other holiday food and drink categories.  

Publix is joining Costco, Whole Foods and other retailers in providing grocery delivery service through a partnership with Instacart.   Publix announced Wednesday that it would begin its Instacart service in select areas of Miami beginning July 12. Instacart is an e-commerce and delivery service that allows customers to place their grocery orders online and have their items delivered right to their doorsteps. Customers can place orders by visiting www.instacart.com/publix.  

Since taking over as CIO of Target Corp. in February 2015, Mike McNamara has been aggressively developing a new operational model for IT. 

Walmart did not reach its stated goal of rolling out the Walmart Pay digital payment service to every store by the end of June, but it certainly made a lot of headway.  

The J.C. Penney Co Inc. is reportedly developing a new IT facility in a popular overseas location.   

Target Corp. is taking its lighting to the next level.   The retailer has entered into an agreement with Acuity Brands for Acuity to provide Target with smart lighting technologies, featuring energy saving LED fixtures and dimming controls.    Target will be installing Acuity’s next generation, smart LED sales floor fixtures, along with the lighting company’s store accent lighting and distribution center site lighting.