News

Amazon may face a contender for Whole Foods Market.   JP Morgan research analysts said in a note that Walmart could step in as a rival bidder for the grocery chain, reported CNBC, attracted by Whole Foods' more affluent customer base and strong brand.   

Dollar General has added a Vitamin Shoppe veteran to its ranks as executive VP and chief merchandising officer.   Jason Reiser, most recently executive VP and COO of Vitamin Shoppe, will join the discounter, effective July 12. He replaces the recently retired Jim Thorpe.   Reiser brings with him to Dollar General more than 30 years’ experience in retail management, private brand sourcing and regulatory affairs. He also is a trained pharmacist.  

A majority of companies, including retailers, are confident about cyber-security, but their confidence may not be justified.      That’s according to “Cyber Risk in Consumer Business,” a report from Deloitte. The report is based on input from more than 400 CIOs, CISOs, CTOs and other senior executives.   

Staples is close to returning to private ownership.   Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Staples, according to numerous media reports. The deal could top $6 billion, reported Reuters, which said Sycamore is in the process of finalizing a debt financing deal with Staples. Sycamore repeatedly beat out Cerberus Capital Management in an auction.  

Sears has opened a freestanding store concept dedicated to two of its strongest categories.     Sears debuted its first store under the Sears Appliances & Mattresses banner, in Pharr, Texas. The format expands the concept of the Sears Appliance store, which opened in Ft. Collins, Colo. in 2016. The location has surpassed projections since its opening, Sears said.  

Dollar General has tapped a fast-casual restaurant executive to lead its technology and fledgling online operations.    Dollar General Corp. announced that Carman Wenkoff will join the company as executive VP and CIO, effective July 10. He replaces current CIO Ryan Boone, who recently announced his retirement.   

With fraudulent card-not-present (CNP) transactions on the rise, losses will become staggering over the next five years.    Retailers stand to lose $71 billion globally by 2022, driven by a number of factors, such as the United States' shift to Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) chip cards, delays in 3DS 2.0 (3D-Secure) and click-and-collect fraud. This was according to “Online Payment Fraud: Emerging Threats, Key Vertical Strategies & Market Forecasts 2017-2022,” a report from Juniper Research. 

eBay is stepping up its game in the online price war competition, and taking aim at low-cost rivals Walmart and Amazon, among others.   Starting Tuesday, eBay launched its Price Match Guarantee on more than 50,000 deals in the United States. As the name suggests, the program promises that an eligible deal will be the best price available online, or eBay will match the lower price found on a competitor’s website.   

Walmart is asking its technology suppliers to pick sides in its retailing war with Amazon.   The retailing giant reportedly warned some tech companies that if they want its business, they can't run applications on Amazon’s cloud platform, Amazon Web Services. Walmart currently partners with tech suppliers that already leverage cloud apps running on AWS, although the retailer didn’t reveal which applications or how many they use, sources told the Wall Street Journal.  

A computer glitch is blamed for canceled orders and growing frustrations among Tesco’s home delivery customers.   An IT meltdown impacted orders filtering into the U.K.-based supermarket giant’s online grocery shopping system. The glitch impacted orders being placed online, as well as those scheduled for delivery, according to customer posts on Twitter.