When a company has filed for bankruptcy and is closing stores, should the leaders who helped it to get there be rewarded with bonuses? That question has come up in the proceedings for RadioShack’s second bankruptcy in just over two years, and the company’s creditors and court-appointed trustee have responded with a resounding “nope.” [More]
Retail Services
Should RadioShack Executives Get $1.4 Million In Bonuses? No, Say Creditors
By 4.20.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Sam’s Club Launches Store-Brand Wines To Compete With Costco
By 4.20.17
With Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand of booze recently accounting for an uptick in sales at the warehouse club, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the retailer’s rival Sam’s Club would look to get a piece of that pie by launching its own house brand wines. [More]
Wells Fargo CEO Claims Employees Can Call Ethics Line Without Fear Of Losing Jobs
By 4.19.17
In the six months since Wells Fargo’s fake account fiasco came to light dozens of employees have come forward claiming that their attempts to shed light on other employees’ bad behavior by calling the company’s ethics hotline ended in their termination. But the banking institution’s new executive says that’s no longer a worry. [More]
RadioShack Stops Caring, Brushes Off Profane Posts By Rogue Closed Store
By 4.19.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
When RadioShack went bankrupt for the second time in two years and decided to close hundreds of stores, it forgot to do one important thing: Make sure the employees it fired didn’t have access to their stores’ social media accounts.
[More]
More Than 160 Customers ‘Paid It Forward’ At One Starbucks Drive-Thru
By 4.19.17
Every once in a while generous consumers will “pay it forward” by buying their fellow customers coffee, diapers, lunch, or other items. These feel-good chains usually peter out after a few customers, but not for dozens of customers at one Pennsylvania Starbucks. [More]
Some Marijuana Dispensaries Pull Pot Possibly Contaminated With Pesticides
By 4.19.17
Following reports that a variety of products sold at California medical marijuana dispensaries may be contaminated with potentially dangerous pesticides, a number of pot shops in the state have begun to stop selling these items. [More]
Bloomingdale’s Clerks Want Commissions On Showrooming, In-Store Pickup Sales
By 4.19.17
When a store employee helps you, and you go on to make your purchase from the same retailer’s website, should that employee receive a commission? The union representing clerks at the flagship Bloomingdale’s store in New York City says that they should, even if it isn’t clear on exactly how that would happen. [More]
VA To Refer Some Vets To CVS MinuteClinics For Care
By 4.18.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Veterans Administration, the VA and CVS have partnered for a test program that will have the pharmacy chain’s MinuteClinic urgent care centers treating some veterans for minor injuries and ailments. [More]
Petsmart Adopts Pet Supplies Site Chewy.com
By 4.18.17
Big-box pet supply store PetSmart is expanding its presence in your pet’s life and in its food dish, acquiring the popular online pet supplies vendor Chewy.com. [More]
What Killed The Malls Of The ’70s & ’80s? Newer, Better Malls, Not Amazon
By 4.18.17
Why are American malls dying? Conventional wisdom often points the finger of blame at Amazon and a desire for shopping from home in your pajamas, but a new analysis claims that the real culprit is competition from newer, better malls that aren’t feeling the same pain as their withering forefathers. [More]
Man Stole $11,000 In Stuff From Home Depot, Then Returned It All For Refunds
By 4.18.17
Most practitioners of the “hot exchange” — the retail grift where a fraudster steals an item then “returns” it to the store for a refund — are happy to chisel away a criminal living, earning $50 here, $100 there. But one Texas man was thinking big when he stole — and then returned — more than $11,000 from Home Depot stores. [More]
The Future Of IKEA Could Be… Restaurants
By 4.18.17
Usually, you think of IKEA as the place to go to pick out some furniture, grab some new kitchen gadgets, and maybe fight with your partner about their questionable taste in sofas. You might grab a plate of meatballs or a tasty-looking Swedish dessert at the cafe while you’re there, but it’s not the central focus… or is it? [More]
Bass Pro Shops Is Still Buying Cabela’s, But For Less Money
By 4.18.17
Since the $5.5 billion deal where Bass Pro Shops agreed to acquire Cabela’s was announced last October, a few things related to the deal have changed. Now the companies have announced that the deal is going forward, but at a price cut of $4 per share of Cabela’s, and the addition of a middleman in the sale of its credit card operations to Capital One. [More]
Anova Reverses Mandatory Accounts For Some Cooks Using The App
By 4.18.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Anova, maker of a popular sous vide cooking device, recently irked many of its customers by requiring that they create accounts — and share personal information — with the company just to use the cooker’s companion app. Anova has apparently heard these complaints and decided to drop this requirement… soon. [More]
Customer Accuses DealDash Of Selling “Cheap, Generic” Products Disguised As Independent Luxury Brands
By 4.17.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
A California man who spent thousands on popular “penny auction” site DealDash.com says that not only is the company misleading bidders into believing they are can score huge savings, but that many of the incredibly expensive brands sold on DealDash are actually worthless generics from a company with an alleged connection to DealDash’s founder and biggest stakeholder. [More]
Beef Prices Are Dropping Just In Time For Grilling Season
By 4.17.17
It wasn’t that long ago that red-meat-loving Americans were paying more for beef because of shortages. Now the pendulum is swinging in the other direction, meaning there should be more — and more affordable — burgers and steaks at the supermarket this summer. [More]
Tesla Drops Price For Some Model S, Model X; Increases Cost For Most Expensive Version
By 4.17.17
Unless you’re willing to wait a while for Tesla’s massively pre-ordered, cheaper Model 3 electric car, you’re looking at spending a pretty penny — or millions of them — to buy one of the company’s other vehicles. But Tesla is trying to make that bill a bit more affordable, by knocking off a few thousand dollars. [More]
Diapers.com, Soap.com, And Sibling Sites To Be Folded Into Amazon On Wednesday
By 4.17.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The Amazon-owned Quidsi family of websites, including Diapers.com, Soap.com, and BeautyBar.com, is dead, but customers of those sites still have questions: Where can they shop now, and what will they do if they have a problem with an item ordered on the sites? [More]
