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☆ Target Scales Back Pride Month Displays After Backlash Last Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Julie Creswell | More About Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After being criticized last year for its store displays for Pride Month, the annual celebration in June for L.G.B.T.Q. Target has often displayed its Pride apparel and merchandise prominently in many of its stores, sometimes near the entrances. Last year, however, Target faced outrage and calls for boycotts from some conservative commentators and customers over the displays, which included clothes and books for children about transgender issues and gender fluidity. At the time, the chain expressed concern for its employees’ safety after saying some customers screamed at workers and threw Pride-themed merchandise on the floor. Target ended up moving the displays from the front of some stores and placing them in the back.

Persons: Organizations: Pride, Target Locations: L.G.B.T.Q

☆ Same-Store Sales at Starbucks Drop, Pushing Revenue Down 1.8%
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Julie Creswell | More About Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Throughout the Covid pandemic, various supply chain issues and high inflation, Starbucks could still count on its consumers to buy their iced oat milk lattes. But that economic certainty may be in doubt after the coffee giant reported weaker-than-expected revenue and earnings in the latest quarter. Starbucks said on Tuesday that global revenue fell 1.8 percent, to $8.56 billion, while net earnings slid 15 percent, to $772.4 million, in the three months that ended March 31. Starbucks also lowered its revenue and earnings growth for the full year, reflecting the difficulties in the quarter. “It did not meet our expectations, but we understand the specific challenges and opportunities immediately in front of us.”

Persons: ” Laxman Narasimhan, ” Organizations: Starbucks Locations: United States

The holidays are a hectic time of year for everyone. But for those working in the retail and logistics industries, it’s the busiest time. From selecting the carols that play in the store to deciding the most eye-catching places to display toys to getting those Amazon packages to your doorstep on time, there are thousands of people responsible for making the holiday shopping merry. Here are a few of their stories. Nordstrom starts setting the scene a year in advanceWhen shoppers across the country walk into a Nordstrom this week, they will be met with twinkling lights, garlands hung around the store and Mariah Carey crooning that all she wants for Christmas is youuuuu.

Persons: Nordstrom, Mariah Carey crooning, Paige Boggs Organizations: Nordstrom

Ms. Aitchison, 55, who works for a senior living home, advises her family each year that she plans to make the holidays smaller, spending less. “I’m a huge gift giver,” Ms. Aitchison, who started her shopping in early November. I’m always running around the last week before Christmas because I have to find just a few more gifts.”There are many reasons for people to be more prudent in their holiday spending this year. While inflation is less rapid than it was a year ago, millions of shoppers still feel sticker shock when buying groceries. And higher interest rates have meant larger credit card bills and, for home buyers, mortgage payments.

Persons: Christina Beck, Beck, Kristin Aitchison, Aitchison, “, Ms, I’m Locations: Minneapolis

For years, landlords around the world clamored to get WeWork into their office buildings, a love affair that made the co-working company the largest corporate tenant in New York and London. Now, WeWork is perhaps days away from a bankruptcy filing — and its demise could not come at a worse time for office landlords. With fewer employees going into the office since the pandemic, companies have slashed the amount of space they lease, causing one of the worst crunches in decades in commercial real estate. Many landlords have accepted lower rents from WeWork in recent years to keep it afloat, but its bankruptcy would be an enormous blow. Some landlords might quickly accept lower rents from WeWork as part of a bankruptcy reorganization and keep doing business with any new entity that emerges, but others might have to fight in court to get anything.

Locations: New York, London, WeWork

☆ Those Doritos Too Expensive? More Stores Offer Their Own Alternatives.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Julie Creswell | More About Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, customers stopping at Casey’s General Stores, a convenience store chain in the Midwest, hadn’t thought twice about snagging a soda and a bag of Lay’s or Doritos chips. But over the past year, as the price of a bag of chips soared and some customers felt squeezed by the high cost of gas and other expenses, they began picking up Casey’s less-expensive store brand. So Casey’s began stocking more of its own chips, in a variety of new flavors. With supply chain issues affecting what was on the shelves, people were buying basically whatever they could find. And they kept buying even as prices soared when the food and beverage brands raised prices to maintain their profit levels while still covering rising ingredient and labor costs.

Persons: hadn’t, Casey’s, ”, Darren Rebelez Organizations: Casey’s, PepsiCo, “

☆ Supply Chain Hurdles Complicate Food Companies’ Climate Pledges
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Julie Creswell | More About Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As consumer patterns have changed since the start of the pandemic, food companies have experienced significant demand. The war in Ukraine and extreme weather, such as droughts and floods, also disrupted supply chains, causing companies to get ingredients and goods from different suppliers. At PepsiCo, which began setting targets to reduce emissions in 2015, emissions in its supply chain are up 7 percent from its baseline, according to its 2022 climate report. Chipotle, which set a goal of halving its emissions by 2030, reported a 26 percent surge in supply chain and other emissions in its 2022 report. This week, heads of governments, corporations, climate advocacy groups and activists are gathering in New York City to discuss, debate and attend protests about climate issues.

Persons: ”, Barry Parkin, We’ve Organizations: PepsiCo Locations: Ukraine, New York City

☆ Pork Industry Grapples With Whiplash of Shifting Regulations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Julie Creswell | More About Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Other farmers say they’re simply not going to modify how they raise pigs. “We’re losing money in the pig industry,” said Trish Cook, the president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, who, along with her family, raises pigs near Winthrop in eastern Iowa. “The idea of having a large capital expenditure with no clear payback on it doesn’t make business sense to us. However, Mr. Fong said that soon “we’ll be faced with some shortages and price hikes.”Mr. Davis of Oliver’s Markets said he already bought pork from Niman Ranch, a producer that exceeds the California criteria, but had also always offered customers less-expensive pork options. “Chicken and pork are still very affordable options, especially when compared to beef prices,” Mr. Davis said.

Persons: “ We’re, ”, Trish Cook, Ronald Fong, Fong, “ we’ll, Mr, Davis Organizations: Iowa Pork Producers Association, California Grocers Association, Labor, Oliver’s Markets, Tyson Locations: Winthrop, Iowa, California

New York is doing better than San Francisco — Manhattan has a vacancy rate of 13.5 percent — but it can no longer count on the technology industry for growth. More than one-third of the roughly 22 million square feet of office space available for sublet in Manhattan comes from technology, advertising and media companies, according to Newmark. The company has opted not to renew leases covering 250,000 square feet in Hudson Yards and for 200,000 square feet on Park Avenue South. Twitter, Microsoft and other technology companies are also trying to sublease unwanted space. The large amount of space available for sublet is also driving down the rents that landlords are able to get on new leases.

Persons: Newmark, ”, Ruth Colp, Haber, Colp Organizations: sublet, New, New York State, Spotify, Trade Center, Twitter, Microsoft, Wharton Property Advisors Locations: York, Francisco —, Manhattan, New York, Hudson Yards

☆ Despite Aspartame Warning, Beverage Companies Likely to Stick With It
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Julie Creswell | More About Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

About eight years ago, in response to customer concerns about possible health risks associated with the artificial sweetener aspartame, PepsiCo decided to remove the ingredient from its popular diet soda. A trip through the grocery store reveals the ingredient on the labels of not only diet sodas but also diet teas, sugar-free gums, sugar-free energy drinks and diet lemonade drink mix. By some estimates, thousands of products contain aspartame. The use of aspartame, which is often known by the brand name Equal, in food and beverage products has long been scrutinized. The latest iteration came on Thursday, when an agency of the World Health Organization declared that aspartame could possibly cause cancer and encouraged people who consume a significant number of beverages with aspartame to switch to water or other unsweetened drinks.

Persons: Coke Organizations: PepsiCo, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi, World Health Organization Locations: Diet

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