Stephan's Friday Picks

• Yes, Walmart store managers really can make $500,000 a year (Bloomberg)
• Orange juice crisis prompts search for alternate fruits (Bloomberg)
• The restaurant world still has a child care problem (Eater)
• The king crab kings (Bloomberg)
• From the archives (2021): Pellet ice is the good ice (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Store brands are filling up more of your shopping cart (WSJ)
• Reimagining the apparel value change amid volatility (McKinsey)
• Hold the French Fries! Paris Olympics chart a new gastronomic course (NYT)
• Points influencers are everywhere. Some deals are too good to be true (Washington Post)
• Food delivery apps rack up $20 billion in losses in fierce battle for diners (FT)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Doug Ford's change to booze sales could cost far more than $225 million (CBC)
• The loneliness of the American worker (WSJ)
• Stanley Goldstein, who helped make CVS a pharmacy giant, dies at 89 (NYT)
• Shein promised to have a big U.S. IPO. Its China roots got in the way (WSJ)
• New York's biggest produce market is at a breaking point (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Surfaces concave and convex (Medium)
• Buying groceries at Shoppers Drug Mart? You'll pay a buck more for those chickpeas (Globe and Mail)
• Why a shabby luxury brand is hard to fix (WSJ)
• Why does a simple summer dress cost so much now (The Cut)
• Lululemon restructures product and brand teams (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread files for Chapter 11 (NYT)
• Why banning tweens from buying anti-aging creams won't stop the Sephora kids (CBC)
• Loblaw and Empire being investigated by Competition Bureau for anti-competitive practices (Globe and Mail)
• Is this the end of Instagram cookware (NYT)
• Ontario to pay $225-million to Beer Store to speed up corner-store beer purchases (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Menu for one: GenAI lets restaurants get personal (BCG)
• Amazon plans to give Alexa an AI overhaul (CNBC)
• Best Caisse scenario (Globe and Mail)
• London Drugs employee data leaked on dark web after cybersecurity breach (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (2011): The dollar store economy (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Suncor moves on gas station plans, deciding which to renovate and which to sell (Globe and Mail)
• 'Bromakase' is the new steakhouse (NYT)
• Quebecor says Loblaw deal with telecoms is anti-competitive (CBC)
• Can beef be 'low carbon'? The USDA thinks so (Undark)
• Amazon is reviving its logistics expansion and reshaping its U.S. distribution (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• When did teen boys get a nose for $300 cologne (NYT)
• The one place in airports people actually want to be (The Atlantic)
• The executive that turned around Barbie has a new long-shot mission: Save Gap (WSJ)
• After industry boom, Quebec distilleries fight for shelf space on liquor store shelves (CBC)
• Canada's inflation rate slowed to 2.7% in April, boosting bets for June rate cut (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The business of strategy consulting (Medium)
• Loblaw agrees to support grocery code of conduct after years of negotiation (Globe and Mail)
• California considers limits on self-service checkout (NYT)
• How companies can make dynamic pricing fairer for customers (BCG)
• How to navigate pricing in disinflationary times (McKinsey)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Customers are fed up with anti-theft measures at stores. Retailers are blaming organized crime (CBC)
• Amazon's appearance at Upfronts highlights push beyond digital ads and into traditional media (CNBC)
• McDonald's makes new pitch to inflation-weary eaters: A meal for $5 (WSJ)
• Olive oil is how much now? Prices jump - again - amid worldwide shortage (CBC)
• From the archives (1985): The McBurger stand that started it all (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Walmart's reign as America's biggest retail is under threat (WSJ)
• How a 'strange', 'evil' fruit came to define Italy's cuisine (NYT)
• Red Lobster preparing to file bankruptcy this month (WSJ)
• How Uniqlo's 'millennial Birkin' is beating designer bags (Bloomberg)
• The 100-year quest to make a paper water bottle (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Britain's biggest retailer isn't British and isn't a retailer (FT)
• Kraft Heinz explores sale of Oscar Mayer (WSJ)
• Fast food forever: How McHaters lost the culture war (NYT)
• America can't quit intermittent fasting (The Atlantic)
• Amazon Web Services chief to step down (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Promise over purpose (Medium)
• Poppi is making soda cool again (Texas Monthly)
• Ted Baker, Brooks Brothers launch liquidation sales in Canada (Globe and Mail)
• America's yoghurt love affair is over (FT)
• How Body Shop Canada is coping with filing for creditor protection (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Hot honey is the king of condiments (NYT)
• Is Temu legit (The Strategist)
• What a Zoom cashier 8,000 miles away can teach us about the future of work (Vox)
• Amazon's new fee on sellers likened to 'kick in the gut' (Bloomberg)
• The hot business of cold storage (Sherwood)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Meet AdVon, the AI-powered content monster infecting the media industry (Futurism) 
• Uber and Instacart team up on restaurant deliveries, challenging DoorDash (Bloomberg)
• Sweetgreen is introducing steak. What about its climate goals (NYT)
• For CEOs, the future is a state of mind (BCG)
• From the archives (1959): The making - and selling - of Coca-Cola (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Panera to discontinue charged energy drinks (NYT)
• In budding battle over lab-grown meat, Florida takes an opening stab (CBC)
• Hudson's Bay to close Regina store next year, latest in series of cuts (Globe and Mail)
• Campari CEO bets on growth in U.S., Asia-Pacific despite sector struggles (WSJ)
• Shopify shares plunge nearly 19% on lower-than-expected outlook for next quarter (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• How online shopping is saving bricks-and-mortar retail (WSJ)
• The package king of Miami (New York Magazine)
• Consumers fed up with food costs are ditching big brands (WSJ)
• How bad are ultra-processed foods, really (NYT)
• Canada is hiking taxes, regulation, as U.S. economy booms (Fortune)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Where to start with strategy (Medium)
• How to prepare for the CFO role (McKinsey)
• Overcoming retail complexity with AI-powered pricing (BCG)
• Milk has lost its magic (The Atlantic)
• Woolworths CEO announces worse-than expected results for March quarter (The Guardian)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Canada's shopping for a foreign grocer. Can an international retailer succeed here (CBC)
• Loblaw CFO pushes back on claims its pricing practices are unfair (Bloomberg)
• Loblaw boycott organizer says she met with CEO to talk about grocery prices (Globe and Mail)
• The year is 1966 - and there's a protest over Loblaw prices (CBC)
• Lavender is the springtime answer to pumpkin spice (NYT)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• How Pet Value monetizes our fur baby love (Globe and Mail)
• Wayfair's new strategy looks built to last (WSJ)
• The future of New York City's pizza is electric (NYT)
• Loblaw's facade of benevolence has fully cracked (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (1999): The inner Jeff Bezos (Wired)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Technology in retail: Escaping the complexity trap (Bain)
• Ralph Lauren invites everybody to return to (his) office (NYT)
• Walmart takes on Trader Joe's and Whole Foods with new premium brand (WSJ)
• How did Black Forest cake become the world's favourite dessert (NYT)
• More stores are ditching self-checkout amid theft and customer complaints (CBC)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Tim Hortons parent reports 18% profit boost on strong demand (Globe and Mail)
• Getir, a rapid grocery delivery service, exits the U.S. and Europe (NYT)
• Hudson's Bay cuts dozens of jobs, cites pressures on retail sector (Globe and Mail)
• Same-store sales drop at Starbucks, pushing revenue down 1.8% (NYT)
• McDonald's posts rare quarterly miss as customers turn picky (Globe and Mail)