Raphael Stevens

Walmart is trying to reduce waste by using paper mailers and technology that makes custom-fit cardboard boxes.
The nation’s largest retailer will also allow customers to skip plastic bags when retrieving curbside pickup orders.
Target and Amazon have also looked for ways to reduce packaging and cater to customers who care more about sustainability.

Walmart is swapping out plastic mailers for paper mailers that customers can recycle.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. —‎‏ Shoppers who click the “buy” button on Walmart’s website and pick up items curbside will soon spot a difference: new packaging.
The nation’s largest retailer will roll out changes to eliminate waste across its business, it said Thursday. Walmart will swap plastic mailers for paper ones that can be recycled curbside.

It will add made-to-fit technology in about half of its fulfillment centers, so each shipped box uses less material and more boxes can fit on each truckload. And by the end of the year, customers at all of its stores will be able to choose to skip plastic bags when retrieving curbside pickup orders.
“It’s about making sustainability the everyday choice for our customers,” said Jane Ewing, Walmart’s senior vice president of sustainability. “And it’s about making sure the path of least resistance is the most sustainable one.”
She said the company aims to offer products that are better for the planet, but without the higher price tag.
Walmart wants to reduce packaging as online sales become a bigger part of its business. Digital transactions now make up about 13% of total annual sales for Walmart in the U.S. The moves can also appeal to customers who care about the environment, or have grown tired of discarded boxes and plastic bags piling up at their homes.
For a retailer with a reach as staggering as Walmart’s, a change can quickly add up. The company’s switch to paper mailers is expected to eliminate more than 2,000 tons of plastic from circulation in the U.S. by the end of January.

Other retailers are trying to cut down on packaging and cater to customers who care about sustainability, too. Amazon has also used more made-to-fit packaging after investing two years ago in CMC, a company that makes the e-commerce giant’s packaging machine.
It is also working with vendors to ship more packages in their own containers rather than putting them in an additional box. More than 10% of its parcels last year were shipped without Amazon packaging, and the company said it plans to increase that share.
Amazon allows customers to save a dollar or two by consolidating purchases into a single package. Walmart began offering shoppers a similar option in March, but without a financial incentive.
Meanwhile, Target has replaced bubble wrap with recyclable paper cushioning. Last year, it launched products for its household essentials brand Everspring that cut back on waste with reusable glass cleaning spray bottles. At three stores, it’s piloting returnable bags to reduce single-use bags.
Along with appealing to shoppers, the sustainability push can come with cost benefits. With made-to-fit packaging, for example, each box requires less material and plastic air pillows that cushion an item — making truckloads more efficient. The box changes also reduce labor for workers who previously made and taped the containers by hand.
Correction: Last year, Target launched products for its household essentials brand Everspring that cut back on waste with reusable glass cleaning spray bottles. An earlier version misstated the move. More

Macy’s slashed its full-year earnings and sales outlook.
The department store operator beat fiscal first-quarter earnings estimates but missed on revenue.
Shares of Macy’s dropped as much as 10% in premarket trading.

The Macy’s company signage is seen at the Herald Square store on March 02, 2023 in New York City. 
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Macy’s shares fell Thursday, as the retailer slashed its full-year outlook and said it saw sales significantly weaken in late March.
The company’s stock dropped as much as 10% in premarket trading even as it beat fiscal first-quarter earnings expectations.

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The department store operator said it now expects sales of $22.8 billion to $23.2 billion for the year, down from a previous range of $23.7 billion to $24.2 billion. Macy’s anticipates comparable owned-plus-licensed sales will fall 6% to 7.5% during the period, worse than its previous outlook of a 2% to 4% decline.
For the year, it expects adjusted earnings per share of $2.70 to $3.20 — a major reduction from the previous $3.67 to $4.11 a share guidance.
In an interview with CNBC, CEO Jeff Gennette said the retailer took a conservative stance for the rest of the year after seeing a spring pullback. He said the company anticipates more markdowns of seasonal products and plans to reduce merchandise orders as it prepares for the coming quarters.
Weaker sales cut across Macy’s brands, including higher-end Bloomingdale’s and beauty chain Bluemercury, he said.
Here’s how Macy’s did for the three-month period that ended April 29 compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: 56 cents adjusted vs. 45 cents expected
Revenue: $4.98 billion vs. $5.04 billion expected

First-quarter net income for Macy’s was $155 million, or 56 cents per share, compared with $286 million, or 98 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue fell about 7% to $4.98 billion from $5.35 billion in the year-ago period. Sales missed analysts’ forecast.
Comparable sales on an owned-plus-licensed basis dropped 7.2% for the quarter, worse than the 4.7% drop expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
The Macy’s brand saw the steepest year-over-year declines. Its comparable sales fell 7.9% on an owned-plus-licensed basis. At Bloomingdale’s, comparable sales on an owned-plus-licensed basis fell 4.3%. Bluemercury’s comparable sales grew 4.3% year over year, but growth was slower than the double-digit or high single-digit increases it has put up in other quarters.
Gennette said Macy’s sales have gotten hit as customers’ budgets are squeezed. About half of customers for Macy’s namesake brand have a household income of $75,000 or less.
“They clearly are under pressure, and particularly in our discretionary categories,” he said.
At Bloomingdale’s, he said, the “aspirational customer” who shopped more luxury brands during the Covid pandemic when they had stimulus money has dropped off, too.
Cooler weather also hurt sales, as shoppers held off on buying seasonal items, he added.
But Gennette said the company did see “signs of life in the month of May” as the weather turned warmer. He said spring apparel sales saw an uptick, especially at Bloomingdale’s. The higher-end department store’s sales are ahead of last May, he said.
Beauty has been among the company’s strongest categories. Some of the popular pandemic items, such as textiles and housewares, are starting to bounce back, too.
As Macy’s braces for a potentially tougher year, Gennette said it has a new reason for customers to visit in the fall and over the holidays. Starting in October, Nike will return to its stores and website. Macy’s got its last delivery from Nike in December 2021, as the athletic footwear company cut back on wholesale orders and emphasized direct-to-consumer sales.
Macy’s has carried some Nike footwear through a licensing partnership with Finish Line, but it will start to get a fuller assortment, including apparel for women, men and kids.
“We took a pause in our partnership, and we’re now back in it,” he said.
Shares of Macy’s closed Wednesday at $13.59, bringing the company’s market value to $3.69 billion. So far this year, the company’s stock is down 34%. That lags behind the nearly 9% gains of the S&P 500 and approximately 6% loss of the retail-focused XRT during the same period. More

A clear majority of Americans who don’t identify as LGBTQ+ believe companies should publicly support the community, according to a new survey from gay rights organization GLAAD.
Three out of 4 survey respondents said they feel comfortable seeing LGBTQ people in advertisements.
The study comes as retailers like Target, Kohl’s and PetSmart have come under attack for their annual LGBTQ Pride merchandise displays and ad campaigns.

10’000 Hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images

A clear majority of Americans who don’t identify as LGBTQ+ believe companies should publicly support the community, according to a new survey from gay rights organization GLAAD.
About 70% of more than 2,500 adults who don’t identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or an otherwise member of the community said support from companies should come through hiring practices, advertising and sponsorships, according to online responses to GLAAD’s annual “Accelerating Acceptance study,” conducted in February.

“When people are exposed to LGBTQ people and experiences in media it changes hearts and minds and shifts culture and sentiment,” GLAAD said in its release. “Measuring comfortability in media is a pathway to 100% acceptance for LGBTQ people.”
Three out of 4 survey respondents said they feel comfortable seeing LGBTQ people in advertisements, and almost 70% reported feeling comfortable seeing an LGBTQ family with children included in ads.
The study comes as retailers like Target, Kohl’s and PetSmart have come under attack for their annual LGBTQ Pride merchandise displays and ad campaigns.
Mega retailer Target went as far as to pull some of its merchandise from the retail floor last week. A spokesperson for the company said threats to employees were “impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work.”
Critics continue to incite anti-LGBTQ attacks in stores and on social media, with some calling for boycotts.

In April, Bud Light came under fire after partnering with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The campaign prompted violent videos of customers shooting cans of Bud Light and a right-wing boycott. In response, the marketing executive who oversaw the partnership at Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch Inbev took a leave of absence.
Sales of Bud Light since then continue to suffer, according to data by Evercore ISI. In the week ended May 20, Bud Light sales volume — the number of units of beer sold — declined 29.5% compared with the same period last year.
The company has also faced criticism from LGBTQ+ leaders who have dinged the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney and the community more strongly.
In a statement responding to the backlash, Anheuser Busch said it “works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.”
GLAAD and more than 100 leading LGBTQ advocacy organizations wrote a letter on Wednesday calling on Target to “reject and speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ extremism going into Pride Month,” which is celebrated in June.
“Doubling down on your values is not only the right thing to do,” the group wrote in a statement. “It’s good for business.” 
A separate survey conducted by GLAAD and the Edelman Trust Institute in December found that if a brand publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ+ rights, Americans are twice as likely to buy or use the brand.
GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis emphasized in her personal call to action on Twitter last week that companies need to stand behind their products and ad campaigns instead of backing down.
“Anti-LGBTQ violence and hate should not be winning in America,” said Ellis. “But it will continue to until corporate leaders step up as heroes for their LGBTQ employees and consumers and do not cave to fringe activists calling for censorship.” More

The United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain drew a hard line ahead of contract negotiations with Ford, GM and Stellantis later this year.
UAW leaders publicly laid out their top bargaining issues Wednesday night including reinstatement of a cost-of-living-adjustment, stronger job security and the end of a grow-in, or tiered, pay system.
Union officers, led by Fain, are largely newly elected leaders that ran on platforms of standing up to companies and reforming the organization following a years-long federal corruption scandal.

United Auto Workers members on strike picket outside General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant on Sept. 25, 2019 with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (far left) in Detroit.
Michael Wayland | CNBC

DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union appears ready to take a hard line when it comes to national negotiations this year with the Detroit automakers, warning of strikes or work stoppages, if needed.
UAW leaders publicly laid out their top bargaining issues Wednesday night, including reinstatement of a cost-of-living-adjustment that was eliminated during the Great Recession; stronger job security; and the end of a grow-in, or tiered, pay system that has members earning different wages and benefits.

UAW President Shawn Fain said the “union will not accept any concessions” from General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis – a lofty mission in such negotiations.
Contract talks between the union and automakers usually begin in earnest in July ahead of mid-September expirations of the previous four-year agreements. Typically, one of the three automakers is the lead, or target, company that the union selects to negotiate with first and the others extend their deadlines. However, Fain has said this year may be different, without going into specific details.
Union leaders, led by Fain, are largely newly elected officers that ran on platforms of standing up to companies and reforming the organization following a years-long federal corruption scandal that partially involved prior negotiations.
UAW leaders also discussed the record profits of the Detroit automakers, collectively known as the Big Three, in recent years, while laying out the possibility of a strike if their demands are not met.
GM and Stellantis declined to comment on the town hall. Ford did not immediately respond.

UAW President Shawn Fain chairs the 2023 Special Elections Collective Bargaining Convention in Detroit, March 27, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters

“I want to be clear on this, and I know this might sound crazy, but the choice of whether or not we go on strike is up to the Big Three,” said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock during a virtual union town hall that was broadcast online. “We are clear about what we want.”
Labor strikes can be costly and deplete vehicle inventories. A 40-day strike against GM during the last round of negotiations four years ago cost GM about $3.6 billion in 2019, including $2.6 billion in earnings before interest and taxes during the fourth quarter of that year.
Strikes could take several forms: a national strike, where all workers under the contract cease working, or targeted work stoppages at certain plants over local contract issues.
The firm demands, strike rhetoric and town hall – titled “Back in the fight: Our generation’s defining moment at the Big Three” – buck historical union practices. Past union leaders have delivered similar messaging but not typically as confrontationally or publicly ahead of the talks.
“Here’s what you can expect from us: No more bargaining in total secrecy behind closed doors,” Fain said Wednesday. “We’re going to be organizing national days of action in plants all around the country … showing the companies that we’re not playing around, that we mean business.”
Wall Street analysts have noted the possibility of a strike as well as increased labor costs as headwinds this year for the Detroit automakers.

The transition to EVs was another main point of discussion Wednesday night, specifically around job security (the vehicles are expected to require less labor) and around organizing critical U.S. battery plants that are in early production or under construction.
Fain also called out the White House without specifically naming President Joe Biden. The union last month said it would withhold a reendorsement of Biden until the UAW’s concerns about the auto industry’s transition to EVs are addressed.
“We need to let everyone know – from the White House to the statehouse to our local labor council – that if you stand with us, we will stand with you,” Fain said Wednesday. “Our fight is everyone’s fight.”

Speaking in front of a backdrop of American-made vehicles and a UAW sign, President Joe Biden speaks about new proposals to protect U.S. jobs during a campaign stop in Warren, Michigan, September 9, 2020.
Leah Millis | Reuters More