With brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• Another CEO Loses Job Over Ethical Breach
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Kohl’s boss Ashley Buchanan tried to funnel business to a romantic partner and lost his job. It wasn’t the first time their personal and professional lives had crossed.
“Kohl’s fired Buchanan on Thursday after it discovered he had instructed the retailer to enter into a ‘highly unusual’ business deal involving a woman with whom he has had a romantic relationship, according to people familiar with the situation … A Kohl’s board investigation by outside lawyers found that Buchanan violated the company’s code of conduct in two instances with a vendor with whom he had a personal relationship and whom it didn’t name, according to a regulatory filing … Kohl’s said Buchanan didn’t disclose the relationship as required by its code of ethics and determined the conduct in both cases constituted cause for termination. Buchanan will forfeit all equity awards from Kohl’s and be required to reimburse the company on a pro-rated basis a signing bonus worth $2.5 million.”
The Journal reports that Buchanan “met the woman, Chandra Holt, when they were both working at Walmart several years ago, the people said. His divorce proceedings show the two had a romantic relationship while he was the CEO of Michaels. The arts-and-crafts chain also tried to hire Holt during his tenure.
Buchanan, who ran Michaels from 2020 until he left in November to join Kohl’s, declined to comment.
“Holt never joined him at Michaels. She led home-goods retailer Conn’s HomePlus before becoming the Bed Bath & Beyond CEO for a year and founded a coffee brand, Incredibrew. ‘I’ve known Ashley Buchanan for 10 years, but I have not received any compensation for my Incredibrew business from Kohl’s,’ said Holt, who is now a consultant and CEO of her coffee business. She said she wasn’t in a romantic relationship with Buchanan when she was being recruited by Michaels.”
I don’t understand what these people are thinking. They have to know that their actions ethically compromise them and that, if they were to come to light, would result in repercussions. And not just for Buchanan’s career – he only became Kohl’s CEO six months ago, and was the third CEO of the troubled retailer in three years. This almost certainly will set back the company, and could be damaging to the people depending on him for their livelihoods.
When “ethical lapses” are cited, it almost always is about sex or money. But it also is about adults who don’t behave like adults, who don’t have the common sense to know that if they have to hide something, that usually means that it is wrong.
• Instacart Acquires Wynshop.
Instacart announced yesterday that it is acquiring Wynshop, a provider of e-commerce solutions for grocers that include Wakefern, and more than a dozen others in North America and abroad.
According to the announcement, “The acquisition of Wynshop builds upon Instacart’s relationships with retail partners and reinforces Instacart’s continued commitment to providing retailers with cutting-edge tools and technologies that help drive their business growth. By bringing together both organizations’ expertise and deep retailer relationships, Instacart aims to strengthen its enterprise solutions and empower more retailers to enhance their online experiences and further engage their customers.”
Instacart said that it will “initially operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Instacart and Instacart will not immediately recognize GTV from Wynshop. Over time, Instacart expects to expand more of its enterprise technology solutions to Wynshop’s partners, including its e-commerce, advertising, fulfillment, and in-store solutions.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• McDonald’s Shrinking Same-Store Sales
From CNBC:
“McDonald’s on Thursday reported mixed quarterly results as its U.S. same-store sales fell for the second straight quarter, posting their largest domestic decline since the onset of the Covid pandemic.
“McDonald’s U.S. same-store sales shrank 3.6% as the chain faced bad weather and a more cautious consumer. That drop is the worst in McDonald’s home market since the 8.7% plunge during the second quarter of 2020, when states imposed lockdowns to slow the spread of Covid.
CEO Chris Kempczinski tried to say it was part of a broader trend: “In the U.S., overall [quick-service restaurant] industry traffic from the low-income consumer cohort was down nearly double digits versus the prior year quarter. Unlike a few months ago, QSR traffic from middle-income consumers fell nearly as much, a clear indication that the economic pressure on traffic has broadened.”
CNBC notes that “compared with its industry peers, McDonald’s has more low- and middle-income diners, executives said. And even though high-income consumers are still dining out, their spending is not enough to offset the shrinking traffic from other income cohorts.”
It may be that consumers actually are catching up with the idea that no matter how much McDonald’s talks about its value meals, there is little inherent value in any of them. This is the time for grocers to reclaim that mantle – talk about real value, as opposed to the kind that is just a marketing slogan.
The post Friday Eye-Openers appeared first on MNB.
View Original Article
