Group 1 - The e-commerce giant is launching a megastore outside of Chicago [1] - The size of the new store will be large enough to nearly fit two Target stores [1]

Group 1 - Amazon.com Inc. is planning to open a 229,000-square-foot store in the Chicago area, focusing on groceries and general merchandise, aiming to compete with big-box retailers like Walmart and Target [1] - The proposed store will include a limited warehouse component to support the store's operations, but it will not function as a distribution center [2] - The site for the new store is currently a vacant restaurant located on 35 acres [2] Group 2 - Amazon has previously experimented with various physical store formats from 2015 to 2020, including bookstores and automated grab-and-go stores, but many of these initiatives were scaled back during the pandemic [3] - The company's significant entry into physical retail was marked by the 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods Market, which expanded its presence to over 400 supermarkets across the country [4]

Walmart is reshuffling its merchandising team, as the big-box retailer prioritizes using more technology, data and other tools to speed up key tasks https://t.co/IxvsEUtors ...

Market Overview - The Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 are experiencing selling pressure, while the Dow is slightly positive, up 10 points (+0.02%) [1] Earnings Reports - Target (TGT) reported Q2 earnings of $2.05 per share on revenues of $25.21 billion, missing expectations by 4 cents, with revenues up 1.2% year-over-year [2] - Target announced the replacement of CEO Brian Cornell with Michael Fiddelke, effective February next year, leading to a pre-market drop of over 10% in TGT shares, compounding a year-to-date decline of 22% [3] - TJX Companies (TJX) reported earnings of $1.10 per share, beating expectations by 8.9%, with revenues of $14.4 billion exceeding consensus by 2.33%, resulting in a 4% increase in shares [4] - Lowe's (LOW) reported Q2 earnings of $4.33 per share, beating estimates by 10 cents, with revenues of $23.96 billion, a slight miss of 0.01%, and shares up 2.8% in pre-market trading [5] - Estee Lauder (EL) posted earnings of $0.09 per share, a one-penny beat, with revenues of $3.41 billion, a modest beat of 0.27%, but shares fell 5% due to disappointing outlook [6] Economic Events - The World Economic Symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, begins today, featuring speeches from Fed officials, including Chris Waller and Raphael Bostic [7] - Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to deliver a speech on Friday, with analysts anticipating a neutral outlook on interest rates, currently at 4.25-4.50% [8]