Consumer and retail news: 10 things you need to know today
1. Walmart is recalling 90,000 pounds of beef
Walmart is recalling nearly 90,000 pounds of beef that could be contaminated with "extraneous wood materials," according to the USDA. The recall affects Sam's Choice Black Angus Vidalia Onion frozen beef patties, which come in boxes of six patties.
2. Chipotle sales crater 30% in December
Sales at Chipotle are falling off a cliff. In a filing with the SEC on Wednesday, the fast food chain disclosed that for the month of December same-store sales - or sales at locations open for at least a year - were down 30%.
3. Under Armour and HTC make a bold move into fitness tech with HealthBox
Under Armour launched its most ambitious move yet with partner HTC, a product called HealthBox. HealthBox combines a fitness tracker with a heart-rate strap and a smart scale in a $400 bundle.
4. Coca-Cola has managed to upset both Russia and Ukraine with a social media blunder
An apparently innocuous New Year message issued by Coca-Cola on social media has left consumers in Ukraine and Russia seeing red, following the decision to first include an image of the disputed territory of Crimea, before then erasing it.
5. Chick-fil-A is making an unprecedented move to hook millennial moms
Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country are implementing a new service called Mom's Valet to make it easier for customers with young children to order and eat at Chick-fil-A.
6. Panera is ditching these common soup ingredients used by Campbell's and Progresso
Panera Bread just took a big step toward reaching its goal to cut all artificial preservatives, sweeteners, colors, and flavors from the menu by the end of 2016. The bakery-cafe chain announced that its soup menu is now "clean," free of ingredients on the "No No List" that the chain is banning from the menu.
7. Kroger is going to become Amazon and Walmart's biggest threat
Kroger is in the ideal position to beat out other grocery chains with online sales. The chain was deemed the best-positioned retail company for online grocery gains in the US by Morgan Stanley in a recent ecommerce survey, beating out companies like Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods.
8. The top 16 food franchise opportunities in America
Entrepreneur.comrecently compiled a list of the top franchises in 2015 based on their Franchise 500 score. The score is based on expansion plans, financial stability, and cost to open a franchise. We broke out a list of the top food franchises of 2015.
9. Barnes & Noble has a group of insanely loyal customers - and they're killing business
The Nook continues to put a damper on Barnes & Noble's profitability even though the company's same-store sales are actually up.
10. Dolce & Gabbana is catering to a soon-to-be $484 billion market most retailers ignore
Style.comArabia announced on Sunday that Dolce & Gabbana was debuting a line with abayas and hijabs, a first for the brand. The website has also posted a makeup guide for women to wear along with their new Dolce & Gabbana apparel.