We Don't Talk About...

Energy offsets? Target has opened a flashy 33,000 square foot store in Times Square, featuring an 84-foot-high digital display and their mascot pup in neon lights. Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the retailer has opened their first net-zero energy location in the city of Vista, California—their most sustainable store so far. Maybe they kind of balance each other out?

We don’t say… any of that. Amazon is getting serious about internal communications and is considering engaging an automatic word monitor to flag and block certain key words, including “union,” “pay raise,” and “restrooms,” amongst employees' written conversations. Here’s a quick look at the list which also bans the phrase “this is dumb.”

More Sights & Sounds. Elon Musk has joined Twitter’s Board, and the platform is reportedly already working on an edit feature. Pinterest has implemented new guidelines on posts containing climate change misinformation, and plans to remove content that does not follow the new requirements. Uber is expanding its operations into trains, planes, buses, and even rental cars in attempt to become a “superapp” for travel. Kroger and Bed, Bath, & Beyond are partnering up online, and plan to test an in-store pilot as well. Macy’s is opening up a $584 million fulfillment center in North Carolina, as the company continues to support its expanding omnichannel business. Neiman Marcus is getting $200 million in investment from Farfetch, as part of their global strategic partnership. Speaking of global events, the U.S. has put sanctions on Putin’s daughters by barring them from the United States financial system. We missed this during Women’s History Month, but it’s still worth sharing: Shopify reported that 53% of their store owners identified as women and highlighted some truly stand-out women entrepreneurs. And finally, UK police are warning parents about “Huggy Wuggy,” a dark and sinister villain from a horror video game, who has reemerged on TikTok in fan videos. Parents may not know their children are watching, because of the deceptively nice name. Spoiler alert: Huggy Wuggy isn’t very huggy.

Fresh launch. Pharrell’s partnership with Adidas is now releasing a unisex capsule collection, Humanrace premium basics, as well as new footwear.

Roll your own. Burritos in the metaverse, that is. Starting this week, you can earn a free Chipotle burrito by learning to roll one in Roblox. Also, what is the obsession with Roblox?

Suspensions and recalls. Howard Schultz has suspended the share repurchase program at Starbucks as one of his first acts as interim CEO. Skippy has recalled over 150,000 pounds of peanut butter, which is bad news for our beloved Phillip Jackson, who likes to treat himself to a PB & J on the regular. And Kinder is recalling a batch of their chocolate eggs after discovering they were filled with an unwelcome surprise of salmonella, causing 63 people to fall ill.

Slime time // Weird new robots. If you think this regenerating magnetic slimy terminator villain-like robot is the creepiest tech you’ve ever seen, then you should also note this slithering snake robot. They aren’t inherently hair-raising—but the fact that their intention in the medical world is to be used for procedures inside of the human body makes us feel like we may have a touch of the vapors, though we appreciate life saving technology as much as the next person.

The cost of delivery. Inflation is really affecting delivery drivers as the price of gas rises above $4 a gallon. Several delivery-based companies, such as Doordash and Uber Eats have attempted to offset high fuel costs, but drivers say it’s not enough and some are pausing work because it is no longer worth it for them.