Content about Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach

May 17, 2012
Walmart Q1 comps gain 2.6%

First quarter profits at Walmart exceeded analysts’ estimates as same-store sales increased 2.6% and the company said it strategy of low prices on a broad merchandise assortment is resonating again with shoppers.

May 3, 2012
Charitable bottled water company claims top prize in Walmart contest

HumanKind Water, PlateTopper and SnapIt Eyeglass Repair Kit have the distinction of being the winners of Walmart's Get on the Shelf contest -- beating out more than 4,000 inventors, entrepreneurs and small businesses to claim the coveted prize of being carried at Walmart.com and in Walmart U.S. stores.

May 3, 2012
Major Walmart shareholder urges rejection of key board members at annual meeting

It’s looking like Walmart’s upcoming annual meeting is going to be a bittersweet affair as the company observes its 50th anniversary against the backdrop of an unfolding Mexican bribery scandal and an appeal from a major shareholder this week urging a no vote on five board members.

May 2, 2012
Network of Executive Women honors Walmart chief Duke with diversity award

The Network of Executive Women is honoring Michael Duke, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, with its William J. Grize Diversity Hall of Fame Award, on June 28 during Women's Day at the LPGA in Rogers Ark.

April 26, 2012
In case you missed it, both sides of the story

By now anyone who receives this weekly newsletter has heard or read something about Walmart’s alleged Mexican bribery scandal and cover up. However, if you haven’t yet read the original story that appeared in last Sunday’s New York Times, do yourself a favor and read the lengthy piece in its entirety as well as Walmart’s initial and updated response.

April 26, 2012
Wal-Mart first-ever retailer to launch online ‘pay with cash’ option

Walmart has launched a “Pay with Cash” service that offers cash payment options for online orders at Walmart.com in the United States.

April 24, 2012
Walmart creates new role to handle bribery allegations

Amidst allegations of bribery at its Mexican affiliate, Wal-Mart Stores has created a new position.

April 20, 2012
Deeper, broader, faster: Walmart’s new sustainability imperative

Walmart held another one of its sustainability milestone meetings this week and webcast the event live from the auditorium at its home office. By the time the hour-and-a-half event was over the senior executives who participated had delivered a clear and consistent message around the company’s wide-ranging sustainability efforts.

April 20, 2012
Walmart leaving smaller footprints on sustainability journey

Landfill operators got some bad news this week when Walmart said it prevented 81% of waste generated by U.S. stores from going to landfills. That nugget is just one example of the progress Walmart has made on its broad sustainability agenda and was among numerous others contained in the company’s 5th annual Global Responsibility Report released this week.

April 16, 2012
Walmart board searches for right fit with Google exec

The Walmart board of directors is poised for an infusion of fresh, and young, talent when shareholders vote to approve a slate of directors that includes Google’s VP of local and maps.

April 13, 2012
McMillon balances freedom and framework internationally

More framework and less freedom is how Walmart International president and CEO Doug McMillon described the subtle shift occurring within a $126 billion division where he is looking to drive improved performance with a “powered by Walmart” approach.

April 13, 2012
The international appeal of retail basics

Walmart should shorten its checkout lines and improve the store experience in Canada prior to the arrival of Target next spring. That was the advice of Diane Briesebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada who spoke Wednesday at a dinner in Toronto, which preceded Walmart’s annual international meeting for the financial community.

April 11, 2012
Walmart isn’t Target’s only competitive concern in Canada

Less than a year from today Target’s first stores in Canada open and the company encounters a familiar competitive challenge in Walmart as well as some unfamiliar operators.

April 5, 2012
Walmart gives away nearly $1 billion in 2012

As a large, profitable retailer, Walmart is expected to give back. While many could argue it could do more, the company gave away $958.9 million in cash and in-kind contributions around the globe during the fiscal year ending Jan. 31.

April 4, 2012
Walmart faces uphill battle in L.A.'s Chinatown

Members of various community groups are not making it easy for Walmart to build in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. According to reports, several groups including the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) which appealed Walmart's approved building permits, are working to appeal the process. Read more.

 

 

March 15, 2012
Walmart increased promotional activity in February

As Walmart CFO Charles Holley noted recently during an investor conference, the company was pleased with its February sales. Unseasonably warm weather surely played a role as did a surge in promotional activity which seems oddly inconsistent with the company’s renewed emphasis every day low prices. The number of ad pages increased 58% to 41 total pages compared to 26 the prior year, according to promotional research firm Market Track.

March 9, 2012
Traffic and sales are “pleasing” so far

It seems like forever ago that Walmart stopped reporting monthly sales and providing regular guidance updates, which is why one comment by Walmart CFO Charles Holley stood out above all the others he made this week at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer & Retail Conference.

March 9, 2012
Walmart to move forward with Massmart purchase in South Africa

A South African regulatory body gave Wal-Mart Stores permission on Friday to move ahead with its $2.2 billion purchase of South African chain Massmart.

March 8, 2012
Institute aims to keep Walmart honest on sustainability front

Walmart is guilty of greenwashing to enhance it corporate reputation, and it would take the company three centuries at the current pace to reach its goal of being supplied 100% by renewable energy, according to a group critical of Walmart sustainability efforts that others have lauded.

March 8, 2012
It’s all relative on the global stage

Walmart president and CEO Mike Duke frequently asserts no other global retailer is better positioned than Walmart, and it is easy to see why he holds that view especially when compared with the situation at the world’s second largest retailer.

March 8, 2012
Walmart falls in the middle of most admired, but does it matter?

Fortune is out with its list of the “50 Most Admired Companies,” and Walmart landed at number 24, which is only a big deal if you buy into the notion espoused by those who compiled the list that it is the definitive report card on corporate reputations.

February 29, 2012
Walmart rolls out the financial big guns

Three Wal-Mart Stores executives are scheduled to speak at two key retail conferences on March 7.

February 23, 2012
Walmart wants to be the Amazon of China

News this week that Walmart acquired a majority stake in one of China’s fastest growing e-commerce companies positions Walmart to become a dominant multichannel player in China far faster than it ever would have on its own.

February 21, 2012
Walmart boosts investment in Chinese e-commerce

Wal-Mart Stores' investment in China continues to grow as the company now has a controlling stake in one of the country's fast-growing e-commerce websites.

February 21, 2012
Walmart had a “great” Christmas

Walmart’s U.S. stores division regained customer traffic during the fourth quarter to post a 1.5% same-store sales increase and continues gather momentum as familiar strategies and effective marketing are resonating with customers, the company said Tuesday morning in conjunction with the release of quarterly results.

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