Consumer Affairs & Relations

A monthly pricing survey conducted by Credit Suisse in December shows that while Walmart remains the lowest price on a basket of 60 products across two major markets the gap continues to narrow and is now at the lowest level in three years.

This is seen as an encouraging sign by those in the financial community who interpret the data as evidence of a rational pricing environment, even though from a shoppers perspective there exists less of a clear distinction between Walmart every day low prices and those of its competitors.

ITASCA, Ill. -- Jewel-Osco, a Supervalu-owned company, announced that Keith Nielsen, Jewel-Osco president, has informed the company of his retirement effective at the end of the fiscal year (Feb. 28).

Nielsen’s successor will be Brian Huff, SVP specialty retail for Supervalu. Huff will transition into the position beginning Feb. 7. All operations and business strategies will continue as normal.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. reported that its first quarter net income rose nearly 44%, beating expectations, to $346.6 million in the period ended Jan. 2. That's up from $241.5 million a year earlier. Although the company expects its base of customers to keep growing, it offered a tepid full-year forecast, saying higher commodity costs could eat into its profit.

Revenue rose nearly 8% to $3 billion. Same store sales rose 7%, driven by a 5% boost in traffic and 2% higher average transaction. The figure rose 8% in the United States and 5% abroad.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity, free of the restructuring charges that put a dent into profits last year, said its first-quarter net income more than quadrupled, easily topping Wall Street expectations. The chain reported earnings of $5.2 million from October to December, compared with $1.3 million for the same period in the prior year.

Revenue increased 1.2% to $135.4 million.

New York City -- The Home Depot  has closed its last store in Beijing, highlighting the difficulties that some western companies face when trying to transplant foreign business models into China.

Home Depot, which has closed five stores on the mainland in the past two years, is struggling to find the right business format for one of the world’s most difficult home-improvement markets, local analysts said.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Donuts has signed agreements with four franchisees to develop 16 restaurants in Tampa, Orlando and Tallahassee over the next several years.

Dunkin' Donuts development throughout Florida is part of a steady and strategic growth strategy, which includes expanding in existing markets while entering new cities across the country.

Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid used the term "growth trifecta" to describe its 2010 performance -- strong sales, strong margins and strong earnings.

The company reported fourth quarter net income of $75.7 million, up 24.9% from $60.6 million reported for the same period last year.

Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were $1.46 billion, up 3.4% from $1.42 billion reported for the same period in 2009. 

For the full year, the company reported net income of $292.8, up % from $285.5 reported in 2009.

Sherwin-Williams’ loss of the paint business at Walmart didn’t affect its fourth quarter results too bad, but will represent a nearly $100 million headwind for the coming year. The company reported fourth-quarter net income of nearly $72.9 million, up 11.6% from $65.3 million on sales that advanced nearly 19% to $1.9 billion during the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010. Sales in the consumer group, which includes such retailers as Walmart, increased 6.2% to $255 million in the quarter.

First it was Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon at the White House with First Lady Michelle Obama announcing a healthy food initiative that generated enormous amounts of favorable publicity for the company. Now we get word out of Europe that Walmart president and CEO Mike Duke and Walmart International president and CEO Doug McMillon not only attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, they hosted a breakfast meeting.

Topeka, Kan. -- Payless ShoeSource announced that Vincent DeSantis has been promoted to senior VP and chief marketing officer for Payless, reporting to LuAnn Via, CEO of Payless.