Consumer Affairs & Relations

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Thursday that it is increasing its annual dividend 21% on the back of strong earnings.

The retailer last month reported a 27% increase in fourth-quarter net income as it benefited from cost-cutting and strong sales overseas. Wal-Mart said it will pay an annual dividend this year of $1.46, up from $1.21. It will pay quarterly dividends of 36.5 cents in April, June, September and January in fiscal 2012, which ends Jan. 31.

NEW YORK — EcoTools, an earth-friendly bath and beauty products brand, has made its way to Walmart.

Last month, a variety of EcoTools cosmetic brushes lined the shelves of Walmart stores throughout the country. EcoTools also introduced the EcoTools everyday collection 6-piece brush set exclusively at Walmart. The collection, which comes in a hemp case, includes an angled blush brush, an angle eyeliner brush, concealer brush, eye shading brush and detailer/lip brush. The 6-piece set retails for $10.98.

Walmart executives will take to the road next week to speak at two investor conferences where it would seem unlikely that little if any new information will be shared since the conferences are just two weeks removed from the release of Walmart’s fourth-quarter results.

Cincinnati -- Kroger Co. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income jumped 9.2% while sales rose 7.4%. It also announced that its board authorized a $1 billion stock repurchase plan.

Net income was $278.8 million, compared with $255.4 million in the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue rose to $19.9 billion, with same-store sales up 3.8%.

Kroger offered a cautious outlook for the current year, saying rising fuel costs are likely to take a bite out of household budgets.

CINCINNATI — Kroger on Thursday beat analysts’ quarterly consensus, posting 46 cents in earnings per share (adjusted for a goodwill impairment charge) that exceeded consensus by 2 cents EPS with higher-than-expected identical-store sales lift of 3.8% (excluding fuel).

Same-store sales were particularly strong across natural food, bakery and deli/meat, Kroger chairman and CEO David Dillion told analysts during a conference call. “We were particularly pleased by sales growth in our drug and merchandise departments,” Dillon said.

The Walmart board approved a hefty 21% increase to what was already one of the retail industry’s richest dividend payouts, the company announced late Thursday. The increase approved by the board puts Walmart’s annual dividend at $1.46 a share for the current fiscal year compared with last year’s dividend of $1.21. The dividend will be paid in quarterly installment of 56.5 cents.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Overstock.com announced that it won two 2011 Stevie Awards for sales and customer service, in the following categories -- Customer Service Department of the Year, Retail and Sales Department of the Year, All Other Industries.

Now in its fifth year, the Stevie Awards selected winners in 40 award categories honoring achievements, individuals, teams and departments by industry in the sales field and 25 award categories honoring individuals, team and departments by industry in the customer service/contact center awards field.

New York City -- Foot Locker’s fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to $57 million on fewer charges and improved revenue.

The company reported a 5% increase in sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010, to $1.39 billion, up from $1.33 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales rose 7.3%.

Foot Locker reported net income of $169 million for the full year. That compares with net income of $48 million, in 2009.