Finance & Capital Management

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Friday it has replaced two of its top executives in China who resigned earlier this month.

Mario-José Medina will serve as the head of Wal-Mart financial operations in China. He previously worked as the CFO of Wal-Mart Chile, and was hired in 2007 to be the CFO of Wal-Mart Puerto Rico.

The company also said that Del Sloneker, a former senior VP, will become COO in China.

Midwestern department store operator Gordman’s Stores was putting up some big numbers last year, and then in early August it decided to go public. Things are not looking quite as good of late, with first quarter comps weaker than planned and guidance for the remainder of the year lowered.

New York City -- Consumers grew more confident in May amid job gains and slightly declining gas prices. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment increased to a three-month high of 74.3 from 69.8 in April.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to be unchanged from the preliminary figure. At the same time, income expectations remained at low levels.

BRUSSELS — The Belgium-based parent company of Delhaize America, which operates such banners as Food Lion and Harveys in the United States, has elected new members to its board of directors.

Columbus, Ohio — Big Lots on Thursday trimmed its expectations for the year amid a fall in first-quarter earnings. In a separate statement, Big Lots said it signed an agreement to buy the Canadian closeout retail chain Liquidation World.

Based in Brantford, Ontario, Liquidation World operates 92 stores in Canada. It is Big Lots’ first expansion outside of the United States

Big Lots posted earnings of $52.5 million for the period ended April 30, compared with $55.9 million a year earlier.

The resignation of two top executives at Walmart China earlier this week initially seemed a rather stunning development given China’s importance to Walmart’s future and the fact that the company just held an analysts meeting in Shenzhen in late March. However, Walmart is now looking to capitalize on compelling growth prospects in the world’s second largest economy without the services of CFO Roland Lawrence and COO Rob Cissell. Walmart announced their simultaneous departure, but did not identify replacements.

Chicago — A report released by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle found that the retail sector is edging toward recovery driven by growth in job market, gains in corporate profits and improvements in credit markets.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s North America Mid-Year Retail Outlook, the environment is still not without risk as rising fuel costs and a continued weak housing market, coupled with an increasingly volatile global geopolitical climate, continue to slow retail recovery as consumers remain tentatively cautious. 

SECAUCUS, N.J. — Panasonic Corporation of North America has appointed Betty Noonan to lead its marketing and branding functions. Noonan, who was most recently VP and director of Kodak's worldwide consumer marketing operations, will be responsible for integrating the company's marketing and enhancing the Panasonic brand.