International Business

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Amidst allegations of bribery at its Mexican affiliate, Wal-Mart Stores has created a new position. The global FCPA compliance officer will be responsible for ensuring that all Walmart divisions comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This person will also oversee five FCPA compliance directors based in the international markets.

Bentonville, Ark. -- In response to the New York Times article about compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Wal-Mart VP corporate communications, David Tovar on Tuesday made the following statement:

New York -- RadioShack Corp. on Tuesday reported a loss for the first quarter of $8 million, hurt by weakness in its Sprint postpaid wireless business and weak demand for prepaid wireless handsets, laptops and home entertainment accessories.

The electronics retailer said its net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, was $8 million compared with net income of $35.1 million a year earlier.

Sales fell 0.9% to $1.01 billion, while analysts had expected $1.06 billion.

New York -- Coach Inc. posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, benefiting from strong sales and improved margins. The company also announced that its board of directors has voted to increase its cash dividend by 33%.

Net income for the third quarter ended on March 31 was a better-than-expected $225 million compared with $186 million a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 16.6% to $1.11 billion, just above analysts’ expectations. Same-store sales in the United States rose 6.7%.

LONGUEUIL, Quebec — The Jean Coutu Group has sold 56 million of its approximately 234.4 million shares in Rite Aid, the company said Friday.

The Canadian retailing group said the $83.6 million, $1.51-per-share sale, which amounts to a nearly 24% reduction in the number of Rite Aid shares the company owns, would reduce its stake in Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid to 19.85%. The Jean Coutu group still owns about 178.4 million shares in the 4,667-store chain.

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores confirmed that it is investigating its operations in Mexico for possible violations of the U.S. law that prohibits bribery overseas. The acknowledgement came in response to a lengthy article by The New York Times on Saturday that alleged the giant discounter first learned of allegations of "widespread bribery" by its workers in the country in 2005 and that top executives subsequently covered them up. 

ORRVILLE, Ohio — J. M. Smucker has promoted one of its corporate officers.

The company said David Lemmon now would serve as VP and managing director of the company's Canada operations. Lemmon, who has been with the J. M. Smucker for 17 years, "has been instrumental in successfully implementing the company's growth strategy in Canada and helping the company achieve a leading market share position in several Canadian food and beverage categories," J. M. Smucker said.

Lemmon's promotion is effective May 1.

New York -- Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) will enter Latin America this fall, opening a flagship in Centro Santa Fé, Mexico City.

“We look very much forward to opening the first H&M flagship store in Mexico. It will be the perfect first step for H&M into this fashion conscious region,” said Karl-Johan Persson, CEO, H&M.
 

New York -- Kate Spade New York has chosen ConcretePlatform to enhance its international and domestic trading capabilities. Offered as a subscription-based cloud service, ConcretePlatform contains a number of flexible applications – accessed via a browser - that allow brands to trade with their partners across the wholesale, franchise and wholly owned markets, as well as the vast supply network that supports today’s retail community, the company said.

New York -- Pompei A.D. announced that Vanessa Rose has been promoted to chief marketing officer.

Previously, Rose was executive director of business development at Pompei A.D. As CMO, she will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s current expansion in the United States including Hawaii, as well as globally in Dubai and throughout Asia.