International Business

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart announced it has launched its Women in Factories program, a five-year initiative that will empower 60,000 women working in factories that supply products to Walmart and other retailers in India, Bangladesh, China and Central America.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is offering the women who work in the factories that supply its products the chance for a better life with lessons in such critical life skills as communication, hygiene, reproductive health, occuputational health and safety and gender sensitivity. The Women in Factories program, a five-year initiative will benefit 60,000 women working in factories in India, Bangladesh, China and Central America.

PITTSBURGH — Dick's Sporting Goods is looking into opportunities beyond the United States and has agreed to make a 20 million pounds Sterling strategic investment in JJB Sports plc, a leading U.K. sports retailer.

New York -- Lowe's is going on the offensive, and investing in a wide array of initiatives to win shoppers from rival The Home Depot.

“Everything we did [in the past] was store-centric. Today, we are all about the customer. So, it's about meeting the customer on their terms, no matter how they choose to interact with Lowe's: Whether it is in their room, at their jobsite, on the phone or on the web,” Robert Hull, CFO, Lowe’s, told Reuters.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — HSN has acquired lifestyle brand Chasing Fireflies. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

The purchase, which was made through the multichannel retailer’s Cornerstone Brands segment, will accelerate HSN’s move into content-driven lifestyle businesses.

AMSTERDAM — Staples has launched a new loyalty program for its customers in France.  According to the company Staples Fidélité makes it easy for all Staples online customers to save on essential office products. 

New York -- Swedish fast-fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) plans to call its new retail brand “& other stories” according to various media reports.

New York -- Starbucks Coffee Co. is planning to a major push into smaller cities in China, with a target of 1,500 stores in more than 70 Chinese cities by 2015, Bloomberg reported.

China will become the chain’s second largest market outside the United States, the report said. Currently, Starbucks has about 500 outlets in China and operates in 48 cities.