International Business

Paris -- French retail giant Carrefour SA reported Thursday that sales in its fiscal first quarter inched up 3.9% to $35.7 billion.

Stronger showings in Brazil and China helped the retailer counteract weaker performance in Western Europe.

Carrefour's sales figures come ahead of a key shareholder vote in June on the company's plans to spin off its discount chain Dia and some European property assets into separately listed companies.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. said Thursday that it plans to open hundreds of wireless device stores, as well as expand online and in China in an effort to be more competitive as consumers up their online shopping. The chain is also scaling back the size of its signature namesake format. 

In an analyst conference Thursday, the retailer unveiled plans to shrink square footage at big-box stores by 10% over the next three to five years, a move that Best Buy said will eventually save $70 million to $80 million annually.

By Dwayne Shackelford, [email protected]

Proposed new lease accounting rule changes will have a significant impact on many retail and restaurant companies. The good news is that rent will no longer appear on the income statement; the bad news is that it will be replaced by amortization and interest charges, which will generally be larger in the first years of a lease and lower in the latter years.

New York City -- A report by the Associated Press revealed that Gap CEO Glenn Murphy received compensation worth nearly $6 million in 2010, an 18% increase from the year before.

Most of the increase came from a one-time bonus and stock awards. Murphy didn't receive any stock awards the year before.
 

New York City -- Target expects sales from its upcoming Canadian stores to total more than $6 billion by 2017, the company’s CFO said Tuesday, Dow Jones reported.

Speaking to Wall Street analysts, CFO Douglas Scovanner said Target expects to have more than 200 stores in Canada within the next five to 10 years, with the stores generating about $6 billion Canadian ($6.27 billion in U.S. dollars based on Tuesday’s exchange rate).

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A provider of retailer supplier education services has named a 31-year Walmart veteran as its president and CEO.

8th & Walton said Mike Cockrell, who most recently served as chief merchandising officer of Walmart's Indian joint venture with Bharti before his retirement in February, would lead the company's efforts to accelerate growth initiatives while enhancing existing services.

New York City -- A report released Tuesday by The Conference Board found that the top concern facing CEOs across the globe is business growth.

The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2011 polled more than 700 CEOs, presidents and chairmen from across geographies and industries regarding the most pressing issues they face in today’s business environment.