Marketing

San Bruno, Calif. -- Walmart.com is giving fans of its Facebook page early access to a "Back to Class Cyber Monday" event being held Monday, Aug. 12. Customers will receive online discounts of up to 60% on close to 300 back-to-school items ranging as high as almost 60%, while supplies last. Fans of Wal-Mart’s Facebook page can gain early access to the sale by visiting the page on Sunday, Aug. 11 and clicking a special link.

Twenty-year Johnson & Johnson former executive Rick LaBerge was named VP of sales at Mars Chocolate North America.

In his new role, LaBerge will lead the Mars Chocolate sales organization, overseeing the strategy and execution of retail management, customer account teams, field sales and customer development. He will serve as a member of the Mars senior management team and will play an active role in industry events, according to the company.

Global fragrance leader Elizabeth Arden cited curtailed orders at a mass market customer as a factor in its weaker-than-expected full year financial results, and the finger was quickly pointed at Walmart.

City of Commerce, Calif. -- 99 Cents Only Stores had a positive first quarter of fiscal 2014, swinging from a net loss to net income and also reporting gains in net and same-store sales. The retailer reported net income of $3.16 million, compared to a net loss of about $4.9 million a year earlier.

Fort Worth, Texas — Buxton has announced the roll out of a full suite of retail market analyses in the Canadian marketplace. The company noted that the Canadian retail market has become extremely competitive and will likely see massive retail growth over the next few years. As a new concentration for Buxton, the effort will focus on both U.S. retailers expanding into Canada, and Canadian organizations looking to maximize their footprint in the market.

A spectacular mixed-use development will soon break ground in Gainesville, Fla. — at the intersection of I-75 and Archer Road. When complete, Celebration Pointe will run more than a half-mile along I-75, the heart of Gainesville’s most successful retail corridor.

The project’s specs are awesome: 125 acres, 1 million sq. ft., 300,000 sq. ft. of upper-moderate and specialty retail, a huge restaurant and entertainment component, Class A office space, nearly 1,000 multifamily residential units, a branded hotel.

Doubling sales in any category within a four year time span would be an audacious goal for any retailer, but that was the objective Walmart set for itself in the beer category last fall, according to Bloomberg.

Minneapolis — Holiday Stationstores has reached an agreement with I-90 Fuel Services to convert 16 of The Gas Stop convenience stores to Holiday Stationstores, expanding the Holiday brand in the South Dakota and Southwestern Minnesota markets.

The Gas Stop stores making the conversion are located in Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Brandon, Mitchell, Mobridge, Pierre and Volga, South Dakota. The Minnesota stores are in Luverne and Worthington.