Marketing

Johannesburg -- Massmart Holdings Ltd., the South African retailer controlled by Wal-Mart Stores, announced Thursday it will up its store counts in fiscal 2012 by 8.6% to 340 stores. The company will open 27 new stores during the period, mostly in South Africa and two in Nigeria.CEO Grant Pattison said the accelerated pace is to keep the company in front of its competitors.

Also on Thursday, Massmart reported an 11.6% rise in total sales for the year ended June 26 to $7.29 billion, and upped its forecast for the remainder of 2011.

Suppliers to Walmart will have plenty of opportunities to hear from Walmart EVP merchandising Duncan Mac Naughton in the months ahead.

First up is Walmart’s annual meeting for financial analysts held each fall and slated for Oct. 11 to 12 this year. An agenda isn’t yet available, but Mac Naughton presumably will be a featured participant, or at least he should be considering Walmart’s ongoing efforts to revive U.S. sales and recent moves Mac Naughton has made to the structure and leadership of the merchandising organization.

Former Walmart chief information officer Linda Dillman is among a group of 10 executives who will be recognized for outstanding achievement in driving diversity and inclusion in the consumer product and retail industry when the Network of Executive Women gathers next month in Orlando for its annual meeting.

By Howard Paster, [email protected]

Picture this setting. The neatly manicured grounds of the spectacular Broadmoor resort are underfoot, the Rocky Mountains are in the background, and the sky above Colorado Springs is a crisp blue. Hundreds of dark-suited senior executives are milling about an early evening reception, sipping wine as white-gloved waiters offer curious looking hors d'oeuvres.

Just in time for football season, Procter & Gamble and Walmart are out with yet another installment in their collaborative, family movie night entertainment initiative. The new movie, the eighth in the series, which first aired in April 2010, is titled, Game Time: Tackling the Past.

“This exciting sports drama showcases how a person’s true value is measured and is sure to get families revved up in time for the 2011 season opener,” according to promotional materials for the film set to air Saturday, Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. eastern time on NBC.

By Liana Hill, [email protected]

DENVER and MONTREAL — Molson Coors Brewing Company announced that Torsten Kuenzlen, formerly president director of Coca-Cola’s Indonesia region, has joined as Molson Coors International's new CMO. Celso White, former VP and general manager, Americas concentrate operations at PepsiCo, has joined as MCI’s new chief supply chain Officer. In addition, Lee Reichert, formerly a partner with Lathrop & Gage LLP, has joined MCI as general counsel. All of the executives will be based in Denver, Colo.