Strategy

Second quarter sales at Amazon increased 23% to $19.3 billion thanks to growth of new and existing products, but the company reported an even bigger loss than it did the prior year.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has lost its bid to keep files regarding an internal probe of possible bribes paid to Mexican officials to aid real estate deals out of the hands of investors. The Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a 2013 ruling by a lower Delaware state court mandating that Wal-Mart provide the files to several investors.

Tablet point of sale company ShopKeep unveiled a redesigned website, logo and tagline earlier this week. The rebranding is intended to accompany ShopKeep’s growth since it started six years ago, and new features such as customized email receipts.
 
According to ShopKeep CEO Jason Richelson, the company’s new look “respects where we’ve come from but better reflects where we are, and where we intend to go as a company.”

Chicago – Physical stores continue to be customers’ preferred shopping channel and a place where the most significant consumer and retailer value is created, according to a new report by A.T. Kearney.

The firm’s “Omnichannel Shopping Preferences Study” found that stores play a crucial role in online purchases, as two-thirds of customers purchasing online use a physical store before or after the transaction. The survey covered all age segments — teens, Millennials, generation X, baby boomers, and seniors.

Walgreens president of pharmacy, health and wellness Kermit Crawford is leaving the company after 31 years to take on new opportunities, including continuing to serve as a senior counselor to Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson.

Miami -- Ryder System, a leader in commercial fleet management and supply chain management solutions, announced the launch of its new “That’s Ryder” brand advertising campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind for Ryder in nearly two decades, includes the debut of a new tagline for the company – Ever better.

Norwalk, Conn. - The Priceline Group Inc. has successfully completed its previously announced tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of OpenTable Inc. for $103 per share in cash. The all-cash transaction is valued at $2.6 billion.

Redwood City, Calif. -- Oracle Corp. announced it is opening a cloud development center in Seattle, its first such center outside of California. The company, which plans to hire about 100 engineers to start, said it chose Seattle to take advantage of the “deep expertise” in cloud computing available in the city’s rapidly growing technical community.