Strategy

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart and the Walmart Foundation announced $958.9 million in cash and in-kind contributions around the globe during the fiscal year ending January 31, 2012. The company's U.S. giving grew nearly 20%, largely due to increased donations of produce, meats, poultry and other nutritious food to local food banks from Walmart stores, Sam's Club locations and distribution centers.

Overall, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation's giving in the last fiscal year includes:

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.

Atlanta -- InComm, a leading third-party gift card provider, is following the example of American Express and is pulling out of New Jersey, effective June 30, rather than comply with changes in the unclaimed property law.

InComm supplies some 2,500 retail locations throughout New Jersey with cards for such brands as Visa, iTunes, Macy's, Subway, Chili's, and Lord & Taylor. InComm also announced the removal of its Vanilla Visa Gift Card and Vanilla MasterCard Gift Card products from the state.

New York -- The ax has fallen at J.C. Penney Co. The company on Thursday laid off 600 workers from its corporate headquarters Plano, Texas, as its looks to streamline its business model amid a major reinvention of the business. The staff reduction, which equaled 13% to 14% of the headquarters staff, did not include any senior executives, according to The New York Times.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Pier 1 Imports Inc. on Thursday said that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit more than doubled on increased store traffic and a one-time tax benefit that boosted its bottom line. The chain also announced a new three-year growth plan that includes store updates and investments in technology.

Pittsburgh -- Dick's Sporting Goods has agreed to make a 20 million pound investment ($31.75 million) in U.K. sports retailer JJB Sports plc, which operates over 180 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Dick's will purchase 18.75 million pounds ($29.76 million) in junior secured convertible notes and 1.25 million pounds ($1.98 million) in ordinary shares of JJB Sports. The transaction is subject to approval of the British company's shareholders.

Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s profit in the fourth quarter rose to $351.0 million, from $283.5 million a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 25 increased 9.1% to $2.73 billion. Same-store sales were up 6.8%.

In a conference call with analysts, the chain said it anticipates opening a total of 40 stores across all its concepts this fiscal year.
 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. has appointed Leveraged Marketing Corp. of America as its exclusive global licensing agent as it looks to capitalize on, and ways to sell, its signature Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands outside its own stores.

Sears said it will work closely with Leveraged Marketing to identify, evaluate and manage licensing opportunities around the world.

New York -- Hybris announced that The Gymboree Corp. has selected the hybris platform to enhance its e-commerce efforts and provide a cohesive omnichannel shopping experience across its three brands, Gymboree, Crazy 8, and Janie and Jack.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Club said it plans to open up to an additional eight warehouses prior to the end of its fiscal year on September 2, 2012.

Costco currently operates 601 warehouses, including 434 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, 13 in Japan, eight in Taiwan, seven in Korea and three in Australia.