Strategy

Washington, D.C. -- On the heels of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s “Joining Forces” military support announcement in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Walmart has announced its Military Family Promise. 

The commitment guarantees a job at a nearby store or club for all military personnel, and military spouses, employed at Walmart and Sam's Club who move to a different part of the country because they or their spouse have been transferred by the United States military.

New York City -- J. Crew said Tuesday that it plans a $20 million expansion of its Lynchburg, Va., distribution center to facilitate the retailer’s goal of selling more clothes overseas.

According to a report in the Lynchburg newspaper News & Advance, J. Crew is slated to open its first store outside the tates and start shipping orders to Europe by the end of 2011. Those orders will be filled at J. Crew’s facility in Lynchburg.

Chicago -- Jones Lang LaSalle said Monday that, on behalf of Monroe Investment Partners LLC, it has closed the sale of a 13.5-acre parcel on Chicago’s South Side to Walmart, which purchased the shovel-ready pad in the Chatham Market shopping center to build a 155,000-sq.-ft. supercenter.

This will be the first of six new full-scale stores Walmart has announced it plans to build in the City of Chicago.

HOUSTON -- Kroger announced that, beginning  April 13, Kroger customers in the Greater Houston area will be able to save up to $1 per gallon at 68 Kroger Fuel Centers through the grocer's new fuel accumulation program. Kroger's latest gas savings initiative will allow shoppers to redeem up to 1,000 fuel points, which are earned through everyday grocery, prescription and gift card purchases using the Kroger Plus card, during a single fill-up.

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).

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores announced that the company will be recognized as a 2011 Energy Star Partner of the Year for the second consecutive year at the Energy Star Awards ceremony held in Washington, D.C. The Partner of the Year Award is presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy.

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.
 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Tuesday it plans to reduce space for electronics in its U.S. stores, saying that sales in that category have declined.

The company will reduce floor space devoted to items such as flat-screen televisions and give some of that space to apparel, according to Rosalind Brewer, who runs the Wal-Mart East division and addressed a retail conference in Atlanta on Tuesday.