Corporate Governance

A week after announcing that it would boost wages for its employees, Walmart is stepping up again in a big way with a commitment to close the skills gap of entry level workers.

The Walmart Foundation is making an initial investment of $16 million to seven national nonprofits as part of the Opportunity initiative, a $100 million commitment to help increase the economic mobility of entry level workers in retail and adjacent sectors.

Stronger demand for clothing and accessories during the holiday season helped Kohl's Corp. post an increase in same store sales for the fourth quarter after five straight quarters of decline.   The retailer reported that same store sales rose 3.7% for the fourth quarter. Net income rose 10.5% to $369 million, or $1.83 per share, while net sales increased 4% to $6.34 billion. Analysts on an average had expected earnings of $1.80 per share and revenue of $6.33 billion.  

The Center for Retailing Excellence just scored another coup with the addition of Walmart COO Judith McKenna to the agenda for an upcoming conference that already included Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

The Center, part of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, is scheduled to hold its annual Emerging Trends in Retail conference on June 11 at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale near Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville headquarters.

Walmart is all about leveraging its scale to drive performance, but the application of that mindset can play out in many different ways, as Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation, will explain on March 3.

Stronger traffic and an increase in the size of the average basket are among the reasons Ross Stores’ CFO cited for the company's robust fourth quarter performance.

Chico’s FAS Inc. has revealed plans to close more stores, cut jobs and decrease its capital spending to $100 million for fiscal 2015, a 29% decrease to its three-year average.

Better than expected fourth quarter same store sales growth and big increase in gross margins have JCPenney eyeing potentially faster topline growth in 2015.

The company said its same store sales for fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 increased 4.4%, above the forecast range of 2% to 4% provided at the end of the third quarter. Total sales increased 2.9% to nearly $3.9 billion and online sales grew 12.5% to $428 million.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target closed out a “year of transition” and is now looking to the future as it sharpens its focus on key priorities, including digital, smaller formats and wellness.

New York - Brooks Brothers has expanded its cloud supply chain strategy using the GT Nexus platform. Since 2007, the retailer has used GT Nexus for procurement and settlement processes, and now will leverage that same data and connectivity to extend supply chain visibility, support international growth and reduce costs.

New York -- Kohl’s is joining the army of retailers focusing on the high-margin beauty category by adding an upscale skin-care brand to its assortment.