Events

Walmart said Tom Mars, EVP and chief administrative officer, will leave the company effective March 13.

Mars spent 11 years with the company and served as general counsel from 2002 to 2009 when he was promoted to his current role. In his current capacity, Mars was responsible for real estate, financial services for U.S. stores and company’s shows and events team and labor relations.

NEW YORK — Sun Products' All Mighty Pacs laundry packs, Aquafresh Extreme Clean Pure Breath Action Paste, M&M's Brand Snack Mix, Reckitt Benckiser's Resolve All-Stains, Sun Products' Surf Liquid Laundry Detergent and GlaxoSmithKline's Tums Freshers were among the winners of Product of the Year USA's recently announced top products for 2013, the group said.

The named products were the result of a vote among 50,000 consumers.

New York -- Five women in Wisconsin have filed suit against Wal-Mart Stores, claiming the retailer denied them and other female employees equal pay and equal opportunities, the Journal Sentinel reported. The suit, which also seeks class-action status, claims Wal-Mart discriminated against female employees in the chain's Region 14, which includes stores in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.

North Bergen, N.J. -- Vitamin Shoppe Inc. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter net income rose 3% to $9.7 million, up from $9.4 million in the year-ago period.
   

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe's Co. reported fourth quarter profits that topped Wall Street estimates, helped rebuilding efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and general remodeling activity. The retailer also said it authorized a new $5 billion share buyback program that it expects to use in the next two year

NEW YORK — Barnes & Noble founder and chairman, Leonard Riggio, has notified the company's board of directors of his intentions to purchase the company's retail business. 

GERMANTOWN, Md. — Hughes Network Systems, a provider of broadband satellite solutions and a leading provider of managed network services, announced that it will unveil at Digital Signage Expo the latest additions to its digital media solutions lineup designed to increase employee and customer satisfaction through high-impact video.

Hughes Digital Associate enables customers to easily browse products and services on a touchscreen display and drill down into the details using engaging videos, graphics and photos. 

BARCELONA — At Mobile World Congress, MasterCard introduced MasterPass, a digital service that allows consumers to use any payment card or enabled device to discover enhanced shopping experiences that are as simple as a click, tap or touch – online, in-store or anywhere.