Home Depot

ELMHURST, Ill. — The Chamberlain Group, a manufacturer of access control products, has announced two promotions. Dick Gregory has been promoted to VP Chamberlain retail sales, and Anthony Abate has been appointed marketing channel manager for retail national accounts.

New York — Walmart and The Home Depot have each pledged $1 million to help rebuilding efforts in tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo.

Each of the retailers had a store in Joplin that was leveled in the storm. Both stores had fatalities inside them.

In a statement, Walmart said it has accounted for all of its associates working at the store at that time, but still is reaching out to all of its employees in the area. It also is working to direct truckloads of water, food and other basic items to Joplin.

Last week’s issue of Target News Now contained some inaccurate information relating to the level of promotional activity during April at some of the nation’s leading retailers. The correct information along with a link to a revised chart provided by research company Market Track is below.

Atlanta -- Home Depot reported Tuesday that profit rose 12% in the first quarter, beating Wall Street estimates and causing the retailer to boost its outlook for the full year.

Home Depot earned $812 million in the quarter ended May 1, compared with $725 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue, however, slipped 0.2% to $16.82 billion on a weaker spring selling season, missing analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion.

Same-store sales dipped 0.6%, with U.S. stores down 0.7%.

Atlanta-based Home Depot reported first quarter earnings of $812 million, up 12% from earnings of $725 million in the first quarter last year.

Sales declined 0.2% to $16.8 billion, while comparable store sales were negative 0.6%. Comp-store sales for stores in the United States were negative 0.7%.

An increase promotional efforts in April contributed to Target’s 13.1% monthly same store sales gain, according to new data from the promotional intelligence firm Market Track.

Although revenues at Target last year increased 3.1% to nearly $67.4 billion, other big companies grew faster, and Target slipped three spots to 33rd from 30th in Fortune’s annual ranking of America’s 500 largest companies.

The 5% REDcard Rewards program Target launched last fall has contributed to sales results and served as a game changer on the pricing front with Walmart. Savvy shoppers are increasingly realizing the additional 5% savings they receive by using their REDcard can result in the price of a basket of food and consumables at Target slipping below the price of a comparable basket at Walmart.