Loop Neighborhood

By Stephen Springham, senior retail analyst at Planet Retail

Three quarters of results and a hat-trick of disappointments — Walmart U.S. again failed to achieve its guidance of flat comps in Q3, reporting a decline of 0.3%. This was not entirely unexpected as an already fragile consumer environment has not been helped by the government shutdown.

Walmart talks a lot about the opportunities it provides to employees and every so often examples pop up that puts things in perspective.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores detailed a number of moves, including opening smaller stores in the United States, cutting back on overseas growth and increasing its investments in technology and e-commerce,  on the occasion of the  company’s 20th annual investor meeting.

ORLANDO — Walmart is kicking off its official start to the holiday season Friday, Sept. 13, with a no-fee layaway program.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is putting its money where its mouth is and not only making changes across produce sourcing, training and operations to offer customers fresher produce, but also rolling out a 100% money-back guarantee. 

According to the company, customers who are not completely satisfied with its produce can bring back their receipt for a full refund, no questions asked and no need to bring back the produce.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The pace at which Walmart adds new selling space globally will remain unchanged next year, but improved productivity, more U.S. stores and expanding multichannel capabilities are expected to produce sales and profit growth.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart plans a modest acceleration of its small format stores in the coming years as investors were assured Wednesday morning that financial returns are now comparable with the company’s large supercenters.

Rogers, Ark. -- In its annual meeting with analysts on Wednesday, Wal-Mart Stores U.S. president Bill Simon said the retailer would accelerate small-store growth to compete with dollar stores and drug stores, and announced plans to have 500 Neighborhood Market stores and 12 Express stores by fiscal 2016.

“This gives us the opportunity to build more stores for less money," Simon said. Wal-Mart currently operates 217 Neighborhood Markets and 10 Express stores.