Sam's Club

The nature of competition in the retail industry is not what it used to be. Decades of consolidation concentrated sales among a top tier of mega-retailers fueled deal-making among product manufacturers and others who serve the retail industry.

The top 10 U.S. retailers now account for more than $1,200,000,000,000 (zeroes added for effect) and that figure swells to $1.5 trillion if the next 10 largest are include. The big have gotten bigger and will continue to do so in the near term, however there is also a dramatic “re-fragmentation” of the retail industry underway.

The parent company of Safeway and Albertson's has promoted its executive chairman and created a four-person Office of the CEO.

Sam’s Club’s newest credit card program has been recognized as an innovator in the fast-changing world of payment technology.

Sam’s Club’s 5-3-1 card earned a Gold Medal in the Best Comeback Story category in the PYMNTS.com 2015 Innovator Awards.

Waban, Mass. - PetSmart and Amazon.com deliver the best customer experience in the retail industry. According to the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers, PetSmart and Amazon.com tied for the top spot, each scoring 82%, which put them both in fourth place overall out of 293 companies across 20 industries.

Walgreens came in a close third with a rating of 81% and a ranking of eighth, while Bed Bath & Beyond, Lowe's, and Costco all earned 79% and tied for 19th place overall.

Walmart Executive Vice President of Global Customer Insights and Analytics Cindy Davis has been confirmed as a featured speaker for IRI’s upcoming Summit.

Small business customers are the lifeblood of Sam’s Club and to ensure the continued vitality of the crucial shopper segment the retailer is supporting an entrepreneurial youth organization.

Sam’s donated $250,000 to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) and the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) to grow and support YEA!’s national educational program that works to transform middle and high school students into confident entrepreneurs.

Increased traffic and better than expected same store sales growth at U.S. stores were bright spots in the retailer’s fourth quarter earnings CEO Doug McMillon characterized as good despite a one cent increase in earnings per share. 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Increased traffic and better than expected same-store sales growth at Walmart’s U.S. stores were bright spots in the retailer’s fourth quarter earnings. But the big story in Thursday’s earnings release was the announcement that approximately 500,000 full-time and part-time associates at Walmart U.S. stores and Sam's Clubs will receive pay raises in the first half of the current fiscal year.