Walmart

Walmart’s new grocery delivery program could give it a huge edge in the online ordering game.

Walmart has tapped a retail veteran to bolster its foothold in its growing online fashion category.   Denise Incandela was named Walmart’s senior VP, fashion, effective October 2, 2017. She will lead the fashion businesses for Walmart.com, Jet.com, and Shoes.com, according to Fashion Network. In her new role, she will report to Walmart’s chief revenue officer Scott Hilton, the report said.  

If traditional supermarket retailers want to become online destinations for grocery, they need to step up their digital shopping experiences.   In fact, shoppers rated their overall satisfaction ordering food and grocery items online highest with Amazon (4.63 on a five-point scale where five is highest), followed by Walmart (4.41). Supermarkets/food stores trailed behind with a rating of 4.32.  

Walmart is bucking the holiday hiring trend again this year.    Unlike other competitors that are hiring thousands of temporary workers to service shoppers during the holiday season, the discount giant plans to offer extra hours to its current associates. These shifts will staff traditional roles like cashier and stocker, and newly created technology-empowered positions, such as personal shoppers and Pickup associates, according to Walmart.  

Walmart and Target are among the companies pressuring political leaders to find a solution for the roughly 800,000 immigrants known as “Dreamers.”  

Toys "R" Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Monday night in federal court in Richmond, Va., with an eye to revamping its long-term -- and massive -- debt totaling more than $5 billion.  

While today's decision does not necessarily mean it is game over for Toys "R" Us, it brings to a close a turbulent chapter in the iconic company's history.   A combination of high debt and severe structural changes in the industry created a toxic mix against which Toys "R" Us had little choice but to restructure and try to put itself on a firmer footing.  

Walmart is changing the way it stocks merchandise in its small-format Neighborhood Market Stores.     In a blog on its website, the discounter announced that in more than 430 of its Neighborhood Market stores that are already closed overnight, it is shifting overnight stocking hours to the daytime and using technology to make the inventory management process easier. The retailer said it initially piloted day-stocking in 50 stores in and around the Tampa and Dallas areas with "very encouraging" results. 

Walmart customers that receive government assistance can now shop for food online.    The discount giant is allowing customers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — the formal term for food stamps — to place online orders. However, the program does come with one loophole.  

Even headquarters have shelf life.   Walmart is planning to build a new, central headquarters — one better suited to a "digitally native" workforce — in its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. The discount giant revealed the news in a note by CEO Doug McMillion on the company's website.