Walmart

An organization that has taken the retail world by storm in the past several years just earned another accolade.
 
According to the 2016 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking released by WPP and Millward Brown, Amazon.com has become the World's Most Valuable Global Retail Brand
 

Senior management of Walmart Stores Inc. should be happy with the results of its 46th annual shareholders meeting held June 3.
 

The term “post-department store era” was once considered so controversial that many in the retail world avoided using it, fearing backlash from powerful industry giants like Macy’s and Sears. Some saw the very idea of department store obsolescence as pure folly while others saw it only as a vague possibility too far in the future to consider.
 

Watch out Target — Walmart is also looking to reinvent its store experience.
 
Walmart is testing an array of new initiatives, from sleeker fixtures and signs to a cool BBQ eatery to a giant kiosk for online order pick-up — at a new store in Arkansas, according to TheStreet.
 

Drones are getting a lot of attention as a means of delivering products to customers. However, Walmart is reportedly testing the applicability of drones a little further back in the supply chain.

Galeries Lafayette Group is the latest retail entity to launch its own tech accelerator program.

The French specialty retail conglomerate, which operates the Galeries Lafayette, BHV Marais, Royal Quartz, Louis Pion and Didier Guérin banners, is partnering with Silicon Valley-based technology accelerator and venture fund Plug and Play in the effort. The three-month program aims to develop an integrated platform to assist startups focused on the fashion and retail sectors. It will include access to venture capitalists, mentors, and Fortune 500 companies.

Walmart is reviving a familiar icon to be the symbol of its low-price marketing.

The discounter announced it is bringing back its yellow smiley image, which has been in hibernation for some 10 years. The image can already be seen in some digital advertising and will expand to television ads and select in-store signage next week.

With a fast-growing $1.5 trillion grocery market, China is the ultimate prize for Wal-Mart, according to an Associated Press report. But the retailer will have to adapt to succeed in what it is a very different marketplace than America.

“If the Arkansas-based company wants to win over foreign consumers, it has to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions that are fast changing,” the report said.