Walmart

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart is considering entering the bidding for Hong Kong-based grocery chain ParknShop, Reuters reports. Wal-Mart is currently exploring options to enter the initial bidding process for ParknShop, which closes Aug. 16.

ParknShop is owned by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which in turn is owned by Li Ka-shing, reputedly the wealthiest man in Asia. The chain may be valued as high as $4 billion.

Wal-Mart, which has not commented publicly, said last year it would open 100 new stores in China by 2015.

NEW YORK — Jordache has chosen supermodel, designer, entrepreneur and host of television’s Project Runway and America's Got Talent, Heidi Klum, as the face of its latest ad campaign.  

Shot by photographer, director and longtime Klum collaborator, Rankin in Los Angeles, the commercial casts Klum as a pied piper who leads a suburban cast and a not so suburban cast to the beat of Bee Gees Stayin' Alive.  

Washington, D.C. -- In a settlement agreement with the U.S. Labor Department, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to improve safety conditions for employees who use trash compactors and cleaning chemicals at 2,857 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in 28 states.

The retailer will also pay a $190,000 fine to fix hazards uncovered during an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection at a store in Rochester, N.Y.
 

In a recent interview, Walgreens’ CEO Greg Wasson spoke at length about the ways in which the drug store chain is evolving. I thought the interview (posted online under the title Walgreens gets a modern makeover), was fascinating, particularly where Wasson explained the company’s bold plans to “reimagine” its stores.

NEW YORK — Soupman Inc., the parent company of The Original SoupMan, is about to see "the soup that made 'Seinfeld' famous" hit shelves at nearly 500 Walmart stores. 

The brand's soups, which are already sold in more than 4,000 supermarkets nationwide, include the classic soups that made the company famous: lobster bisque, chicken noodle, lentil and tomato bisque. 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Judge Charles R. Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled against a request by plaintiffs in a gender discrimination suit against Wal-Mart who were seeking certification of a class-action suit against the mass merchandise giant. Referring to a 2012 Supreme Court decision about limitations on class-action suits, Breyer ruled that the individual situations of the plaintiffs are too different to be grouped into a single class-action suit.

Walmart pulled a dietary supplement from its Web site this week following a report by USA Today that called into question the product’s safety and the track record of the supplier.
 
The product in question was a pre-workout supplement called Craze from supplier Matt Cahill who USA Today said has a history of putting risky supplements on the market. Walmart spokeswoman Dianna Gee said the product was pulled to, “allow us time to look further into not only the safety of the product, but also the integrity of the supplier.”

New Delhi, India – The Indian government has eased its notoriously difficult restrictions on how foreign retailers must invest and source when doing business in the country. As reported by Reuters, foreign retailers will still have to source 30% of the products they sell locally, but now have five years to initially reach that goal and then have to meet it annually.