Walmart

Brian Monahan, VP of marketing for Walmart.com, has left the chain (as of April 1) to go back to a startup he helped found in 2012.

Monahan, who joined Walmart in May 2013, is now serving as chief evangelist of San Francisco-based NewCo Festivals, a media and events platform he co-founded with John Battelle in 2012. NewCo hosts global events it calls “festivals” for start-ups and also publishes editorial content aimed at start-ups. In his new (or old) role, he will oversee brand strategy, sales and marketing, and product development.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists “retail salesperson” as the most common job in America, but the retail industry is evolving rapidly as is the nature of work. A new $5.5 million research grant from Walmart and the Aspen Institute aims to understand how.

The largest portion of the grant is dedicated to exploring alternative models to provide career pathways for frontline retail workers, according to a statement from Walmart and the Aspen Institute, an organization known for pioneering new approaches to complex problems.

A new $5.5 million research grant from the Walmart Foundation and the Aspen Institute will look at the evolving nature what the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists as the most common job in America: “retail salesperson.”

The largest portion of the grant is dedicated to exploring alternative models to provide career pathways for frontline retail workers, according to a statement from the Walmart Foundation and the Aspen Institute, an organization known for pioneering new approaches to complex problems.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal from Wal-Mart Stores to throw out a class action judgment over its treatment of workers in Pennsylvania, Reuters reported.

In the case, hourly employees of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club had brought a class action lawsuit, claiming they were not compensated for rest breaks and off-the-clock work as mandated in their policies. The case impacted some 187,000 Wal-Mart employees who worked in Pennsylvania between 1998 and 2006.

Longtime Walmart executive Tom Coughlin, an inspirational leader who played a key role in Walmart’s growth and left the company in 2005, passed away on April 1.

Walmart and its financial services partners have added a loyalty component to credit, debit and prepaid card offerings that provide an extra incentive to make online purchase.

Walmart is launching a new tool to give shoppers more reasons to use their Walmart credit and prepaid cards. 

The retailer is rolling out a new, simplified rewards program to bring more value to the everyday purchases customers make using the Walmart family of credit and prepaid cards. Walmart's new 3-2-1 Save cash back program will provide all qualifying cardholders in the U.S. and Puerto Rico with the opportunity to earn rewards for purchases they make, including:

A court ruling struck down a provision adopted by Puerto Rico last year that tripled the tax revenue the debt-laden island extracted from Walmart, Reuters reported. [Reuters]