Walmart

Walmart is set to announce its 2015 growth priorities next week and in a clear sign of an accelerating Neighborhood Market rollout, the retailer has created a new organizational structure made up of seasoned operators and accomplished merchants.

More than 362,000 votes were cast online in an innovative approach Walmart used to determine how $3.7 million in donations would be allocated among food banks nationwide.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday said it will no longer provide health benefits to part-time associates who work less than 30 hours a week in a move to control its rising healthcare costs. The chain, the nation’s largest private employer, said the decision will impact about 2% of its total U.S. work force.

The announcement follows similar decisions by Target, Home Depot, Walgreens and Trader Joe’s to cut health insurance benefits for part-time associates.  

Bentonville, Ark. – Walmart is expanding its role in health care. The retail giant is teaming up with DirectHealth.com, an online health insurance comparison site and agency, to set up counters in its stores where shoppers can speak with licensed agents about available health insurance options. Walmart’s expanding role in health care comes as drug store chains, including Walgreens and CVS, continue to beef up their own healthcare services.

To bring transparency and simplicity to the changing health insurance market, Walmart is working with DirectHealth.com to launch Healthcare Begins Here, an in-store program designed to educate customers on health insurance options.

DirectHealth.com, an online health insurance comparison site, which is an independent licensed health insurance agency, will provide a resource that brings Walmart customers access to health insurance information and enrollment support.

How well many retailers perform this holiday season in store and online will be determined by the shopping preferences of a demographic group that doesn’t typically get a lot of love from marketers.

Purchase, N.Y. -- National Realty & Development Corp. (NRDC) is leasing 49,480-sq.-ft. of new retail tenancies at Pohatcong Plaza in Phillipsburg, N.J. Marshalls/HomeGoods and Quaker Steak and Lube have joined the 562,000-sq.-ft. center.  

Beachwood, Ohio – During third quarter 2014, DDR Corp. closed on the acquisition of eight prime power centers and the sale of seven operating assets and two land parcels, totaling $699 million of executed transactions. Seven of the eight power centers that the company acquired were purchased for $377 million at DDR's share from a joint venture formed with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. in August 2013.

Was he or wasn’t he? Unfortunately for Walmart, a legitimate question about whether comedian Tracy Morgan and his entourage were wearing seatbelts the night their limousine was rear-ended by a Walmart truck has made a bad situation worse for the retailer.

New York -- It’s official: California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation for the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at supermarkets, drug stores and select other retail outlets.

"This bill is a step in the right direction — it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself," Brown said in a signing statement. "We're the first to ban these bags, and we won't be the last."