Walmart

Product lifecyle and reverse logistics leader Genco has appointed Jeremy Witte as chief operating officer for its wholly owned subsidiary, Genco Marketplace.

Store closures and weak demand for traditional office supplies and computers hurt Staples in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.

The company attributed a 44% drop in net earnings during the quarter to lower sales caused by store closures and a rise in the value of the dollar. But according to reports, the office products company and second largest internet retailer in the United States is facing stiff competition from big box retailers such as Walmart and e-commerce giants such as Amazon.

Walmart’s new convenience store test concept, Walmart To Go, is located in its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.  

The approximate 2,500-sq.-ft. store is a hybrid. Part grocery store, part c-store and part quick-serve restaurant, it offers a mix of groceries, c-store staples, and refrigerated and fresh prepared foods, complete with a deli counter. Products are priced the same as they would be in a regular Walmart store.     

In a case of art imitating life, Walmart stores are featuring a pallet display of paperback books featuring a fictional cowboy who competes in the real world Professional Bull Riders organization led by a former Walmart executive.

Walmart’s first quarter sales were not great, but longer term success could be driven by an interesting range of pilot programs and expanding initiatives the company shared during a recap of its results.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores posted disappointing results for its first quarter, with earnings down 5% as harsh winter weather kept shoppers away. The company also gave a weak earnings forecast for its current quarter that fell short of analysts' estimates.

For the period ended April 30, Wal-Mart earned $3.59 billion, compared with $3.78 billion a year ago, less than analysts expected. In addition to the unusually harsh winter weather, a higher-than-expected tax rate also hurt earnings, the retailer said.

Walmart continues to envision flat same store sales at its U.S. stores after reporting weaker than expected profits on weak U.S. sales results that were negatively affected by a winter that wouldn’t end.

Things took a wacky turn in the retail world this week as JCPenney reported a 6.2% same store sales increase and a huge gross margin expansion while Macy’s, Kohl’s and Walmart stumbled.

Ottawa, Canada - Amazon.com was the predominant low-price leader in several product categories from January through early April 2014. 360pi compared the pricing strategies of the industry’s top retailers, such as Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Costco and others, all based off of Amazon’s own product assortment relative to other retailers in power drills, televisions and outdoor gear.

Weis Markets has appointed David Gose as the company’s SVP of operations.

In that capacity Gose will oversee the day-to-day operation and management of the company’s stores. He reports to COO Kurt Schertle.