Walmart

Walmart split with its Indian joint venture partner of seven years recently and the smart folks at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business put the situation in perspective and offered insight into future possibilities for a market that still boasts more than 1 billion potential consumers and promising long-term prospects.

A pricing glitch on Walmart.com this week generated enormous publicity and did more to promote the retailer’s e-commerce business in advance of the holiday season than any of its other marketing efforts.

The newest tactic to disparage Walmart by an organization called the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) involves race, politics and a convoluted connection to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Eight-year Walmart employee and OUR Walmart member Charmaine Givens-Thomas has posted a petition on the organization’s website invoking the name of the slain civil rights leader. She is seeking 100,000 signatures and a meeting with president Barack Obama to address the injustices to which she contends Walmart subjects its workers.

With plans to more than double its 200,000 global workforce in the foreseeable future, Starbucks is making a push to hire veterans and active duty spouses, much like other retailers like Walmart and Home Depot.

In addition, a store in Lakewood, Wash., and a store in San Antonio, Texas, will begin sharing a portion of each transaction with nonprofit programs Operation GoodJobs and Vested in Vets as part of a commitment to establish five such stores in joint base communities around the United States.

New York -- The first Walmart to be entirely lit with LEDs has opened, in South Euclid, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. The store will serve as a model for environmentally friendly design for future locations, with 100% LED lighting, electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot and more.

Other notable features of the store include:

San Bruno, Calif. -- Walmart on Friday kicked off its online holiday deals, a month earlier than usual, and announced that it is offering free shipping on about 99% of its online items this year for orders over $50. (Last year, only about 15% of its assortment qualified for free shipping). The moves comes as retailers get ready for what is expected to be an extremely competitive season, one marked by intense promotional activity. Retailers are also challenged by this year’s calendar: Thanksgiving falls late, on Nov.

Having laid a foundation of access, transparency and trust since arriving at Walmart U.S. four years ago, chief merchandising and marketing officer Duncan Mac Naughton’s top priority these days is leveraging joint business planning processes with up to 300 key suppliers to tap new growth opportunities.

Ask six senior merchandising executives from Walmart and Sam’s Club what keeps them up at night and be prepared for an interesting collection of answers relating to key competitors and assorted challenges.

That’s what Scott Huff, SVP/GMM of consumable at Walmart did this week during a panel discussion with six Walmart and Sam’s Club VP/DMMs during the Emerging Trends in Retail Conference organized by the Center for Retailing Excellence in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

Bank holding company Green Dot and Walmart have expanded the line of MoneyCard branded reloadable prepaid debit cards to include six new card types.

Prior to the latest agreement, Green Dot offered three version of prepaid debit products at 4,100 Walmart stores.

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced at the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit that three suppliers have made new domestic manufacturing commitments that will create 385 jobs.

The move is part of the retailer’s previously announced pledge to buy an additional $50 billion in U.S.-made products over the next decade.

Walmart said that Elan-Polo, Louis Hornick & Company and EveryWare Global will produce footwear, curtains and glassware, respectively.