Walmart

All eyes will be on Walmart’s new CEO Doug McMillon next week when the company reports worse-than-expected fourth quarter results on Thursday, and McMillon makes his first public comments since becoming CEO.

McMillon is no stranger to providing financial updates during the company’s pre-recorded earnings calls, investor conferences and analysts’ meetings. He performed those duties on numerous occasions during the past decade while serving as president and CEO of Walmart International and president and CEO of Sam’s Club before that.

From loading trucks at the age of 17, to meeting his wife on the Bentonville square to becoming an assistant buyer and interacting with founder Sam Walton, Walmart’s new CEO Doug McMillon is sharing details about his journey to becoming the company’s youngest CEO.
 

Bentonville, Ark. — Wal-Mart is reportedly halting its Indian expansion plans, at least for now. According to the Financial Times, Wal-Mart has not opened any new cash-and-carry stores in India since October 2013 or any new convenience stores there since November 2013.

Toward the end of January, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart has given itself two years to match the online service and delivery speed of Amazon.com.

In an interview at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, Neil Ashe, Wal-Mart’s global e-commerce CEO told Journal reporter Dennis Berman was building new warehouses across the country dedicated to handling online orders.

Shoebuy.com, a leading global online retailer of shoes and clothing, has appointed Anabela Perozek as the company's new chief marketing officer. Perozek joins Shoebuy's senior management team and will report to CEO Mike Sorabella.

A little more than a month into his new job as chief merchandising officer at Family Dollar, Jason Reiser is refocusing the retailer on its discount store roots and what it means to serve cash-strapped shoppers.

Genius Brands International has a roster of new licensing partners to create merchandise based on Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 (SLAM 7), the animated film trilogy created together with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment and Archie Comics.

Factory Entertainment has secured a worldwide toy license for the franchise.

Walmart is marking the 20th anniversary of its entry into Canada this year by spending big bucks to expand physical stores and distribution capacity while devoting a much smaller portion of a $500 million budget to e-commerce.

Walmart said it would spend close to $500 million in Canada this year with $376 million of that amount dedicated to 35 supercenter projects totaling one million square feet of new selling space. Walmart currently operates 389 stores in Canada, of which 247 are supercenters. By year end it expects to have 395 stores of which 282 will be supercenters.