Walmart

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon isn’t running for elected office, but he sure sounded like a politician earlier this week as he laid out a three-tiered plan the retail industry can implement to restore U.S. economic growth.

The first indication that something big was brewing with Walmart on the domestic sourcing front came last week.

That’s when Walmart announced internally at that SVP of home, Michelle Gloeckler, would assume additional responsibilities for a new U.S. sourcing and manufacturing initiative. Reporting to Gloeckler is Greg Hall who was named vp of U.S. sourcing and manufacturing after previously serving as vp of marketing for Walmart.com.

New York -- Walmart will open a mini-store on the campus of Georgia Tech, according to a report by the Atlanta-Constitution.

The 2,500-sq.-ft. convenience-store styled location, expected to open this spring, will be the retailer’s smallest unit in the country.

The Georgia Tech store will be Walmart’s second campus location. In 2011, the retailer opened a store on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
 

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. announced Tuesday that it has expanded its redevelopment program in Puerto Rico from $50 million to $90 million.

"Increased demand for quality retail space in this supply-constrained market has created unique value-add opportunities in many of our most productive assets," said Paul Freddo, senior EVP leasing and development, DDR. "By executing our strategic redevelopment plan, we are creating attractive opportunities for our key domestic tenants to establish or expand their presence on the island."

By Mike Romano, [email protected]

Flower is the name of a new proprietary cosmetics line developed by Walmart in conjunction with Drew Barrymore and cosmetics manufacturer Maesa.

The new brand is positioned as offering department store quality at mass market prices and consists of 181 products in the eye, face, lip and nail categories with prices ranging from $4.98 to $13.98.

NEW YORK — Walmart announced its plans to increase domestic sourcing of the products it sells and hire 100,000 honorably discharged veterans in the next five years.

Speaking at the National Retail Federation's annual BIG Show, Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon also announced the company is helping part-time associates who want to work full-time make that transition.

New York -- Walmart plans to significantly boost its sourcing from domestic suppliers over the next decade. The plan was announced during an address by Bill Simon, Walmart U.S. president and CEO, at the National Retail Federation's annual convention in New York. Simon also announced the company is committed to helping part-time associates who want to be full time, make that transition.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores is set to announce in a Tuesday address at the NRF convention in New York City that it is prepared to hire more than 100,000 veterans over the next five years.

The pledge will come as part of U.S. CEO Bill Simon’s Tuesday keynote address at the 102nd annual BIG Show.

The hiring pledge will begin on Memorial Day, and applies to veterans within 12 months of leaving active duty. Most of the jobs will be in Wal-Mart's stores or its Sam's club locations. Some will be in the company's distribution centers.

New York -- Monday launched with heavily attended keynote addresses at the National Retail Federation’s 102nd BIG Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
    
Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan shared his views about the state of world politics, joined by moderator and Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren, who also is the outgoing chairman of the NRF.