Walmart

New York -- According to multiple reports on Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s India unit has received a notice from a federal government agency regarding alleged violations of the country’s foreign investment rules.
 
A spokesman for Wal-Mart said: “We will be working to provide the authorities with relevant information,” but didn’t elaborate on the contents of the notice.

Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Wal-Mart and India's Bharti Enterprises Ltd., operates 20 wholesale stores in the country.

New York -- A Thursday report by the Financial Times said that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in discussions with Turkish retailer Migros Ticaret AS to acquire an 80% stake in the company from London-based private equity group BC Partners.

The Times said that Walmart held meetings with Migros managers in recent days in Turkey but it had not placed a bid for the Turkish retailer. Sources have not been identified and Wal-Mart so far has not commented.

Promotional activity among the nation’s leading retailers declined during November aside from several notable exceptions. There was a flurry of intense promotional activity around Thanksgiving weekend, as always, but for the months as a whole the number of inserts distributed by retailers declined 7% and the number of pages declined by 5%.

New York -- In a Tuesday night address at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke didn’t shy away from discussing the fiscal cliff, saying that the current debate is having a negative impact on consumer spending.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot is making online shopping more convenient to holiday shoppers racing against the clock while trying to avoid steep shipping and handling fees.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — As part of its 12 Days of Giving Facebook campaign, Walmart will distribute more than $1.5 million to 140 grant recipients in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., throughout the next 12 days.

The winning nonprofits were selected from more than 21,677 nominations submitted in November by Facebook users who felt compelled to enter and describe the community impact made by their favorite nonprofit organizations.

By Derek Bonney, [email protected]

Technology has shifted everything, especially the retail experience. Not only has it changed how we locate, evaluate and purchase products or services, it has created a treasure trove of data for both retailers and marketers. So let’s examine something I call the “Retail Shift.”

It looks likes India’s rules against foreign direct investment in the retail sector will no longer be an impediment to Walmart’s expansion in the world’s second most populous country.

More than 500 suppliers and service companies were on hand recently to hear what Walmart chief marketing officer Stephen Quinn had to say at an event organized by the Bentonville Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.

Tesco and Walmart’s Asda division are intense competitors in the U.K. and that was supposed to be the case in the U.S. when Tesco arrived in 2007 with its Fresh & Easy format.