Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has launched its 2012 "12 Days of Giving" campaign by calling on Facebook users to once again nominate the nonprofits that are making an impact in their local communities and need support. Each of the "12 Days" will focus on a different giving theme, including hunger, military assistance and disaster relief.

NCR Corporation got a big order from Walmart this week that will allow the retailer to expand its self-checkout capability and potentially attract shoppers turned off by Walmart’s long checkout lines.

NCR said it would be installing 10,000 of its SelfServ Checkout lanes in more than 1,200 Walmart stores. That works out to about eight self checkouts per store, although the companies didn’t provide details concerning Walmart’s installed base of self-checkouts.

Duluth, Ga. -- NCR Corp. announced that it will be installing 10,000 SelfServ Checkout lanes to more than 1,200 Walmart locations in the United States during 2013.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Walmart’s expansion of self-service options continues its commitment to offer customers the choice in how they want to check out, improving the overall checkout and customer service experience.

Red Bluff, Calif. -- Walmart's wind turbine at its distribution center in Red Bluff, Calif., is now operational. The wind turbine is Walmart's first onsite industrial-sized wind turbine and will generate approximately 2,200,000 kilowatt-hours of power, providing up to 20% of the distribution center's annual electricity use. U.S. House Representative Wally Herger joined local officials, as well as Walmart and Foundation Windpower executives, to commemorate the pilot project.

New York -- While it may be days, even weeks, before the full extent of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy is known, economists are forecasting that retail sales will be impacted in October and November but that the economy overall will experience an uptick.

New York -- As Hurricane Sandy bears down on the northeastern U.S., retailers are doing more than stocking up on emergency supplies for their customers – they are making preparations to protect themselves.

According to a Friday report by MarketWatch, Sears Holdings Corp., for example, has a 45-person crisis command team in place to stay in close communication with its personnel housed at Sears and Kmart stores in the at-risk areas.

As we continue to witness the battle of brick-and-mortar versus online shopping, it’s interesting to see Walmart’s latest ploy to “one-up” their online competition. Their new Walmart To Go service is offering customers same-day delivery of online orders for just $10. While the initial test period is expected to last only through the holidays, the possibility that this could stick makes me think that Walmart To Go might ultimately have some huge implications for brick-and-mortar retail. The big question, of course, is will it work? Can Walmart pull it off?

Beijing -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday that it plans to open 100 stores in China by 2015, a slowed pace from prior growth rates in the country but still representing ongoing interest in boosting its market share behind the country’s No. 1 player Sun Art Retail Group.

Beijing -- Wal-Mart Stores announced a series of initiatives to make the company's supply chain in the United States, China and around the world more sustainable.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores said on Wednesday that various staff groups involved in compliance and legal issues will soon all report to its general counsel, Reuters reported. The move comes as the retailer works on coordinating efforts after an alleged foreign bribery scandal.

In a memo sent by CEO Mike Duke, the retailer said that starting on Dec. 1, its compliance, ethics, investigations and legal units will become one organization under executive VP, general counsel and corporate secretary Jeff Gearhart.