Walmart

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.

Washington, D.C. -- Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced at the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit on Thursday 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.

Bentonville, Ark. – Gearing up for the holidays, Wal-Mart announced that it expects to promote more than 160,000 associates to jobs with higher pay and more responsibility this year, including 25,000 promotions during its fourth quarter.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Kmart announced it is extending its integrated retail shopping strategy, which connects online and in-store shopping channels to provide more flexible ways to shop, to customers in Puerto Rico. For the first time this holiday season, Puerto Rico-based Kmart customers and Shop Your Way members will have access to online layaway, store-to-home shipping, free Anyone, Anywhere pickup and free store pickup.

New York -- Fountain Capital and Cheney & Mathes Properties have announced through their partnership, Fountain Mathes I, that they have acquired a 450,000-sq.-ft. portfolio of retail shopping centers with 16 properties in 10 states. Each center is shadow-anchored by Wal-Mart projects.

The centers largely contain national credit tenants such as AT&T, Cato, Dollar Tree, GameStop, Hibbett Sports, Payless and Shoe Show. The portfolio is 95% occupied.

New Hyde Park, N.Y. — Kimco Realty Corp. has announced a purchase and sale agreement to acquire a 24-property retail portfolio in New England for $270 million, which includes the assumption of $121.5 million of mortgage debt.

The 1.4-million-sq.-ft. portfolio is 96% occupied. It includes 17 properties in the Boston metropolitan market. Anchor tenants include Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Lowes, Kohl’s, Petco, Pier 1 Imports, Aldi Supermarket, CVS and Walgreens.

Boston -- For the second year in a row, Dollar General came out on top in Kantar Retail’s opening price point (OPP) survey, narrowly beating out Walmart Supercenter. The OPP survey, now in its third year, determines how select retailers meet the grocery and consumable needs of shoppers looking for the lowest shelf prices to fulfill their basket requirements.

Mike Graen has left his position as director of innovations and supplier collaboration at Walmart to assume a new role with leading merchandising and marketing services company Crossmark.

Grain will serve as managing director of the Crossmark Center for Collaboration currently under construction adjacent to Walmart’s headquarters on Southwest 8th Street in Bentonville, Ar.