Walmart

By Mark Williams, Best Buy

In August, we at Best Buy announced that we were joining a cadre of other major retailers in an effort to build a mobile-commerce solution that can improve shopping and paying for customers and merchants alike.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The pace at which Walmart adds new selling space globally will remain unchanged next year, but improved productivity, more U.S. stores and expanding multichannel capabilities are expected to produce sales and profit growth.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — It seems that consumers' holiday spending intentions are more positive than last year, according to NPD's 11th annual holiday retail study.

Neil Ashe, president and CEO of global e-commerce was clearly the most excitable person on stage Wednesday at Walmart’s 19th annual analysts' meeting. And for good reason.

Walmart created its global e-commerce group two years ago and Ashe joined the company back in January. Wednesday was his first opportunity to participate in the company’s annual analysts’ meeting and he made the most of it, slipping in a first ever reference to Walmart’s online revenues that now total $9 billion.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is introducing a first-of-its-kind Centers of Excellence program that will offer its associates quality health care with no out-of-pocket cost for heart, spine and transplant surgeries at six of the leading hospital and health systems in the United States. 

Just 10 months into her job as president and CEO of Sam’s Club Rosalind Brewer is making major changes to member benefits and implementing a $5 fee increase.

During a presentation at Walmart’s annual analysts’ conference on Wednesday Brewer recapped Sam’s performance, outlined a growth strategy involving a 2013 net increase of between 10 and 15 new clubs and described a wide range of enhancements to Sam’s two membership tiers.

Organized labor was crowing this week about a protest, or was it a strike, involving 88 Walmart employees at 28 stores in 12 states who didn’t show up for work on Tuesday.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart is expanding its Centers of Excellence program to offer its associates health care with no out-of-pocket cost for heart, spine, and transplant surgeries at six of the nation’s leading hospital and health systems.  

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Walmart Canada is stepping up its presence in the country this month with the opening of the most stores in the company's history.

By the end of October, the company will complete 30 real estate projects. They include two supercenter conversions and 28 new stores, which were formerly Zellers stores. Of the 28 Zellers locations, 10 will be supercentres and 18 will be discount stores. The 30 stores employ more than 3,000 associates and represent an addition of nearly 2.4 million square feet of retail space.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart said Tuesday it is testing same-day delivery service in four markets over the holiday shopping season.

The service is being tested in northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and San Francisco/San Jose, Calif. Geared toward customers who buy popular items online during the holidays, the test includes about 5,000 items and builds on a same-day grocery delivery service the retailer launched in San Jose in April 2010 and tested in San Francisco in 2011.