Walmart

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said in a Friday emailed statement that the co-heads of its technology unit @WalmartLabs are leaving the company.

Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman, who ran the 200- person unit in San Bruno, Calif., are taking some time off from the industry, according to the statement. The pair took the helm of @WalmartLabs when Wal-Mart bought their company Kosmix last year.

Wal-Mart said the rest of the technology team will remain intact.
 

Irvine, Calif. -- TNP Strategic Retail Trust said Friday it has acquired Bloomingdale Hills, a 13-acre retail center in the Tampa, Fla., suburb of Riverview.

TNP is a public non-traded REIT that invests in grocery and drugstore anchored, multi-tenant necessity retail properties and other real estate-related assets.

Bloomingdale Hills comprises about 78,500 sq. ft. of rentable space, as well as a fully improved, undeveloped land parcel.

The center is anchored by Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and is 100% leased.
 

You can learn a lot by monitoring consumer conversations in social media. It can predict political elections, the Oscars and even the next reality show winner. If you are a CPG marketer, social media can also be a real-time predictor of your new product’s success.

Week in and week out, Walmart wins on the pricing front with the biggest unknown being the magnitude of the spread between it and competitors, several reports out this confirmed.

Deb Weinswig at Citigroup looks at prices in three U.S. markets every two weeks and her most recent assessment showed Walmart beating Kroger by 12.1%, Safeway by 17.4%, Supervalu by 20.6% and Target by 4.8%.

Walmart’s EVP merchandising services, Pam Kohn, addressed members of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce earlier this month. A recap of her remarks is available by clicking here.



 

Last week a study showed living near Walmart was good for property values while this week we learn that it will also make you fat.

The purchasing power of Walmart shoppers is on the rise as gas prices come down and the improved spending outlook has the company’s share price setting new highs. What’s there to worry about?

Plenty, according to a survey of top executives conducted by the Business Roundtable, an organization that represents companies who combined employ more than 14 million people and generate $6 trillion in annual sales. Member companies include the likes of Walmart, General Electric, AT&T, ExxonMobil and American Express.

Early indications are it will be a solid year for Back-to-School sales and that’s good news for Walmart. The company typically enjoys healthy seasonal sales, but this year it will be facing more challenging sales comparisons during the back half of the year as it begins lapping prior year same store sales increases. Click here.
 

Beachwood, Ohio -- Blackstone's flagship real estate fund and DDR Corp. announced Thursday hat a joint venture formed by the two entities has closed on the acquisition of a portfolio of 46 shopping centers previously owned by EPN Group.

The joint venture has assumed approximately $635 million of senior non-recourse debt and has originated an additional $320 million non-recourse loan facility, which has a five-year term.

Sustainability is a top priority for Walmart, and energy efficiency is central to its efforts. One of the chain’s three primary long-term objectives is to use 100% renewable energy. Walmart is actively working to meet that goal with projects that employ a wide range of technologies, from solar power to fuel cells, in development across the country.