Walmart

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust announced Monday the acquisition of a majority interest a portfolio of six grocery/home-improvement-anchored retail properties located in Las Vegas.

The properties were acquired in a joint venture between a subsidiary of Inland Diversified and affiliates of the seller Territory Inc.; the joint venture valued the portfolio at about $296 million.

Top food executives at Walmart are presumably in the crosshairs of Safeway recruiters now that longtime chairman and CEO Steve Burd has announced his retirement.

Walmart SVP Lev Khasis was elevated to the new role of president and CEO of new formats for Walmart International, according Reuters and Bloomberg reports citing a Walmart spokesman.

Khasis joined Walmart in 2011 after working for Russian retailer X5, a company Walmart reportedly had an interest in acquiring. The spokesman said Khasis will focus on developing store concepts that can be deployed across markets.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it has created a new executive position to oversee new store formats in international markets.
 
Lev Khasis, who joined the company in 2011 after working in Russian retail, was named president and CEO of new formats for Wal-Mart International. He built up Russia’s largest food retailer X5 through acquisitions into a market leader before resigning to join Wal-Mart Stores.
 

Nineteen of the nation’s leading retail and CPG companies received perfect scores on the 2013 Corporate Equality Index compiled by the Human Rights Campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign released its 2013 Corporate Equality Index, which gives companies ratings of up to 100% based on their policies regarding LGBT employees and also released a buyer's guide for LGBT consumers. According to the equality advocacy group, a total of 1,848 companies were invited to submit applications, of those 530 actually did so and of those 252 received scores of 100%.

Wal-Mart Asia CEO Scott Price is among the feature speakers participating in this year’s World Retail Congress event scheduled for March 19-21 in Singapore.

At a time of year when much of the retail news we hear focuses on receipts and holiday sales performance, I can’t help thinking that the notion of value has become synonymous with price — and only price. You can make the argument that price has nearly hijacked the whole definition of value. Why is that, exactly? Should retailers be paying closer and more systematic attention to how they articulate (and how customers perceive) the value of their brand?

More than 2,800 Walmart locations now feature Jackson Hewitt brand tax preparation services and the opportunity to drive big ticket sales once shoppers get their hands on refund checks.