Walmart

Never ones to let a good disaster go to waste, anti-Walmart forces have alerted the media to an event being held outside Walmart’s Washington, DC office.

Walmart has taken a lot of heat since last month when it was learned that a factory in Bangladesh where 112 people died in fire was being used by a Walmart supplier. Even though the facility was not on Walmart’s list of approved facilities, the incident renewed sentiment that Walmart’s quest for low prices causes its suppliers to cut corners.

Turkish retailer Migros appears to fit Walmart’s acquisition criteria even if the timing of a potential deal is less than ideal.

Turkey’s leading retailer has been in the headlines a lot this year because the company’s private equity owner, BC Partners, is reportedly looking to dump its ownership position roughly four years after acquiring a majority stake. Various international retailers are said to have had discussions with BC Partners and Walmart is the latest, according to reports this week by the Financial Times, Reuters and other international sources.

Toronto -- As consumers continue to seek more convenient methods of shopping, through mobile and online, the potential for further sales erosion continues to threaten retailers, according to a new study by branding and design firm Shikatani Lacroix.

The report, “RE:STORE – Redefining Retail,” finds that 59% of U.S. shoppers “showroom” – or browse for products in store but then buy them online.

Long time Fred Meyer executive Lynn Gust was named president of the 133 store Kroger division.

Gust, 59, joined Koriger in 1970 as a parcel clerk and most recently served as the company’s SVP of operations. Gust was appointed to that position in 2011 and prior to that he served as EVP of corporate merchandising and advertising. During his career Gust also served as vp of the Fred Meyer food group and SVP of store operations.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., president and CEO Mike Duke appeared earlier this week at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations where he shed light on a range of topics that weren’t fully captured by headlines and soundbites from the event.

Duke was a participant in the organization’s CEO speaker series where for an hour he was politely grilled by Bloomberg president and CEO Dan Doctoroff and took questions on a broad range of topics.

New York -- According to multiple reports on Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s India unit has received a notice from a federal government agency regarding alleged violations of the country’s foreign investment rules.
 
A spokesman for Wal-Mart said: “We will be working to provide the authorities with relevant information,” but didn’t elaborate on the contents of the notice.

Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Wal-Mart and India's Bharti Enterprises Ltd., operates 20 wholesale stores in the country.

New York -- A Thursday report by the Financial Times said that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in discussions with Turkish retailer Migros Ticaret AS to acquire an 80% stake in the company from London-based private equity group BC Partners.

The Times said that Walmart held meetings with Migros managers in recent days in Turkey but it had not placed a bid for the Turkish retailer. Sources have not been identified and Wal-Mart so far has not commented.

Shoppers in many markets have to drive past one of Dollar General’s more than 10,000 stores before they get to their local Walmart, a situation that will intensify in 2013.

Dollar General is opening stores so fast its store count sometimes changes multiple times throughout the day. It surpassed 10,000 units earlier this year and by the end of the company third quarter on November 2, it had opened 479 out of 625 stores planned for 2012. Next year, 635 new units are planned and by the end of next year the company’s store count will be in the vicinity of 11,000 stores.