Walmart

Outdoor retailer Cabela’s has announced plans to open one of its signature stores in Rogers, Ark., next summer, continuing an influx of retail development that has steadily elevated the region’s shopping options.

A decade ago, the biggest decision facing shoppers who lived in Benton County was which Walmart to shop at. Either that or drive to Fayetteville where an aging mall featured Dillard’s and JCPenney as anchor tenants. Other folks made the two-hour trek to Tulsa, Okla., which boasted more choices, but hardly qualified as a shopping Mecca.

WASHINGTON — Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have announced a $3 million initiative designed to help D.C. residents get the skills and training they need to gain employment. The program will offer literacy, customer service and retail training to 2,000 District residents.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that its video-on-demand service Vudu is now available for the iPad. 

iPad users can go to Vudu.com and browse through Vudu's entertainment content library, which includes more than 20,000 blockbusters, Hollywood classics, independent films and TV episodes, then rent or purchase and watch them instantly. For one touch access to Vudu, customers can add a Vudu icon to their iPad desktops by clicking the "Add to Home Screen" button when on Vudu.com.  

New York City -- Carrefour SA said Tuesday that it is not in discussions to sell its Brazilian unit to Wal-Mart Stores.

Newspaper Valor Economico had reported that the U.S. retailer was in discussions with Carrefour to acquire the French retailer’s Brazilian unit. The acquisition would have made Wal-Mart the largest retailer in Brazil after the acquisition. 
 

A slew of retailers are scheduled to report second-quarter earnings in the coming weeks and among the more highly anticipated reports are results from Walmart and Target. 

Walmart is due up first on Aug. 16 followed by Target on Aug. 17.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it has expanded check cashing and card cashing services at stores nationwide, including the ability to cash a payroll and eligible government benefits card to the penny.

The expansion includes cashing most types of pre-printed checks up to $5,000 and accepting more forms of ID for check cashing, as well as establishing Express Check Cashing check-out lanes at selected stores during peak hours, the company reported.

There was a lot of negativity in the air this week regarding Walmart. Jefferies & Co. analyst Dan Binder downgraded the company on Tuesday and proceeded to appear on CNBC where he expressed concerns about company specific issues at Walmart regarding turnaround initiatives not gaining traction in the time frame he had hoped for.

Operating internationally is full of pitfalls and political peculiarity, as Walmart has again discovered in South Africa where various government officials are attempting to wring additional concessions from the company related to its acquisition of Massmart.