Club & Warehouse

Dayton, Ohio – Walmart is the most valuable retail brand in North America, with a brand value estimated at $131.8 billion, according to Interbrand's "Best Retail Brands" report. The retail powerhouse maintains its number one spot and, even with a 6% decline in brand value, it retains an enormous margin over its closest competitor Target, whose brand value is put at $27.1 billion, an 8% increase over 2013.

Bentonville, Ark. – The Sam’s Club Giving Program is providing a $2.5 million grant to grow U.S. women-owned businesses and jumpstart job creation. Awarded to three non-profit organizations, the grant creates the WE Lend Initiative, a two-year investment in strengthening SBA-recognized Women’s Business Centers (WBCs).

Sam’s Club and the Gallup organization have launched a new quarterly tracking poll that focuses on the smallest of small business.

The poll is designed to look at what Sam’s is calling “microbusiness,” companies with five or fewer employees, that represent a core customer of Sam’s Club and are estimated to total 25 million.

Yonkers, N.Y. -- Thousands of subscribers to the world's largest independent product-testing organization weighed in on grocery shopping via Consumer Reports’ latest survey – and gave Wegmans, Trader Joe's, Publix, Costco and Sprouts the highest scores overall among 55 of the nation's major grocery stores.

Walmart landed at the bottom of the ratings, based on a survey of the 27, 208 subscribers.

Port Washington, N.Y. — Cedar Realty Trust has completed the acquisition of Quartermaster Plaza in Philadelphia. The 456,000-sq.-ft. grocery-anchored shopping center is 98% occupied and anchored by a BJ’s Wholesale Club.

Cedar acquired the center for $92.3 million, including the assumption of $53.4 million of fixed rate debt. The company expects ultimately to fund deal with proceeds anticipated from asset sales. Pending those sales, Cedar will use it existing credit facility.

A study of 10,000 U.S. consumers’ attitudes about retail customer service saw Sam’s Club best Amazon.com and dozens of other retailers among a field of 268 companies.

Waban, Mass. -- Sam's Club and Amazon.com deliver the best customer experience in the retail industry, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers. Sam's Club and Amazon.com continue their reign as the highest-rated retailers for the third straight year, each earning an "excellent" rating.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Starting Wednesday, March 26, Wal-Mart customers will be able to trade in their video games and apply the value immediately toward the purchase of anything sold at Walmart and Sam’s Club, both in stores and online. The traded-in games will then be sent to be refurbished and made available for purchase in like-new condition at a reduced price.

The program will work as follows:

• Customers bring their working video games, in the original packaging, to the electronics department.