Discount Store

Minneapolis – The corporate restructuring that has led Target Corp. to lay off 17.600 Canadian workers and 2,200 U.S. workers has reportedly hit the retailer’s Indian operation. According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Target has laid off 180 Indian employees and closed 125 open positons in India this week.

Target has pledged to eliminate several thousand positions, many from its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, as part of a $2 billion restructuring plan instituted by CEO Brian Cornell.

 

Five Below reported an increase in same store sales and profit for the first quarter in the same week the company opened a new distribution center to support its expansion plans. 

Walmart is reportedly raising starting wages for more than 100,000 U.S. department managers and workers in its deli and other specialized departments.

According to the Associated Press, Walmart told the AP that department managers of complex and service-oriented jobs in areas like produce, electronics and auto care, will start at $13 per hour and top out at $24.70 per hour, beginning next month.

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Goodlettsville, Tenn. – Dollar General Corp. beat Wall Street expectations for profit but missed on sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income totaled $253 million, up 14% from $222 million the same period the prior year.

Higher initial inventory markups, improved inventory shrink rate and lower transportation costs helped boost net income. Net sales increased 9% to $4.92 billion, compared to $4.52 billion. Same-store sales increased 3.7%, resulting from increases in both customer traffic and average transaction amount.

Strong sales of tobacco products, candy and snacks helped drive Dollar General's same-store sales up nearly 4% in the first quarter as the company celebrates its 12,000th store opening this month.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly raising wages for some employees in specialized departments beginning in July. According to the Associated Press, managers of more complicated departments like automotive and electronics will have their pay range increased to $13 - $24.70 per hour, from $10.30 - $20.09 per hour.

Dollar Tree has agreed to sell 330 of its stores to the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners in order to get regulatory approval for its $8.5 billion purchase of Family Dollar.

Sycamore Partners intends to operate the 330 stores, which represent approximately $45.5 million of operating income for Family Dollar, under the Dollar Express banner.

Philadelphia -- Five Below will grand open a distribution center in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, on June 3, with shipping out of the new 1 million sq.-ft. center beginning in July.

Located in Pedricktown, N.J., the center will replace the company's existing 421,000-sq.-ft. facility located 12 miles away in New Castle, Delaware. Five Below will occupy approximately 700,000 sq. ft. of the facility to start, with plans to grow to a million square feet over time.