Mass Merchant

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has reportedly been given a May 30 deadline to settle a labor dispute in the Chinese city of Changde. According to the Wall Street Journal, Changde officials want Wal-Mart to reach an out-of-court settlement with workers at a store there which is scheduled to close.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples has named a veteran marketing executive, Frank Bifulco, as executive VP marketing, effective June 23. Bifulco previously served as chief marketing officer at Home Depot.

In the newly created role, Bifulco will lead marketing across Staples. He will report to Ron Sargent, chairman and CEO, and will be a member of the company’s executive committee.

Target will test same-day delivery in three markets as the online shipping war among retailers continues to gain momentum. Target will launch a $10 rush delivery pilot in June in the Minneapolis, Boston and Miami markets, offering guests the ability to order as late as 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon and receive a delivery of qualifying items between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. the same day, the company stated in its recent quarterly call with analysts.

I indulged in a shopping center grand opening on May 22 – and I’m glad I did.

Themed “Indulge,” the opening event marked the official unveiling of the nation’s first truly downtown outlet center, Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, located in the heart of New Orleans, and built by West Coast developer Howard Hughes Corp.

The smart shopping brand and magazine All You from Time Inc., doubled its Facebook community during the past year and recently surpassed one million fans.

Foothills Ranch, Calif. -- Fashion retailer Wet Seal Inc. swung to a loss in its  first quarter amid declining sales. The company reported a loss of $21.8 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $3.1 million.

Sales fell 17% to $116.7 million. Total same-store sales, including e-commerce, fell 16.9%.
 
Wet Seal said it was challenged by  weak mall traffic, higher promotional activity and disruptive weather as challenges for the quarter.

Thorofare, N.J. - Checkpoint Systems, Inc. is launching its next generation of intelligent electronic article surveillance (EAS) solutions. The Evolve iRange comprises six different EAS antennas, a broad range of EAS labels designed for visible and source-tagging application to various types of merchandise, and the Counterpoint iD deactivation unit for faster and consistent deactivation at point-of-sale (POS).

The car Dollar General sponsored in this year’s Indianapolis 500 may have finished 14th, but the retailer’s race team gained notoriety for another reason.
 
For the first time ever, the pit crew for the Dollar General sponsored Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team contained a female member tire changer. Jessica Mace became the first woman to “go over the wall,” racing parlance used to described those who work on cars when they enter the pit stall, during the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500.