Mass Merchant

A new low cost money wiring service from Walmart saves customers money and showcases the thought process the company applies to disrupt high margin businesses and generate store traffic.

The new service is called Walmart-2-Walmart and when it launches on April 24 customers will be able to wire up to $900 for only $9.50. between Walmart’s 4,000 U.S. locations. The service is intended to complement Walmart’s existing relationship with MoneyGram which offers a broader range of financial services including international transfers.

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW Inc. has appointed Mary Meixelsperger as CFO effective May 1. Meixelsperger replaces Douglas Probst, who is retiring from DSW on the same day.

William Blair & Company analyst Mark Miller has followed Walmart for a long time, but he didn’t have much good to say about the company when he issued a downgrade this week.

Miller lowered his rating on Walmart to underperform from market perform and cited some familiar and unfamiliar concerns. For example, one of his main concerns related to Walmart’s size and complexity which he contends reduces dynamism and growth.

Garnier USA, a subsidiary of L'Oréal USA, has selected Tina Fey as the new spokesperson for Garnier Skincare. Fey, who has been the face of Garnier Nutrisse hair color since 2011, is featured in the brand’s new advertising campaign, which launched this month.

Fey's endorsement spans the entire Garnier Ultra-Lift skincare line, including moisturizers, serums and eye products. The campaign will focus on a line of new, standout anti-aging products, including Ultra-Lift Transformer and Ultra-Lift Anti-Wrinkle Firming Night Cream.

New York - Retailers are preparing for a strong Easter shopping season, with shipments of “Easter” related items up more than 22% from 2013. According to analysis of shipments from December to February (the time when retailers stock their shelves for Easter) from global trade data provider Panjiva shows that U.S. retailers recorded a total of 4,610 Easter-related shipments during this period in 2013-2014, compared to 3,772 in 2012-13.

Evansville, Ind. -- Shoe Carnival Inc. is collaborating with the Lifetime show “Devious Maids” to further promote the company’s first national, integrated advertising campaign. Shoe Carnival’s national campaign with “Devious Maids” and new tagline “A Surprise in Store” will run on national cable with on-air, in-store and social support.

The advertising campaign coincides with the season two premiere of the series “Devious Maids,” which will debut on April 20.

Cheshunt, U.K. – Philip Clarke, CEO of leading U.K. grocery and general merchandise retailer Tesco plc is publicly resisting calls for his resignation following a 6% decline in annual profits and 3% quarterly drop in U.K. same-store sales. Tesco has reported falling profits for two consecutive years following 20 years of continual profit growth.

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores LLC reported a widening net loss in an abbreviated 10-month fiscal 2014 which was shortened from the Saturday closest to the end of March to the Friday closest to the end of January. Net loss grew to $12.48 million from $8.9 million.

Total net sales were $1.53 billion, down 8% from $1.66 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.7%.