Mass Merchant

Newark, Calif. -- NewPark Mall, in Newark, Calif., has opened an in-house cultural arts center, the NewPark Mall Cultural Corner.

The just-opened cultural center, located on the lower level near Sears, provides exhibit space for the work of local artisans, including painters, sculptors, photographers and digital artists.

NewPark Mall is anchored by Macy's, Sears, J.C. Penney, Target and Burlington Coat Factory. It is owned and managed by General Growth Properties, Chicago.

Seattle -- Amazon reported Tuesday that sales for the quarter ended June 30 soared 51% to $9.9 billion.

Profits dipped 8% to $191 million from $207 million on surging operating costs, but still beat Wall Street expectations.

Bentonville, Ark. -- A Wednesday report by Bloomberg said that Wal-Mart Stores has named Morten Knudsen as CFO for Asia, as the retailer recasts its leadership roles in the region amidst top-heavy turnover.

Knudsen, who was previously VP for corporate finance in Asia for Danone, takes the financial chief spot for Wal-Mart Asia effective Sept. 1.

Since May, Wal-Mart has lost Japanese chief Toru Noda and three of its top executives in China, including the CFO and COO Roland Lawrence and Rob Cissell, respectively.
 

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack reported that total net sales and operating revenues from continuing operations for the 2011 second quarter were $941.9 million, compared with $962.3 million for the 2010 second quarter.  According to the company, the decrease in total net sales and operating revenues for the 2011 second quarter was driven by a $76.1 million decrease in sales generated by U.S. company-operated stores.  

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced that it is opening a new concept store in the Chicago suburb of Melrose park that will provide a tailored grocery offering and a broad variety of general merchandise.

Called Meijer Marketplace, the new store will be 96,000 sq. ft., about half the size of Meijer's largest supercenters. 

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Blockbuster and Netflix may face new competition from Walmart, as the retailer announced that it will launch digital online movie rental and video streaming through its acquired Vudu service. 

The retailer is now offering 20,000 titles that can be viewed on almost any device with Internet access, from PCs to televisions to Sony's PlayStation3 and other Blu-Ray disc players.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu on Tuesday reported first-quarter fiscal 2012 net sales of $11.1 billion (down 3.7%, versus last year) and net earnings of $74 million (up 10.4%), or 35 cents per diluted share. Posted net earnings beat the analyst consensus of 33 cents per diluted share.

Toronto -- Sears Canada, a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corp., said Monday it has hired former Limited Brands online executive VP Steven Goldsmith as its executive VP merchandising, apparel and accessories.

The move comes after the resignation of Sears Canada CEO Dene Rogers and subsequent replacement by former Loblaw Cos. executive Calvin McDonald.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot reported Tuesday that it loss widened to $29 million in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $25 million in the year-ago period.

Sales were essentially flat in the quarter, at $2.7 billion. By division, total sales dipped 2% in the North American retail division to $1.1 billion, and same-store sales decreased 1%. During the second quarter of 2011, the division closed 14 stores, opened four stores and relocated four stores, bringing the total count for North America retail to 1,131 stores.

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Tuesday that it is leveraging last year’s acquisition of video-streaming service Vudu to launch digital online movie rental and streaming on Walmart.com.

On Tuesday the retailer started offering 20,000 titles that can be viewed on almost any device with Internet access, from PCs to televisions to Sony's PlayStation3 and other Blu-Ray disc players.