Mass Merchant

Repeated assurances by Walmart’s most senior executives that their top priority is growing U.S. same-store sales may be reassuring news to investors, but the company’s ability to do so by the end of the year now is a firmly established expectation. This is especially true, given the recent performance of once of the company top grocery competitors.

It had been awful quiet on the organized labor front for a while, so news this week of the creation of a new union-backed anti-Walmart group serves as a reminder that unions are the equivalent of a bad case of herpes to Walmart. The discomfort and visible symptoms associated with their organizing activities occasionally subside, but there is no cure and eventually the company experiences another outbreak.

Sam’s is enjoying some solid momentum these days, but a potential buyout of BJ’s Wholesale Club announced Friday morning could create some competitive issues in market where the companies operations overlap.

Of course, that assumes the private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners, the companies who have joined forces to take BJ’s private, are interested in growing the business and investing in operations as opposed to simply squeezing the 190 unit retailer for cash.

AZUSA, Calif. — Physicians Formula confirmed that its newly developed skin care line will be carried exclusively in about 2,500 Walmart stores this summer.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — HSN announced that Arthur Lewis has been appointed SVP merchandising, digital commerce, effective June 27.  Lewis will report directly to Jill Braff, EVP digital commerce for HSN.

Lewis will oversee HSN's cross-channel merchandising strategy on hsn.com, mobile and tablet platforms.  He will also leverage his extensive digital background to grow all brands and categories of business, including online product exclusives and category expansions, the company reported.

TCP, the Aurora, Ohio-based manufacturer of energy efficient lighting products, has announced that industry veteran Jorge Fernandez will be joining the company in the position of SVP business development. Fernandez comes to TCP from Home Depot, where he led the company’s energy efficient lighting category.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The market on Friday cheered a move by Kmart parent company Sears Holdings to cut 700 positions from the appliance departments at 225 stores. Shares of Sears Holding advanced $2.67 on Friday to close at $74.03 after news of the layoffs was reported Friday morning by the Wall Street Journal.

Washington, D.C.  -- Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas were identified as the cities most problematic with regard to organized retail crime (ORC) rings, according to the National Retail Federation’s seventh annual Organized Retail Crime survey. Of the 129 retail companies, 94.5% reported having been the victim of organized retail crime in the past 12 months, up 6% over last year.

The cities most problematic for ORC rings were: