Mass Merchant

Jackson, Miss. -- The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is not liable for selling bullets to an underage customer who then used the ammunition to commit murder.

The lawsuit was filed by the relatives of Robert Williams, who was shot and killed by his girlfriend's son in 2006. The son, Xavier Zurndell Moore, was 20 years old at the time, and shot Williams with ammunition purchased at a local Walmart store. Federal law requires that a person be 21 to buy pistol ammunition.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The trend of doing away with layaway fees continues, this time with Kmart announcing that it has removed its layaway service fee both in stores and online through Nov. 17.

The retailer follows suit with Toys"R"Us, which said it would drop the $5 upfront service fee and eliminate the minimum purchase requirement for all orders created in stores through Oct. 31 and Walmart, which, while not cutting back its layaway fee, has rolled it back to $5 from $15.

Thursday, September 13 at 9 a.m. central time is the start date for another one of Walmart’s sustainability milestone meetings. The company uses the gatherings, Webcast from its home office auditorium, to highlight a wide range of environmental initiatives that increasingly contribute to efforts to operate more efficiently.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. announced Friday that it will open its first standalone store in Mexico, part of the retailer’s previously announced global expansion strategy.

The new store, to be located at Interlomas Mall outside Mexico City, expands on Gap’s store-in-store concepts in Liverpool Department stores in the region.

Bed Bath & Beyond is offering a trio of Granite Gold branded products as part of an exclusive new Home Care Collection.

The product offering includes Granite Gold’s daily cleaner, a countertop polish and a specialty cleaner and that retails for $23.99.

"Harsh and abrasive ordinary cleaners have damaging effects on natural stone-surfaces," said Lenny Sciarrino, president and CEO of Granite Gold. "Our Home Care Collection provides Bed Bath & Beyond customers the essential tools to easily and safely clean, shine and protect their surfaces."

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Friday that both its Sears and Kmart banners would waive layaway fees for the holidays, allowing shoppers to open interest-free pay-over-time programs at both stores and online with no customary initial fees. Kmart’s program will run through Nov. 17, but Sears Holdings had yet to set a timeframe for its namesake stores.

In the past, Kmart and Sears have charged $5 for an eight-week layaway contract and $10 for the 12-week program.

Football fans and chocolate aficionados can satisfy both cravings this season at Walmart thanks to an initiative with Mars Chocolate North America.

The candy company teamed up with Walmart to offer a 40 ounce bag of Snickers limited edition NFL Minis in which product wrappers feature logos of all 32 NFL teams.