Mass Merchant

Austin -- H-E-B, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Denny’s are among the companies that will host some 103 electric vehicle charging stations in Austin, Texas., allowing customers to plug in while they shop. The stations are part of Utility Austin Energy’s Plug-In EVerywhere network.

The charging stations are available for use by everyone with an electric vehicle. Austin Energy offers a $25 six-month subscription swipe card for unlimited charging at any network location. Otherwise, a credit card can be used for $2 per hour of charging.

There was a lot of negativity in the air this week regarding Walmart. Jefferies & Co. analyst Dan Binder downgraded the company on Tuesday and proceeded to appear on CNBC where he expressed concerns about company specific issues at Walmart regarding turnaround initiatives not gaining traction in the time frame he had hoped for.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co.’s Best Buy Express plans to add nearly 100 kiosk locations in the next year spread over a variety of new channels.

The division has opened 150 Express locations in three years, and said it is adding two locations at Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, Calif., and multiple locations at college campuses, events and ferry hubs this year.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark posted second-quarter results that were at the high end of its guidance and narrowed its 2011 outlook on continued confidence. But it was the PBM business — and the potential merger of PBM rivals Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions — that was top of mind for many industry observers, and was a topic that CVS Caremark president and CEO Larry Merlo hit head on at the start of Thursday morning’s conference call.

New York City -- Warehouse club operators  Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Club continue to benefit from high fuel prices and bargain-seeking consumers, with both chain reporting solid results.

Costco reported a 10% rise in same-store sales In July, beating Wall Street's expectations for an 8.6% increase.

INDIANAPOLIS — Specialty electronics retailer Hhgregg reported a net loss of $0.8 million for the first quarter ended June 30, or a loss of 2 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $2.7 million, or 7 cents per diluted share, for the comparable prior-year period. 

Indianapolis -- Electronics and appliances retailer Hhgregg Inc. reported Thursday that it lost $761,000 in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of $2.7 million in the year-ago period. The retailer cited softness in its video business for the weakened performance.

Revenue dipped 1% to $431.5 million, from $436 million a year earlier. Wall Street expected revenue of $488 million. Same-store sales decreased 13.2%.

Little reason to believe Sam’s Club won’t easily meet or possibly exceed second-quarter same-store guidance that calls for an increase of 3% to 5%, following reports this week from Costco and BJ’s Wholesale club. Sam’s results correlate closely to its warehouse club rivals, and they both reported solid gains even after excluding the distorting effect of higher year-over-year gas prices.