Mass Merchant

Walmart may have been slow to embrace the online space in the mid 90’s when dot-com fever first heated up, but it isn’t making the same mistake the second time around as the digital world undergoes the mobile and social revolution.

Walmart Canada president and CEO David Cheesewright is scheduled to speak next week at the Jefferies 2011 Global Consumer Conference near Boston. Walmart doesn’t typically push country presidents on stage at investor conferences except at its own analysts’ meetings when it has hosted events overseas in such places as China earlier this year or prior years in Brazil and the United Kingdom. However there are some interesting things going on in Canada these days, and the Jefferies event is an opportunity for Walmart to showcase some of its management talent.

TOPEKA, Kan. — Matthew Rubel is stepping down as CEO of Collective Brands, the company announced Thursday. Rubel will also give up his role as chairman of the board and as a director for the company. Michael Massey has been named the interim CEO and Scott Olivet has been named the company's non-executive chairman.

Topeka, Kan. -- Collective Brands, parent to the Payless ShoeSource and StrideRite brands, announced Wednesday that its chairman and CEO Matthew E. Rubel has resigned, effective immediately.

Rubel said in a release that he is leaving to pursue “a new chapter” in his career, and the company has offered no additional explanation.

Collective Brands said it is searching for a permanent replacement.

Dallas -- Cypress Equities Cos. said it has expanded its leasing team with the addition of Giancarlo “GC” Carriero, who joins the firm as leasing manager.

Carriero is responsible for developing and leveraging relationships with potential tenants and facilitating leasing solutions for Cypress’ nationwide retail and mixed-use projects. 

He was previously leasing representative for General Growth Properties.
 

Chicago -- Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Mid-America Asset Management said that Charming Charlie will open an 8,650-sq.-ft. store at Geneva Commons, in Geneva, Ill., a western suburb of Chicago.

The new store is slated to open summer 2011 in the 437,650-sq.-ft. lifestyle center, joining a recently opened Sephora, which debuted a 3,909-sq.-ft. store in the center.

Geneva Commons is anchored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, H & M, Anthropologie and more.
 

Walmart executive were said to be among a group of major retailers who met with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday to discuss the elimination of the city’s “food deserts,” essentially areas where roughly 450,000 residents don’t have convenient access to fresh food.

According to an AP report, representatives from Walmart, Walgreen, Aldi and three other chains who were not identified met with Emanuel who reportedly showed a detailed map of the city’s food deserts and made an appeal for projects in specific areas.

Walmart is moving forward with what could be characterized as a roll out of its Neighborhood Market format nearly 13 years after the first unit opened in the fall of 1998. Just don’t call it a Neighborhood Market.