Sales & Marketing

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart announced the next step in its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment by guaranteeing a job offer to any eligible U.S. veteran honorably discharged from active duty since the commitment’s original launch on Memorial Day 2013.

The previous commitment was for veterans within 12 months off active duty. In addition to the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment, Walmart is expanding its 2013 projection of hiring 100,000 veterans by 2018, increasing the projection to 250,000 veterans by the end of 2020.

A legal veteran of Abercrombie & Fitch and Harvard Law grad has been named general counsel for Big Lots.

Ronald "Rocky" Robins Jr. becomes SVP general counsel and corporate secretary at Big Lots. Robins will be a member of the executive leadership team of the company and report directly to David Campisi, CEO and president.

Shanghai -- Disney Store has opened its first store — and largest store to date — in Shanghai, China. With 9,257 sq. ft. of shopping space, the flagship also features an outdoor plaza.

The store has numerous design features unique to Shanghai, which include:

• A Disney Magic Kingdom Castle, measuring 19 ft. high at the heart of the store, featuring an hourly musical and projection show;

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income of $29.1 million, up from $3.9 million a year ago, amid higher sales and fewer promotions. It results beat Wall Street expectations.

The retailer posted better-than-expected revenue of $699.5 million for the quarter ended May 2, up 8% from $646.13 million a year ago.

Total same-store sales rose 7%.

Framingham, Mass. – The TJX Cos. enjoyed a successful first quarter of fiscal 2016 that included profit results surpassing Wall Street expectations. TJX reported net income of $474.6 million, up 4% from $454.32 million a year earlier.

Growth in expenses and cost of sales did not keep pace with revenue growth, resulting in higher pretax income that fueled the profit increase. Net sales rose 6% to $6.86 billion from $6.49 billion. Total same-store sales growth of 5%, driven by increased customer traffic, helped boost revenue.

Pittsburgh - American Eagle Outfitters Inc. continues its global expansion with new license agreements in South Korea with SK Networks Co. Ltd.; in Singapore with Trendz 360 Pte. Ltd.; and in Greece with Notos Com Holdings S.A. Stores will begin opening in mid-2015, and American Eagle currently expects to open approximately 40 licensed stores in fiscal 2015

The Limited is finally following the lead of a slew of other retailers that have rolled out buy online, pick up in store services for customers.

Columbus, Ohio - The Limited is launching a new program called Reserve Online, Ready In-Store, that allows customers to shop TheLimited.com and place items on hold for purchase and pick-up at their local store. Reserve Online, Ready In-Store is available at The Limited's nearly 225 full-line retail store locations across the U.S.

This full-scale launch follows a successful pilot in select stores in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio, markets.