News

Given all the talk of EDLP at Walmart’s annual shareholders’ meeting, it was understandable the company chose Maki Nakamura, chief merchandising officer at Walmart Japan, as the recipient of the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Walmart’s Seiyu stores in Japan have been implementing every day low prices for several years, and the company’s patience has finally paid off with improved business results in what has been a challenging market.

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LEXINGTON, Mass. — The Stride Rite Children's Group announced it will donate a new pair of shoes to Kids in Distressed Situations for each ticket purchased during K.I.D.S. Day in New York, a celebratory event taking place on June 5.

Stride Rite also announced that its president, Sharon John, has been appointed to the K.I.D.S. board of directors as a member of its marketing committee.

Since 2006, Stride Rite has provided more than $3 million in new shoes to over 280 nonprofit agencies in the K.I.D.S. network. 

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said its same-store sales role 5.6% in May, better than Wall Street expected.

Walgreen said pharmacy revenue from those stores rose 6.7% as it filled 7.1% more prescriptions. Front-end same-store sales grew 3.6%.

The company also said it completed its acquisition of Drugstore.com, an online health and beauty retailer. Walgreen agreed to buy the company in March for $429 million.

TORONTO — McCain Foods announced that it has named Dirk Van de Put as president and CEO and a director of the company, succeeding Dale Morrison, effective July 1.

Dirk  joined McCain Foods from Novartis where he was President of the $3-billion global Over-the-Counter Consumer Health business. Prior to joining Novartis, Dirk held executive positions with Group Danone and Mars Inc. 

Hong Kong -- Italian fashion house Prada, which is preparing for an initial public offering of about $2 billion in Hong Kong, said it plans to use most of the proceeds on expansion and renovation of its stores over the next 18 months.

The Milan-based company said it plans to add a net total of about 80 directly operated stores by the end of January 2012, most of them in the Asia Pacific region, where it sees "substantial potential for growth," Prada said in the a regulatory filing.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark announced that it has donated approximately $40,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to support residents of Joplin, Mo., who were impacted by the recent tornado. CVS Caremark and CVS/pharmacy colleagues in the region collected and donated first aid and personal care supplies valued at approximately $35,000 to local relief efforts in Joplin. In addition, CVS Caremark has made a $5,000 donation to the American Red Cross to further support relief efforts in the area.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — May proved to be a good month for Walgreens, as the drug store chain posted a total sales jump of 7% to nearly $6.1 billion.

Walgreens reported that its total front-end sales experienced a 5.5% increase, while comparable front-end sales realized a 3.6% increase.