News

William Blair & Company analyst Mark Miller has followed Walmart for a long time, but he didn’t have much good to say about the company when he issued a downgrade this week.

Miller lowered his rating on Walmart to underperform from market perform and cited some familiar and unfamiliar concerns. For example, one of his main concerns related to Walmart’s size and complexity which he contends reduces dynamism and growth.

A $1 million donation from Walmart CEO Doug McMillion and his wife Shelley to the University of Arkansas will help kick start the creation of a new School of Global Retail Operations and Innovation.

A new low cost money wiring service from Walmart saves customers money and showcases the thought process the company applies to disrupt high margin businesses and generate store traffic.

The new service is called Walmart-2-Walmart and when it launches on April 24 customers will be able to wire up to $900 for only $9.50. between Walmart’s 4,000 U.S. locations. The service is intended to complement Walmart’s existing relationship with MoneyGram which offers a broader range of financial services including international transfers.

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW Inc. has appointed Mary Meixelsperger as CFO effective May 1. Meixelsperger replaces Douglas Probst, who is retiring from DSW on the same day.

DSW has appointed former Shopko executive Mary Meixelsperger as CFO, effective May 1. Meixelsperger replaces Douglas Probst, who is retiring from DSW on the same day.

"We are pleased that Mary is joining the DSW team," said president and CEO Michael MacDonald. "Mary is a seasoned executive with a breadth of experiences in merger integration, strategic systems planning and implementation, financial analysis and tax planning. With her leadership, we will position DSW for continued growth and progress towards our strategic goals."

Cleveland – The Sherwin-Williams Company reported a slight drop in net income during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, to $115.46 million from $116.18 million. Net sales fared better, rising 9% to $2.37 billion from $2.17 billion.

Christopher M. Connor, chairman and CEO of Sherwin-Williams, cited strong performance in the paint stores group, with slight offset on domestic sales from severe weather, as helping drive consolidated net sales in the quarter. Sherwin-Williams expects consolidated net sales to rise 8%-14% in the second quarter.

Rosemary Ricketts and Steve Bohman, retail executives with extensive mass market experience, have joined upscale brand Vera Bradley in key roles.

Ricketts was named vp of merchandising and Bohman was named vp of global production at the leading designer of women's handbags and accessories, luggage and travel items, eyewear, stationery and gifts.

Washington, D.C. -- Lowe's Home Centers has agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty for violating federal rules governing lead paint exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday.  

The chain will also implement a comprehensive, corporate-wide compliance program at its over 1,700 stores nationwide to ensure that the contractors it hires to perform work minimize lead dust from home renovation activities, as required by the federal Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule.