News

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us has come out with what it believes will be the hot toy trends for the 2012 holiday season.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is introducing a first-of-its-kind Centers of Excellence program that will offer its associates quality health care with no out-of-pocket cost for heart, spine and transplant surgeries at six of the leading hospital and health systems in the United States. 

Just 10 months into her job as president and CEO of Sam’s Club Rosalind Brewer is making major changes to member benefits and implementing a $5 fee increase.

During a presentation at Walmart’s annual analysts’ conference on Wednesday Brewer recapped Sam’s performance, outlined a growth strategy involving a 2013 net increase of between 10 and 15 new clubs and described a wide range of enhancements to Sam’s two membership tiers.

ATLANTA — Hair accessories brand Goody is gearing up for the holidays with its Luxe line of hair accessories, which will feature new styles and designs for the holidays.

The Luxe collection is comprised of four styles: Vine, Deco, Antique and Starburst.  They range from classic to modern and capture the crisp, sleek lines of art deco, the charm and romance of vintage jewels, the whimsy and light of the constellations and the flourishing expressions of vines and blooms.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings has been honored with a SmartWay Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for being an industry leader in freight supply chain environmental performance and energy efficiency. The EPA SmartWay partnership is a public/private collaboration between the EPA and the freight transportation industry that helps freight shippers, carriers, and logistics companies improve fuel-efficiency and save money.

Organized labor was crowing this week about a protest, or was it a strike, involving 88 Walmart employees at 28 stores in 12 states who didn’t show up for work on Tuesday.

Port Washington, N.Y. -- The majority of consumers intend to spend the same (67%) this holiday season than last year, and 10% plan to spend more while fewer that say they plan to spend less, according to the NPD Group’s 11th Annual Holiday Survey.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings received a SmartWay  Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for being an industryleader in freight supply chain environmental performance and energy efficiency.

In addition, 100% of Sears Holdings more than 20+ freight carriers are SmartWay program partners as well.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. posted a lower profit from continuing operations for the third quarter on Thursday, but its net profit rose to $157 million from $130.2 last year, helped by the sale of some of its Genuardi's stores. The company reported income from continuing operations of $108.0 million for the quarter ended Sept. 8, compared with $130.3 million in third quarter 2011.

New York -- Carrefour SA reported that its revenue edged up in its third quarter, driven by strong sales in its convenience stores and markets in Asia and Latin America.

The company said Thursday that sales rose 2.1% to €22.6 billion ($29 billion) in the July to September quarter.

Recessions in Spain and Italy impacted Carrefour’s revenue in Europe, where sales were down 2.2%. Sales in Asia and Latin America increased, however, rising 12.3% and 5.2% respectively.