News

Many Walmart shoppers happen to be NASCAR fans, so it makes sense that the retailer would host exclusive events around big races in key markets.

In Charlotte, N.C., and Dover, Del., select Walmart stores will offer customers the chance to check out racing simulator machines and stock car displays and enjoy special driver appearances throughout the month of May.

Turns out Shakespeare’s famous line, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” doesn’t quite fit with every scenario. Case in point, Wal-Mart Stores, which, according to Millward Brown Optimor’s BrandZ ranking of the top 20 global retail brands, saw its brand value diminish when it decided to rename its Wal-Mart stores, Walmart. 

Walmart acquired a minority interest in Chinese e-commerce company Yihaodian, the company announced Friday morning. Yihaodian was launched in July 2008 and currently offers 75,000 products and next-day delivery on essential items from an existing logistics network in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Santiago Roces left Walmart with little fanfare or the issuance of a press release last month, which isn’t uncommon for executives at the SVP level at the company the size of Walmart. Nevertheless, the timing of the departure certainly seems curious given that Roces was the guy with the words “small format” in his title and Walmart is about to open the first of its Walmart Express stores and rebrand Neighborhood Market as Walmart Market.

One of the more interesting developments in the retail industry is set to unfold in a series of small towns along the Western edge of Arkansas where Walmart is set open the first of its experimental small formats.

IRVING, Texas — Michaels announced that it has removed the PIN pad tampering threat from its U.S. stores and believes it has identified the time frame that customer information was exposed. Based on the latest information available, exposed PIN pad transactions occurred from Feb. 8 through May 6, the date Michaels disabled the tampered devices.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. has announced plans to bring the Gap brand to Serbia and Ukraine through new agreements with existing franchise partners. The stores are scheduled to open in 2011 in the cities of Belgrade and Kiev where customers will be able to shop products from Gap, GapKids and babyGap.

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) board of directors has announced the departure of Steve Berger as president and CEO of CHA. The board of directors will immediately begin a search for a new chief executive. No timetable has been set for securing a replacement. In the interim, Tony Lee, VP meetings and expositions, will serve as acting president and CEO.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot's charitable arm, The Office Depot Foundation, announced donations to help families and small businesses affected by the recent tornadoes in Alabama and the Southeastern United States.

TOWSON, Md. —  Black & Decker has introduced its new Steam-Mop featuring trademarked SmartSelect technology that enables users to use the mop on a variety of floor types. When the right setting is chosen the mop will release the required amount of steam needed to clean the floor.

The mop works with regular tap water, thus eliminating the need for harsh chemicals, the company reported. According to Black & Decker, this mop can kill  99.9 percent of germs to achieve a clean home the all-natural way.