News

Target was among the major U.S. companies who were quick to step up after the wave of tornadoes brought unprecedented death and destruction to communities throughout the Southeast. Target donated $200,000 in cash to the American Red Cross to support tornado relief efforts and made an additional donation valued at more than $75,000 that included product and relief kits, which contained hygiene and food items for distribution in the hardest-hit areas.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores announced a successor for Larry Merlo as its new board of directors chairman, along with several other elected officers, at its 2011 Annual Meeting. Robert Loeffler, who serves as H-E-B's chief administrative officer, will replace Merlo, who is CVS Caremark president and CEO, as NACDS board chairman. Additionally, Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson was elected vice chairman, while Thrifty White president and CEO Robert Narveson was named treasurer.

The most recent pricing survey from the equity research team at Credit Suisse shows that Target is either 3.1% more expensive or 1.9% less expensive than Walmart. The firm compared prices at stores in the Dallas and Chicago markets, as it does every month, and during March discovered the gap between the two competitors narrowed considerably.

“Target’s price gap with Walmart tightened from 4.2% in February to 3.1%,” according to the firm. “Target’s basket price decreased sequentially by 0.8% compared with Walmart’s 0.3% increase.”

This Mother’s Day is shaping up to be a battle between Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook, with the popular e-readers featured on the cover of circulars from Target and Walmart that dropped this past weekend.

Jose Barra, SVP health care and beauty at Target, is among four new members elected to join the 21-member board of directors of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS). Barra’s appointment was announced at the NACDS Annual Meeting held this week in Scottsdale, Ariz. Other new members include, Jerry Cline, SVP retail sales and marketing at Good Neighbor Pharmacy; Lynne Fruth, chairman of the board of Fruth Pharmacy and Steve Kaczynski, CEO of Navarro Discount Pharmacies.

Customers paying with their Lowe’s Consumer Credit Card receive an immediate discount of 5% on in-stock and special order purchases bought in stores or online at lowes.com, Lowe's said.

Customers with single-receipt purchases of $299 or more can choose between the 5% discount or special financing currently advertised.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix Supermarkets said Monday that sales and earnings rose in the first quarter. Net earnings rose 9.3% to $398.2 million, compared with $364.4 million in 2010.

Sales for the first quarter totaled $6.8 billion, and same-store sales rose 2.8%.

“Although the economy continues to be weak, I’m pleased our strong operating performance resulted in another increase in our stock price,” said Ed Crenshaw, Publix’s CEO, said in a statement.

New York City -- Target has joined with American Express to offer a co-branded prepaid card that customers can reload and use at any store that accepts Amex cards, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Target said in an e-mailed statement that it is selling the cards in a test at 100 stores in four cities: Chicago, Denver, Miami and Washington, D.C., the report said. The company said there is no projected end date.

New York City -- Foot Locker has unveiled upgraded mobile commerce sites for each of its athletic footwear retail banners -- Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Footaction, Champs Sports and CCS -- with added functionality and enhancements to provide customers with a seamless and optimal cross channel experience.

In addition, the company is introducing mobile sites for its Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, and Footaction retail divisions.

Washington, D.C. -- Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) said that Guitar Center has renewed its license for APT's retail testing software.

APT’s Test & Learn Management Solution is being used to drive dozens of high-impact tests within Guitar Center’s organization. Using Test & Learn, Guitar Center plans to accurately understand the impact of new ideas and tailor them to maximize profits.