News

It has become something of a tradition at Walmart’s annual meeting that shareholders are asked to consider a number of proposals, which the board of directors typically recommends shareholders reject. It appears likely that will be the case again this year when the shareholders’ meeting is held on June 3 and five proposals are on the ballot.

The stock buyback binge Walmart has been on for the past few years is positioned as a way for the company to return cash to shareholders, and it is. However, the $25.6 billion (that’s not a typo) spent by Walmart on share repurchases during the past three years has had another effect. It has driven the Walton family’s ownership stake in the company to a record level of 48.18%.

Walmart’s acquisition of Kosmix will shorten the company’s social media learning curve and open the door for some intriguing new possibilities, even if those possibilities aren’t quite clear just yet.

Walmart is out with its 2011 Global Responsibility Report, and it is a beast of a document at 106 pages. A lot of those pages contain pretty pictures, such as the cover which shows a young girl in a grassy field pointing skyward to Walmart’s Spark logo, but there is plenty of substance too. The document is also broader in scope than prior iterations, which had a tighter focus on sustainability.

Walmart remains in full blown communications mode, and next week it rolls out the big gun when president and CEO Mike Duke is scheduled to participate in the Barclays Capital 2011 Retail and Restaurants Conference at 1 p.m. EST on Tuesday, April 26.

New York City -- The high price of cotton is one of the biggest challenges that J.C. Penney Co. faces this year, chairman and CEO Mike Ullman said during a panel discussion at Southern Methodist University, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

Cotton prices in March hit their highest levels in decades after floods in Australia and Pakistan and freezes in China wiped out farmers' crops. That means consumers will see rising clothing prices for the first time in more than 20 years, Ullman said, who predicted increases of 5% to 20%.

New York City -- A western Pennsylvania woman filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Target Corp. and its law firm over the chain's debt-collection practices, the Associated Press reported. The woman claims false affidavits were used to go after customers who allegedly owed money to a subsidiary bank that issues the store's credit cards.

New York City -- More than 60,000 Southern California grocery workers cast their votes on Wednesday whether to authorize a strike if contract talks with three of the nation's largest supermarket chains break down. A two-thirds majority vote was needed for passage.

The talks are with The Vons Cos.; Ralphs Grocery Co., a subsidiary of The Kroger Co.; and Albertsons, owned by Supervalu.

New York City -- Borders is seeking at least $50 million in additional financing as sales trail expectations and publishers demand cash in advance, according to two people who have seen the chain’s plans to reorganize, Bloomberg reported. The bankrupt retailer already has a $505 million debtor-in-possession loan from lenders led by GE Capital.

Borders may risk liquidation without further investment, easier terms from vendors or a buyer, said the people, who declined to be identified because the process isn’t public, the report said.

Chicago -- Teen retailer Claire's Stores provided some hope that discretionary spending is improving by reporting net sales of $421.9 million for the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter, an increase of $11.2 million, or 2.7% compared with the fiscal 2009 fourth quarter. Consolidated same-store sales increased 3.2% in the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter consisting of a 4.7% increase in North America and a 0.6% increase in Europe.