News

ABILENE, Kan. -- Duckwall-ALCO Stores reported that net sales from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 increased 4.4% to $136.9 million and same-store sales, excluding fuel center sales, increased 1.8%, compared with the same period in the prior fiscal year. Net sales from continuing operations for the fiscal year decreased 0.6% to $465.2 million and same-store sales decreased 2.4%, compared with the same period in the prior fiscal year.

CARLISLE, Pa. — A health-and-wellness conference that brings together retail dietitians and nutritionists has tapped Ahold USA and its Giant Carlisle division as the event's retail host.

Field Trip Factory's third annual Dietitian Summit, which strives to generate awareness about the food industry's commitment to consumer health, will be held next month at a Giant Super Food store in Willow Grove, Pa. About 40 retail dietitians and nutritionists are expected to attend the three-day conference.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Best Buy said that it plans to open hundreds of wireless device stores, as well as expand online and in China in an effort to be more competitive as consumers up their online shopping. The chain is also scaling back the size of its signature namesake format. 

In an analyst conference Thursday, the retailer unveiled plans to shrink square footage at big-box stores by 10% over the next three to five years, a move that Best Buy said will eventually save $70 million to $80 million annually.

When it comes to speed and accuracy, helpfulness and courtesy, knowledge and personal service, the pharmacy at Walmart ranked dead last in a survey of Consumers Reports subscribers that appears in the May issue of the publication.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores has agreed to pay $440,000 to settle a federal harassment lawsuit by 10 employees who say they endured ethnic slurs and derogatory remarks on a daily basis while working at a Sam's Club store in Fresno, Calif. The EEOC announced the settlement Thursday.

Nine of the lawsuit plaintiffs were of Mexican descent and one was married to a Mexican. The alleged harasser was a Mexican-American co-worker.

By John Haber, [email protected]

For the past two months, consumers have paid higher gas prices as a result of the political unrest in the Mideast. But, consumers aren’t the only ones feeling a pinch. Retailers are feeling it too as many suppliers, manufacturers and distributors implement “emergency fuel surcharges” as reported by The Wall Street Journal in late March of this year.

The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission announced that Sam’s Club would pay a $440,000 fine to settle a harassment lawsuit involving Hispanics at a club in Fresno, Calif.

The timing of Walmart’s new ad campaign couldn’t be better with Easter a week away, and a considerable amount of sales volume associated with that holiday still in play. Walmart should be able to get its share of that spending as the heavy rotation of ads reminds shoppers of its everyday low prices on the broadest assortment in the land and an easy price match guarantee.