“Walmart Launches Online Site That Connects Shoppers with Products Supporting Small Women-Owned Businesses Around the World”  “As merchants, we’re always looking for new products to share with our customers that are quality, on-trend and priced right,” said Kelly Thompson, senior vice president of merchandising, Walmart.com. “The products from the Empowering Women Together collection deliver all of that while also giving our customers the chance to do good with their dollars – it’s a positive and powerful proposition for everyone.”  Empowering Women Together will be part of Store for Good, a developing Walmart.com program dedicated to connecting consumers with products that do good for other people, for themselves, or for our environment. The initiative will grow and potentially include eco-friendly products and healthier food options.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6434856&access=EH

 

“Kroger Reports 4Q Profit on Robust Sales” by Jennifer Booton at Fox Business.  “Excluding one-time items, Kroger said it earned 77 cents, topping average analyst estimates of 70 cents in a Thomson Reuters poll.  Revenue for the three months ended Feb. 2 climbed 12.8% to $24.15 billion from $21.4 billion a year ago, narrowly beating the Street’s view of $24 billion. Same-store sales, a key measurement of sales at stores open longer than a year, increased 3.5%.,,The nation’s largest supermarket operator anticipates same-store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5% in 2013.”  Read more: https://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/03/07/kroger-reports-4q-profit-on-robust-sales/#ixzz2MwxUUUjN

 

“Walgreens Sets Goal to Build Nation’s First Net Zero Energy Retail Store in Evanston, Ill”  “Walgreens plans to generate electricity and reduce its usage by more than 40 percent through several technologies in the store including: more than 800 roof-top solar panels,  two wind turbines, geothermal energy obtained by drilling 550-feet into the ground below the store, where temperatures are more constant and can be tapped to heat or cool the store in winter and summer, LED lighting and daylight harvesting, carbon dioxide refrigerant for heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment, and energy efficient building materials.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130307005094&div=-1245645151

 

“Walmart Moves Consumer PR Duties To GolinHarris” at The Holmes Report.  “Walmart has reshaped its multimillion dollar consumer PR mandate in favour of GolinHarris following a review that sees key incumbent Cohn & Wolfe lose its grip on the company’s US business.  The Holmes Report understands that the consolidation of one of the world’s largest consumer PR mandates began at the start of this year. It sees the retail giant dispense with the roster approach that it established in 2009, when it named three PR firms to oversee consumer PR: GolinHarris, Cohn & Wolfe and Porter-Novelli.”  Read more:  https://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/13114/Walmart-Moves-Consumer-PR-Duties-To-GolinHarris.aspx

 

“JC Penney Puts Martha Stewart Goods on Hold” at CNBC.  “J.C. Penney agreed on Thursday not to sell products designed by Martha Stewart in categories deemed exclusive to Macy’s before a court date in April.  The agreement came as a New York judge adjourned a trial over whether Martha Stewart Living Omnimediabreached its contract with Macy’s when it entered into a deal with J.C. Penney.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100534875

 

“José Luis Pier Joins Lowe’s as President/General Director of Lowe’s Mexico”  “Lowe’s entered the home improvement business in Mexico when it opened stores in Monterrey in 2010. Today, the company has five stores located in Monterrey, Saltillo, Hermosillo and Culiacan.”  Read more:  https://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/03/07/2541214/jose-luis-pier-joins-lowes-as.html

 

“Retail Sales Growth Challenges Ahead: Analyst” by Katie Little at CNBC.  “Despite poor weather and some consumer spending headwinds, retail same-store sales gained momentum as February progressed. Still, one analyst has misgivings about the near future.  “The next three to six months, the first half of 2013, is challenging for same-store sales gains — low single-digits at best is going to be what it’s all about,” said Dana Telsey, chief executive of Telsey Advisory Group.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100533272

 

“Whole Foods to Test Lower Margins at Some Stores” by Elliot Zwiebach at Supermarket News. “Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, plans to experiment with lower margins in some urban markets, though it does not plan any major changes in its pricing approach chainwide, Walter E. Robb. co-chief executive officer, told an investor conference here Tuesday.  “If we start getting into places where we’re just about price, we’d be getting away from our mission as a company and what we know how to do really well,” Robb said. “However, we have modeled some stores that are lower margin to put in certain urban markets, and I think there is some potential there, and you will see us do some experiments around that, just to see what that looks like.”  Read More: https://supermarketnews.com/retail-amp-financial/whole-foods-test-lower-margins-some-stores#ixzz2Mx3PaWh1

 

“Key Rite Aid revenue metric falls in February” at Bloomberg.  “The Camp Hill, Pa., company said Thursday that pharmacy revenue from stores open at least a year fell 4.7 percent in the five-week period that ended March 2. Revenue from the front end, or rest of the store, dropped 1.3 percent.”  Read more:  https://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-03-07/key-rite-aid-revenue-metric-falls-in-february

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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