“Ex Wal-Mart CEO’s deferred pay: $140 million” by Gary Strauss at USA Today.  “Departed Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke’s deferred pay should provide enough money to shop beyond discount retailers for many years.  Duke, who retired Jan. 31, had $140.1 million in deferred compensation at year’s end, Wal-Mart said Wednesday in its annual proxy filing. That’s more than $27 million over what Duke had accumulated in retirement accounts in 2013.”  Read more

 

“Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon Received $25.6 Million Last Year (But Pay is Tied to Future Performance)” by Mark Friedman at Arkansas Business.  “Nearly all of the company’s other top executives saw their total compensations climb in fiscal 2014, mainly as a result of the stock awards…Charles M. Holley Jr., executive vice president and CFO, saw his total compensation increase to $8.2 million…Neil Ashe, executive vice president, had a total compensation of $13.2 million for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31…Rosalind Brewer, an executive vice president, saw her total compensation fall from $14.46 million to $11.7 million for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31.”  Read more

 

“Supervalu Beats Street, Comp Sales Climb” by Mike Hughlett at Star-Tribune.  “At Supervalu’s national discount grocery chain, Save-A-Lot, same-store sales were up 2.1 percent over a year ago…Supervalu’s conventional supermarket division saw same-store sales grow 0.2 percent, a baby step, but the first step forward since 2008. “I’m very encouraged by the progress we’ve made in retail,” Duncan said during the conference call.”  Read more

 

“Safeway Reports 1Q Loss – Comp Sales +1.8%” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News.  “The company said it lost $76.5 million, or 34 cents per share, in the three months ended March 22. That compares with net income of $118.9 million, or 49 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, profit totaled 6 cents per share. Analysts expected adjusted net income of 18 cents per share.” Read more

 

“Top 50 Companies for Diversity, Target #22” at DiversityInc.  “A total of 1,215 companies participated in the survey in 2014. There is no fee involved to participate and every company receives a free report card assessing its performance against all competitors…”  See the Top 50 List

 

Tweet:  “The UK is by far the market leader in internet contribution to GDP at 12% (US second around 6%, China third)” via @AnthonyNT

 

“Can Home Depot Fight off the Retail Giants?” by Mark Lin at Motley Fool.  “While Wal-Mart generates more sales and buys more inventory than Home Depot, it doesn’t necessarily have greater relative purchasing power than Home Depot…If Wal-Mart’s and Home Depot’s total 2013 revenues of $476 billion and $78 billion are used for comparison, Wal-Mart’s estimated sales of home improvement products at about $33 billion (7% multiplied by total sales of $476 billion) are likely to be less than that of Home Depot.”  Read more

 

“As of January 2014, Walmart has donated 1.58 billion pounds of food, the equivalent of approximately 1.32 billion meals” “Walmart today released its seventh annual Global Responsibility Report, entitled “So Many Opportunities to Make a Difference.” The report outlines key accomplishments in the areas of social and environmental responsibility, specifically highlighting Walmart’s top achievements in fiscal year 2014.”  Read the release

 

“Harris Teeter lowering prices after Kroger acquisition” by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer.  “The cuts are focused on Harris Teeter’s grocery, organic and perishable items. Harris Teeter gave several examples of the price cuts. Rotisserie chickens have been marked down $1 to $5.99, hothouse tomatoes have been reduced $1.50 a pound, to a new price of $1.49 a pound, and Nature Valley Granola Bars have been reduced by 80 cents per package, to $2.65.”  Read more

 

“Here’s The Difference Between Walmart America And Whole Foods America” by Andy Kiersz at Business Insider.  “Morgan Stanley is out with a retail “atlas” that breaks down retail stores by geography. Based on their data, we made the following maps showing the number of Walmarts and Whole Foods per one million people in each state.”  See the maps / Read more

 

Today’s Earnings Watch:

Amazon:  Q1 2014 Amazon.com Inc Earnings Conference Call (Live).  04/24/14 at 5:00 p.m. ET.  Listen to Webcast

Cabela’s:  Q1 2014 Cabela’s Inc. Earnings Conference Call.  Thursday, April 24, 2014 11:00 a.m. ET.  Listen to Webcast

 

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