Walmart news 

IGD is in Bentonville this week to cover the annual Walmart Associates and Shareholder event. It’s a key week in the Walmart calendar, bringing together media, analysts, shareholders and associates for an update and celebration of everything Walmart. Today we attended a session at Sam’s Club as well as several presentations with key Walmart Execs. Key Insights from Day One 1. Sam’s Club: Se...

Walmart has launched a series of fresh produce-focused initiatives in the US, including a new money back guarantee and changes to sourcing, training and operational processes. Extending the reach of its offer These are a comprehensive range of measures, designed to help Walmart build on its leading position in the fresh produce category. This has been a key focus for the retailer through ...

In the second of this year's regular updates on the world's top retailers, we look at recent developments at Carrefour, Tesco, Metro and Walmart. We see how they have fared so far in 2013, and examine some strategic changes to position the retailers for the future. Carrefour CEO discusses his vision Group CEO Georges Plassat has discussed recent initiatives and what they mean for Carr...

Speaking at the company’s AGM, Massmart’s chief executive, Grant Pattison, discussed its recent sales performance and strategic decisions up until now. Total sales up 9.8% Pattison said that in the first 21 weeks of the 2013 financial year Massmart’s total sales rose 9.8%, while comparable sales were up by 5.6%. The retailer’s total sales growth was driven by its Masswarehouse and Massdiscoun...

More than 40 years after the first mobile phone call, mobile technology is still transforming our working and living environment; scan and go systems are making life easier for shoppers and blurring the lines between the online and in-store experience. Two thirds of us sleep with our mobile phones beside us, by 2020 more than five billion people will be on the web and 10 billion people will...

Walmart's total net sales for the first quarter increased by 1.0% to $113.4bn, with growth led by its international division, where sales increased by 2.9%. In the US, Sam's Club delivered a 0.5% increase in sales (ex-fuel), while at its core US stores operation sales grew 0.3%.  Comp store sales at its US stores declined by 1.4% (ex-fuel). Operating income over the period increased by...

@WalmartLabs has made two further acquisitions, OneOps and Tasty Labs, to boost its capabilities in platform and cloud development and social integration. Adding technology and talent through acquisition These latest acquisitions represent a continuation of @WalmartLabs’ strategy to build its team by strategically adding technology and talent through key acquisitions. The acquisition of One...

Walmart has launched a TV and digital advertising campaign to demonstrate how it helps US shoppers to save money, creates career opportunities, generates efficiencies and works with manufacturers to help deliver lower prices. Focusing on the opportunities driven by saving money The initiative, which also includes a new website, therealwalmart.com, features a TV ad where Walmart uses its ow...

For many, Walmart is considered to be the stereotypical big-box retailer, a reputation that has been earned based on its core domestic operations. In some respects, it is a well-deserved reputation, with over 4,000 Supercentres operating in the US. However, as the focus of new openings at home shifts towards smaller format supermarkets, over the last five years the retailer has built a signifi...

India's Supreme Court has rejected a petition against FDI in multi-brand retail, saying that as a policy it did not suffer from any constitutional or statutory infirmity.  "Consumer is king" says court According to reports, the Supreme Court said the decision to allow FDI had a legal basis in a previous act.  It welcomed what it called the focus on benefiting the consumer by " enlarging ...