"To Catch Up, Walmart Moves to Amazon Turf" by Claire Cain Miller & Stephanie Clifford at NY Times.  "Walmart  is trying hard to prove it is one of the cool kids.  For example, at press events in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart’s headquarters, the menu tends to be ham sandwiches, chips and iced tea. At a recent event in San Bruno, Ca. it was white asparagus panna cotta with house-smoked salmon tartar, morel mushroom macaroons and charcuterie from a whole pig. Borrowing a page from Google and Twitter, the company offers hack days when engineers can work on whatever they want."  Read [...]

  "Kroger names next president and COO" by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer.  " Michael L. Ellis will become president and chief operating officer, effective Jan. 1 – replacing Rodney McMullen who is set to become chief executive on the same day...Ellis, 55, has been senior vice president of retail divisions since 2012, where he leads five retail supermarket divisions, plus Kroger’s jewelry and convenience store businesses. He previously served as president of Portland-based Fred Meyer."  Read more   "Walmart to Close 25 Stores in China" by Laurie Burkitt & Shelly Banjo at WSJ.  "Based on its current expansion plans, China [...]

  "Target tests new Apple-like format in its electronics department" by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune.  "The discount retailer recently remodeled the departments in several of its stores with waist-height, bright white tables and displays. The move fits a design trend seen in recent years at stores run by Apple Inc. and Best Buy Co. that gives shoppers more hands-on experience with the goods."  Read more   "Warren Buffett pulled plug on paint line going into Home Depot/Lowe's" at CNBC.  Buffet quotes: "I made a promise to our Dealers that we would stick with them." "One and a half or two [...]

  Highlights from Yesterday's Walmart Investor Meeting:   "Walmart CEO Reports Substantial Progress on Key Strategies"  Acknowledging the challenging retail environment, Duke said: “We’re in a tough and unpredictable global economy. The competition is also tough. And the holidays are right around the corner -- raising the stakes even further on serving customers and delivering on performance. All of this is to say that near-term execution is critical for us.”  Read more   "Bill Simon's (Walmart CEO) Presentation"  PowerPoint presentation   "Rosalind Brewer's (CEO Sam's Club) Presentation"  PowerPoint presentation   "Neil Ashe's (CEO eCommerce) Presentation"  PowerPoint presentation   "Wal-Mart to [...]

  "Walmart's Mike Duke Kicks Off 20th Annual Meeting Today at 8:50 EST"  Watch the Webcast / See the Agenda   "Walmart Tops in Food Sales; 2.5 times that of #2 Kroger" by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  "The RNG report indicates Wal-Mart’s food and beverage sales this year are roughly 17% of the total market shared by the top 50 retailers, which include supermarkets, quick serve restaurants and warehouse clubs.  Wal-Mart’s food and beverage sales have posted a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% since 2009. The growth rate is half that seen at Whole Foods and Dollar [...]

  "Walmart Shelves Cleared in Food Stamp Glitch" by Carolyn Roy at KSLA 12.  "Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits.  The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended."  See the Video / Read more   "Walmart customers riot when unable to use food stamp cards" by Kristen Reed at Clarion Ledger.  "People in 17 states found themselves unable to [...]

  "The Top 100 Beloved Brands" at Adweek.  No Walmart?.  Top retail brands: - Whole Foods #8 - Lowe's #10 - Costco #20 - Target #21 See the Complete List   "Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business"  See the Complete List - #12:  Carol Meyrowitz, TJX CEO  Read more - #24:  Gisel Ruiz, Walmart EVP & COO  Read more - #15:  Rosalind Brewer, Sam's Club CEO  Read more - #45:  Carol Tome, Home Depot CFO  Read more   "Where Wal-Mart Isn't: Four Countries the Retailer Can't Conquer" by Susan Berfield at Businessweek.  "Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the [...]

  "Target lays off 150 from its corporate staff in Twin Cities" by Steve Alexander at Star-Tribune.  "The move affected workers at the company’s tower headquarters in downtown Minneapolis, an office on Interstate 394 in the city and a campus in Brooklyn Park.Many retailers, including Target, have lowered their financial expectations for the rest of the year, citing a tougher-than-expected spending environment."  Read more   "Costco Stands Behind Its Cheap Rotisserie Chicken Strategy" by Kyle Stock at Bloomberg.  "When analysts started piling on Costco in a conference call this morning, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti served up a bit of [...]