Walmart “Guarantees” Customers its Best Black Friday Ever.  “This year, Walmart will be kicking off its in-store specials at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, followed by its big electronics event at 10 p.m. and a weekend full of savings starting at 5 a.m. on Friday, November 23.”  https://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2012/11/08/walmart-guarantees-customers-its-best-black-friday-ever

“Twitter Chat” with Walmart sustainability Exec Brooke Buchanan on Monday, Nov. 12th @5pm EST: “The chat will be led by Brooke Buchanan, Director, Communications & Sustainability at Walmart, and will include other Walmart associates. CSRwire’s Editorial Director, Aman Singh, and Nick Aster will help facilitate the chat, providing an opportunity for journalists, bloggers, industry analysts and other interested parties to get an in-depth look at Walmart’s sustainability strategy.”  https://www.triplepundit.com/2012/11/walmart-sustainability-chat/

Family Dollar to Present at the Morgan Stanley 2012 Global Consumer Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 13th @2:45pm EST: “Family Dollar Stores, Inc. announced today that the Company will make a presentation to the investment community at the Morgan Stanley 2012 Global Consumer Conference.  A webcast of this presentation can be accessed through the Company’s website at https://corporate.familydollar.com in the “Investors” section under “Presentations & Webcasts.”   https://corporate.familydollar.com/pages/investors.aspx

“Target to showcase CNET reviews as it courts gadget shoppers” by Jessica Wohl in Reuters:  “The partnership between the discount chain and CNET, a website popular with gadget enthusiasts and known for its consumer electronics reviews, kicks off this week after a small test this spring showed that Target’s shoppers appreciated getting third-party reviews in stores.”  https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/08/target-cnet-idUSL1E8M560F20121108

“Sears launches a free-shipping program” by Thad Rueter in Internet Retailer — Like Amazon Prime, the service offers two-day shipping for $79 annually.  “The shipping also applies to items purchased from Kmart and the Sears Marketplace, a sales forum hosted by Sears. For 99 cents extra per order, program members can receive faster shipping. Consumers can try out a membership for 90 days for free.”  https://www.internetretailer.com/2012/11/05/sears-launches-free-shipping-program

Walgreens CFO to Present at Credit Suisse 2012 Health Care Conference on Thursday, Nov. 15 @1:30pm EST:  “Wade Miquelon, chief financial officer and president, international, Walgreen Co. will present during the Credit Suisse 2012 Health Care Conference at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix.  Miquelon will discuss Walgreens strategies for becoming America’s first choice for health and daily living.  Miquelon’s presentation will be webcast live and can be heard by visiting https://investor.walgreens.com/events.cfm.     https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20121108006465&div=-1245645151

“Amazon unveils wine marketplace in some U.S. states” by Alistair Barr in Reuters:  “The service will be available to California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.  Amazon said more states will be added “soon.””  https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/08/us-amazon-wine-idUSBRE8A710Y20121108

“Staples lets Amazon use stores as package pickup points” by Allison Enright in Internet Retailer:  “A search today of Amazon.com for locker locations listed eight Staples stores with Amazon Lockers…The searches also returned 12 RadioShack locations in the San Francisco metro area as having Amazon Lockers.”  https://www.internetretailer.com/2012/11/08/staples-lets-amazon-use-stores-package-pick-points

“Rona’s weak results make Lowe’s deal less likely – analyst”  by Jonathan Ratner in Financial Post:  “…Unfortunately, the Canadian home improvement retailer’s earnings were so poor that the analyst was forced to reduce the probability that Lowe’s will pursue a transaction. Mr. Howlett now sees the odds of that happening at 33%, down from 60% previously.”  https://business.financialpost.com/2012/11/08/ronas-weak-results-make-lowes-deal-less-likely-analyst/

Wegmans to Open Italian Restaurant by Rachel Barnhart at WHAM 13 ABC (includes video clip):  “Wegmans plans to open its first-ever Italian restaurant in NY.”   https://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/wegmans/VtQTiVPyNUChqAiDj6vf-g.cspx?autoplay=1