“Report:  Wal-Mart Plans to Open up to 35 Central America Locations in 2014” at CNBC via Women’s Wear Daily.  “According to the report, the company’s Walmex unit—made up of its Mexico and Central America operations—will look to add between 30 and 35 stores in Central America this year. Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras could all house new Walmex locations, the retailer’s regional corporate affairs director, Aquileo Sánchez Viquez, told the newspaper.” Read more

 

“Walmart’s Director for Social Media Strategy Bolts for Campbell Soup Co.” by E.J. Schultz at Ad Age.  “Campbell Soup Co. has hired a former Walmart and Microsoft marketer as global director for social media and digital marketing. Umang Shah, who was Walmart’s director for social media strategy for the past two years, will start at Campbell on April 28.”  Read more

 

“Amazon Sales Take a Hit in States With Online Tax” by Adam Satariano at Bloomberg.  “Researchers at Ohio State University published a paper this month that found sales dropped for Amazon when the online charge was introduced. In states that have the tax, households reduced their spending on Amazon by about 10 percent compared to those in states that don’t have the levy. For online purchases of more than $300, sales fell by 24 percent, according to the report titled “The Amazon Tax.”  Read more

 

“Amazon May Expand Grocer Program To Chicago/D.C./NYC” by Doug Tsuruoka at Investor’s Bus. Daily.  “Amazon.com, which plans this year to expand its AmazonFresh online grocery business from West Coast test areas to 20 urban centers across the U.S. and possibly overseas, might soon offer the service in parts of the greater Chicago and New York metropolitan areas, and Washington, D.C.”  Read more

 

“Modell’s Sporting Goods CEO in a Heap of Trouble” by Joan Verdon at North Jersey.  “The petition, which details numerous trips and personal expenses that Mitchell Modell allegedly charged to his company, is the second embarrassing legal action this yearagainst Mitchell Modell.  Two months ago, Mitchell Modell was accused of spying on his competitor, Dick’s Sporting Goods, by posing as a Dick’s executive at a Dick’s store in Princeton.”  Read more

 

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“U.K.: 56% of Online Shoppers Most Likely to Buy While Browsing in Bed” by Michelle Stevens at Retail Systems.  “Six in ten UK consumers shop online every week, with the bedroom proving the most popular place to make a purchase via a laptop or tablet.  That’s according to a new survey of 1,000 people from Redshift Research, commissioned by personalised communications technology provider Sailthru.”  Read more

 

“Jewel president is ‘constructively dissatisfied’: Grocer has ‘long way to go’ to stand out” by Jessica Wohl at Chicago Tribune.  “It’s getting better but we’ve got a long way to go,” Sampson said. “We’re on a journey to be the finest supermarket in the United States.”…The company…has an outside firm track customer service scores and does its own surveys. Sampson has already visited more than 100 stores – both Jewel-Osco stores and the competition – and is “constructively dissatisfied” with what he has seen so far.”  Read more

 

“Walmart shoppers can now get $99 wills” by Francine Kopun at Toronto Star. “Behind the plastic jugs of liquid Tide stacked near the entrance of a new Walmart in Markham is an innovation in discount retailing: Axess Law. Founded by Toronto lawyers Lena Koke and Mark Morris, Axess Law provides fast and affordable legal services to time-pressed shoppers.” Read more

 

“A Pharmacist Pitches Comparison Shopping for Prescription Drugs” by Patrick Clark at Businessweek.  “After launching the company in 2008, Rea kept his day job at Walgreens and started seeking customers for Rx Savings with online ads…Rx Savings stopped marketing to individuals and raised $1.5 million in seed investment last year to help pitch its service to companies with from 500 to 100,000 workers.”  Read more

 

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