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 build out retail ecosystems with small stores” by Kim Souza at City Wire.  “The ecosystems involve building more Express Stores in rural areas that can be stocked directly from nearby supercenters that are tethered to the small stores. Also in the mix, are rural Neighborhood Markets that may be stocked with general merchandise on-demand from nearby supercenters and two-day shipments from Walmart.com.  Bill Simon said while Wal-Mart was building out supercenters in recent years, Dollar General and other convenience stores saturated rural America with some 11,000 stores.”  Read more

 

“Walmart Offers Free Shipping on Online Orders $50+ (if you can wait 6-9 days)”  Read more

 

“Walmart Expands Same-Day Grocery Delivery To Denver” by Derek Myers at Fayette Advocate.  “This move follows the company’s ongoing grocery delivery tests which have been taking place over the last couple of years in San Jose and San Francisco. The Denver area test is currently a closed beta, meaning customers will be allowed to trial the new service on a first-come, first served basis only.” Read more

 

“Grocery store ‘smart shelves’ will target consumers in real-time based on their facial features” at RT.  “The devices — still in development — will rely on high-tech sensors to snoop in on the facial features of shoppers and predict roughly their age and sex. From there, a database of intelligence can be matched in real-time and allow Mondelēz to make recommendations, offer discounts and practically any other imaginable option.”  Read more

 

“No Free Shots: How Walmart Responds to Social Media Haters” by Josh Sternberg at Digiday.  “Another lesson learned was that social operations needed to be divided into two teams: marketing and corporate-reputation management. The 20-person marketing team handles the main Walmart Twitter and Facebook accounts and uses them as a promotional vehicle. The other team, a gang of four, operates the seven other feeds and is in charge of non-store-related and issue-based mentions.”  Read more

 

“Rite-Aid’s Wellness 65+ Loyalty Program Draws 930,000 Sign-Ups in First 75 Days” by Natalie Zmuda at Ad Age.  “Until recently, retailers were prohibited from attaching rewards programs to government-paid prescriptions. But when that changed, Mr. Learish said the retailer saw an opportunity. Wellness65+ offers one point for every dollar spent on co-payments for prescriptions, in addition to in-depth consultations with local pharmacists. The first Wednesday of each month, members receive 20% off purchases and free health screenings.”  Read more

 

“Apple’s Secret Retail Weapon Is Already in Your Pocket” by Sam Grobart at Businessweek.  “It’s been a month since Apple unleashed iOS 7 onto the world, and while some of its flashier features have garnered a lot of attention, the most important part of iOS 7 is one you’ve probably never even heard of—even though, if you’ve upgraded, you already have it.”  Read more

 

“Kroger apologizes for RIP Matt Schaub tombstone display inside store” at KHOU Houston.  “Some shoppers were offended by the attack on the injured (Houston Texans) quarterback.  “This Kroger is located about five minutes from the neighborhood where Schaub and his family live. As if being terrorized at their own home isn’t enough, now the Schaubs can’t even go grocery shopping without seeing Matt’s name on a tombstone. Horrible,” wrote Candelario Perez Jr.”  Read more

 

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