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World's Richest Women
Steven Bertoni,
06.09.09
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The wealthiest women on Earth have a
combined net worth of $160 billion. It looks like billionaire
Abigail Johnson is moving closer to the Fidelity throne.
This month the daughter of Edward
"Ned" Johnson III, lord of the world's largest mutual fund company, took
charge of the board governing the company's fixed-income and
asset-allocation funds. She now oversees 161 funds with more than $650
billion in assets.
Many Fidelity watchers believed "Abby"
fell out of contention for the top spot at the company after her father
moved her from the venerable mutual fund division to the more mundane
retirement and retail group in 2005. (Others saw that move as an
opportunity for her to understand another part of the family business.)
Johnson will continue to run the retail group--the firm's largest
division with $1.3 trillion in customer assets--as she takes on her new
responsibilities.
A spokesman for Fidelity would not
comment on the company's succession plans. He said the move was the
logical next step in its strategy to split its board of trustees in
half, and Ned Johnson has no plans of retiring.
Like the majority of the female
billionaires in the world, Johnson inherited her fortune--yet still
holds tremendous sway over her company. Today she's worth an estimated
$8.5 billion, ranking her eighth on the new Forbes list of the world's
richest women.
Topping the list is Christy Walton,
who is worth $20 billion. Walton is the widow of Wal-Mart ( WMT - news -
people ) scion John Walton, who died in a plane crash in 2005. Right
behind her is Alice Walton, worth $19.5 billion.
Alice is the daughter of Sam Walton,
who with his brother James, started a general store chain in
Bentonville, Ark., in 1962. Today Wal-Mart is the world's largest
retailer, controlling more than 7,900 stores, 2 million employees and
$400 billion in annual sales.
This year the 20 richest women on the
planet have a combined net worth of $160 billion derived from a diverse
string of industries including manufacturing, finance, real estate and
commodities.
While nearly all of their personal
balance sheets took a hit in the past 12 months, most of the world's
richest women have rehabbed their riches since the global equity markets
bottomed out. Since we published our list of the World's Billionaires in
March, this elite group has added $20 billion in cumulative wealth.
Behind the Waltons is L'Oreal heiress
Liliane Bettencourt, who is worth $15 billion and has endured a
scandalous year. Her daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, filed a
criminal complaint after the make-up matriarch reportedly gave $1.3
billion in assets and life insurance benefits to photographer
Francoise-Marie Banier (See "Une Affaire de Famille"). Bernard Madoff's
investment fraud also reportedly devoured some of her family's funds
(See "L'Oreal Family Mixed In With Madoff").
The world's fourth richest woman,
Susanne Klatten (worth $12 billion), has also been mired in scandal
recently. Last January she was forced to go to the police after a former
lover, Helg Sgarbi, allegedly threatened to post videos of the two
having sex on the Internet (See "Billionaire Sex Scandals"). Sgarbi had
secretly videotaped the two in hotel rooms on several occasions and
demanded millions of Euros in hush money. In March Sgarbi was sentenced
to serve six years in prison for the attempted blackmail.
Female billionaires who didn't make
the top 20 include Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, former eBay ( EBAY
- news - people ) chief Margaret Whitman and media maven Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah, worth $2.7 billion, recently slipped to No. 2 on the most recent
Forbes Celebrity 100 ranking of the world's ultra famous.
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Wal-Mart directors approved
Associated Press,
06.08.09
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BENTONVILLE, Ark. --
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's
largest retailer, said Monday shareholders approved its 15 director
nominees at its annual meeting on Friday.
Shareholders also ratified Ernst &
Young LLP as its independent accountant.
However six shareholder proposals,
including adopting a gender identity nondiscrimination policy and pay
for superior performance, did not garner enough votes and were defeated.
Final vote totals will be included in
the company's second-quarter earnings report.
Shares fell 55 cents to $50.52 during
midday trading.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All
rights reserved
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Seeking
Downside Protection For Wal-Mart Shares
Andrew Wilkinson,
Options Flash
06.08.09
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Wal-Mart Stores ( WMT - news - people
):Wal-Mart's successes contrast starkly against the more
bruised-and-battered retailers struggling through one of the worst
recessions in modern times. The company's annual meeting revealed that
the firm has benefited greatly from the economic downturn by increasing
market share and amassing new customers. Despite the bullish news
regarding the firm's growth, shares are currently off slightly by 1% to
$50.50 today.
One might expect to see optimistic WMT
option investors populating the stock. However, we observed a long-term
bearish play in the January 2010 contract. It appears that the trader
has sold 15,000 January 65 calls for a premium of 40 cents apiece in
order to partially finance the purchase of 15,000 protective put options
at the January 45 strike for a premium of $2.19 each. The net cost of
the pessimistic-play amounts to $1.79 and begins to yield profits to the
downside beginning at the breakeven share price of $43.21. This investor
apparently feels the need to protect himself against a more than 14%
decline in the stock over the next eight months time.
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Livingston reverses course on letting hunger group use land for garden
By Jonah Owen Lamb
mercedsun-star.com
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LIVINGSTON -- On April 6, Pastor Bill
Ruth of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church walked out of a Livingston City
Council meeting a happy man.
The city had just granted his
organization, the Merced County Hunger Task Force, the use of 12 acres
of city land for a community garden.
The council unanimously voted to let
the task force use the land until the city was ready to build its sports
complex at the site.
Pastor Bill Ruth of Our Redeemer
Lutheran Church stands in the field the Livingston City Council
initially granted his organization, the Merced County Hunger Task Force,
for a community garden. The Planning Commission later denied the permit
for the garden.
According to the agreement, the task
force would be given a 60-day notice to clear the land.
But almost two months later, no seeds
have been planted. That's because the city's Planning Commission denied
the permitting needed for the garden, citing conflicting uses and the
garden's trees.
Ruth was never contacted by the
Planning Commission before its meeting, and by the time the council met,
it was too late to appeal the decision.
"The 12 acres sounded too good to be
true," said Ruth. "It turns out it is."
City leaders had decided soon after
the council's unanimous vote on the garden that green-lighting the
venture was a bad idea, and Mayor Daniel Varela and City Manager Richard
Warne found a piece of land that the task force could use permanently.
Varela says he never spoke to the
Planning Commission about the issue and that there was nothing deceitful
about what happened.
Varela claimed the council initially
voted on the issue before knowing what they were actually voting on.
"I'm going to claim ignorance," Varela
added. "When this thing came to us we got excited. We got caught up in
that moment without thinking of the consequences."
The alternative site Varela and Warne
showed Ruth was two muddy acres alongside a Foster Farms settling pond.
Ruth told Varela it was not at all what he was looking for.
"I am confused, that's what I am,"
Ruth said. "They came to me."
In mid 2008, said Ruth, Warne
approached him with the idea of using the 12 acres of city land.
Despite Ruth's confusion over the
city's apparent flip-flop, Varela insists, "We're not changing our
minds, we're just offering another option."
At the City Council meeting following
the Planning Commission's decision, even some on the council were
surprised.
"We actually approved that land," said
Margarita Aguilar.
Varela insisted that the city just
wanted to give Ruth a long-term site that they wouldn't have to leave.
But another use for the site has been
discussed between the city and Wal-Mart, said Community Development
Director Donna Kenney. The city had discussed using the 12-acre site as
a drainage basin for the future store, said Kenney.
In exchange, Wal-Mart may help the
city pay for its sports complex.
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Wal-Mart
annual meet features cheers, Ben Stiller
By Nicole Maestri,
Reuters
June 5th, 2009
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., June 5 (Reuters) -
Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N) annual meeting got under way on Friday
amid raucous cheers as the world's largest retailer celebrates the gains
it has made expanding its business despite a global economic downturn.
It marks the first annual meeting
under newly installed Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke, who took the
helm on Feb 1.
Cheerleaders and a marching band
kicked off the meeting, and led a 16,000-seat stadium in the company's
corporate cheer, while comedian and actor Ben Stiller welcomed the
early-morning crowd.
"I hear they're still sleeping over at
Target," Stiller joked.
The meeting is taking place as
Wal-Mart grabs market share amid the economic downturn that has changed
the way consumers shop. Instead of splurging on fancy restaurant meals,
name-brand clothes, or flashy jewelry, consumers are showing a new
austerity and are buying necessities, like food, toiletries and
electronics that can be used to entertain at home or keep in touch with
friends and family.
That shift in spending patterns has
favored Wal-Mart.
Not only are consumers increasingly
seeking its low prices, but because of an effort the retailer started in
2006 to improve sales by slowing U.S. expansion, new customers who are
coming into its stores are finding wider aisles, less clutter and an
improved merchandise selection.
Those are all factors that Wal-Mart
believes will help it retain its increased market share once good
economic times return.
To manage the recession, Wal-Mart has
been planning conservatively. Last year it cut its capital spending
plans and said it would pull back on opening U.S. supercenters -- its
massive stores that combine a full grocery store with a discount store.
Remodels are taking center stage and it is looking at opening smaller
stores across the globe.
In October at its analyst meeting,
Wal-Mart forecast sales growth of 5 to 7 percent for this current fiscal
year -- or what it calls its fiscal year 2010 -- and capital
expenditures of $13 billion to $14.5 billion. It also said it expected
to open between 125 and 140 U.S. supercenters in this fiscal year. In
fiscal year 2008, it opened 191 supercenters and had capital
expenditures of $14.9 billion.
During a presentation to the media on
Thursday, Wal-Mart also said its strong financial position leaves it
well positioned to take advantage of acquisition opportunities across
the globe.
"We're clearly very actively looking
at possibilities," Wan Ling Martello, the chief financial officer of
Wal-Mart International, told reporters.
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Wal-Mart Investors Seek Evidence It’s More Than Recession Stock
By Chris Burritt,
Bloomberg
June 5th, 2009
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June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. investors need convincing that the world’s biggest retailer is a
stock to own in good times as well as bad.
Shareholders will gather today in
Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the company’s annual meeting with Chief
Executive Officer Mike Duke. They will be looking for signs the retailer
can boost revenue when the recession ends and consumers start buying
more from higher-priced rivals, said Walter Todd, a fund manager at
Greenwood Capital.
“The challenge for the management team
is to persuade investors that Wal-Mart is not simply a recessionary
play, and that there’s opportunity for growth beyond the trade-down
story,” said Todd, who helps manage $650 million, including 108,000
Wal-Mart shares, at the Greenwood, South Carolina-based firm. “Given how
the stock has performed this year, people aren’t convinced at this
point,” he said.
Wal-Mart has slumped 9.3 percent in
2009, even as it grabbed more customers with price reductions on
groceries and medicines.
Shares of the Bentonville,
Arkansas-based company have trailed the performance of retailers that
sell more discretionary items, including Target Corp., the
second-largest U.S. discount retailer, with a gain of 19 percent, and
Kohl’s Corp., which has climbed 27 percent.
While the company’s shares haven’t
matched rivals, its sales and profit have been better.
Profit, Sales
Wal-Mart reported last month that
first-quarter net income and sales were little changed from the
year-earlier period. Minneapolis-based Target and Kohl’s, based in
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, reported profit declines of 13 percent and
10 percent, respectively.
Sales at stores open at least a year
rose 3.7 at Wal-Mart in the first quarter, while they declined 3.7
percent at Target and 4.2 percent at Kohl’s.
Wal-Mart won’t comment before the
meeting, spokesman David Tovar said yesterday.
As the recession deepened last year
and more consumers gravitated to Wal-Mart, the shares advanced 18
percent, leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Improvements in merchandise, from
fresh-prepared chicken fettuccini at Sam’s Club to Apple Inc.’s iPhone
at supercenters, will persuade consumers to keep shopping at the
retailer, executives said yesterday during a press tour.
Improved Groceries
Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart’s membership
warehouse club, improved the quality of its store-brand roast beef and
cheeses to appeal to workers who are packing their own lunches instead
of eating out, said Shawn Baldwin, vice president of fresh
merchandising. It’s increasing sales of $4.97 rotisserie chickens and
16-inch ready-to-bake pepperoni pizzas for $6.88 to families curbing
costs.
“We focus on categories that draw
repeat visits,” said Ronnie Robinson, a Sam’s market manager responsible
for 13 clubs in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Wal-Mart is renovating its U.S.
discount stores and supercenters over the next five years with an
emphasis on making shopping easier.
In Rogers, Arkansas, a supercenter
that’s already refurbished has wider aisles and lower shelving to
improve the display of bedding, coffee makers and other housewares.
Health and beauty aids are adjacent to groceries to appeal to female
shoppers, said Don Frieson, a division president responsible for 675
stores.
These efforts have helped Wal-Mart
attract new, wealthier U.S. customers who are spending more on
purchases, helping boost comparable-store sales, U.S. stores chief
Eduardo Castro-Wright told analysts in New York in April.
Consumers will keep shopping at
Wal-Mart when the economy improves, Duke said May 14 on a recorded
earnings call.
More Budgeting
Wal-Mart has benefited from the worst
U.S. recession in a generation, which “has seared into people’s psyche”
the need to budget more and get better value, according to Greenwood
Capital’s Todd. He doesn’t plan to attend today’s shareholders meeting
at the University of Arkansas.
U.S. stores generated 49 percent of
revenue from groceries last year, helping Wal-Mart boost traffic from
consumers buying necessities. The company has improved its displays of
home electronics, linens and apparel in a three-year effort under
Castro-Wright.
The stock’s drop this year creates a
“buying opportunity,” John Zolidis, an analyst at Buckingham Research
Group in New York, wrote in a May 11 note in which he raised his rating
on the stock to “accumulate” from “neutral.” Twenty analysts tracked by
Bloomberg rate Wal-Mart as “buy” while five recommend “hold” and one
says “sell.”
‘Better Stores’
“We are running better stores today
than we’ve ever run,” Charles Holley, Wal-Mart’s executive vice
president of finance, said in a May 14 telephone interview.
“The momentum we have and the changes
we made in our merchandise and our operations will make a huge
difference to us going forward as the economy turns,” he said.
Some investors aren’t convinced.
“We view Wal-Mart as a recessionary
stock,” said Jon Fisher, who helps manage $18.7 billion at Fifth Third
Asset Management in Minneapolis, including the Quality Growth Fund,
which doesn’t own Wal-Mart shares. Fifth Third owned 910,271 Wal-Mart
shares as of March 31.
“As things stop getting worse, the
fundamental improvement in profitability and returns will be better at
other retailers than at Wal-Mart,” Fisher said in an e-mail June 3.
“This will likely play out into 2010.”
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Ahead of
the Bell: Wal-Mart shareholders' meeting
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO ,
Associated Press
6.05.09
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- With Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. among the few bright spots in retailing, shareholders will
have reason to cheer as they descend at the world's largest retailer's
annual meeting Friday.
But they will also be looking to hear
more specifics from executives about how the discounter will thrive and
retain its new shoppers once the economy recovers.
Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) has
been rapidly gaining market share and customers around the globe as its
renewed emphasis on low pricing and the right mix of marketing and
merchandise have come together just as the economy began to sour.
The retailer has cleaned up its
stores, upgraded its customer service and spruced up its merchandise.
It's hoping that an improved shopping experience will keep its new
customers once economic conditions improve.
Thousands are expected to pack the
University of Arkansas arena in Fayetteville, Ark., about 30 miles from
the company's headquarters in Bentonville on Friday.
"Even though this is the most
challenging economy we've faced in decades, certainly we feel good about
the business," Mike Duke, who became the company's new CEO and president
on Feb. 1, said in a pre-recorded address to investors last month. Duke
had been vice chairman of Wal-Mart's international division.
Still, after enjoying a 20 percent
surge in its stock price in 2008, Wal-Mart has seen its shares fall 10
percent so far this year as Wall Street turns to retailers that sell
more discretionary goods and could benefit when the economy improves.
That has driven up share prices for such merchants as Macy's Inc. ( M -
news - people ) and Minneapolis-based Target Corp. ( TGT - news - people
), both of which suffered steep share declines in 2008.
Wal-Mart's earnings and sales
performance continues to be a standout compared with the rest of the
retail industry.
Including Wal-Mart, the same-store
sales index from the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman
Sachs ( GS - news - people ) has averaged a 0.5 percent decline so far
this year compared with last. Without Wal-Mart, the industry index would
have fallen 4 percent. Sales at stores open at least a year are
considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.
Similarly, first-quarter profits fell
12 percent this year compared with last year industrywide. Excluding
Wal-Mart's positive results, industry profits would have dropped 17
percent, though the gap between Wal-Mart and the rest of the industry
has narrowed as merchants increase cost-cutting, Ken Perkins, president
of RetailMetrics said.
Wal-Mart last month reported
first-quarter earnings that were unchanged from the same period a year
earlier. Revenue fell 0.6 percent but would have risen 4.5 percent
without the impact of the strong dollar. To navigate through this tough
environment, Wal-Mart has been scaling back its capital expenditures
while focusing on remodeling existing locations and creating smaller
outposts. The goal is to continue to increase cash flow to invest in its
business while delivering returns to shareholders through dividends and
buybacks.
Investors will also want to get an
update on plans for new store openings and will want to hear more
details about its international business, which now accounts for almost
25 percent of total sales.
At the same time, Wal-Mart will likely
offer more about how it wants to play a larger role in addressing the
financial challenges Americans face. Executives used last year's
shareholders' meeting and other public forums to talk about its goals
for sustainability and its health care plans for its store clinics and
discounted prescription program.
Wal-Mart, which had been under
relentless attack by union-backed groups on a variety of issues from
labor infractions to lack of environmental awareness, has found those
criticisms diminish as the company has worked hard to improve its image
and make changes to its business.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All
rights reserved
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Wal-Mart announces
$15B share repurchase
Associated Press,
06.05.09
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. is launching a new $15 billion share repurchase program.
The world's largest retailer said
Friday at its annual shareholders meeting that it would end its current
$15 billion share repurchase program and replace it with a new one. The
prior program was begun in 2007 and had $3.4 billion of remaining
authorization.
Over the past five years, Wal-Mart (
WMT - news - people ) has bought back $21 billion worth of its shares.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All
rights reserved.
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Wal-Mart:
We'll keep customers gained in recession
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
and CHUCK BARTELS ,
Associated Press
06.05.09
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores
Inc.'s newly installed President and CEO Mike Duke pledged to
shareholders Friday that the world's largest retailer will build on its
success by keeping its customers even when the economy improves.
But at an annual meeting that was
often about celebrating recent business success, the CEO emphasized that
the discounter also needs to make even more strides in larger issues of
sustainability and health care.
"I believe the economic crisis has
brought a fundamental shift in consumer attitudes and behavior," Duke
told cheering shareholders packed into a University of Arkansas arena in
Fayetteville, about 30 miles from its Bentonville headquarters.
"There is a 'new normal' in which
people want to save money and are getting smarter about saving money.
... So let me be clear, and people ask me about this all the time: our
customers will stay with us when this economy turns around," he said.
Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) has
taken customers from competitors and been a bright light in a bleak
recession for retailers. The company's challenge now is to make sure new
shoppers stay when the economy recovers.
As a testament to recent success,
Wal-Mart announced it would launch a new $15 billion share buyback. The
program replaces a $15 billion program begun in 2007 that $3.4 billion
of remaining authorization.
In his address, Duke touched on
various issues from increasing career advancement and developing better
training for its workers to acclerating its environmental efforts like
further reducing waste.
Duke, who had been vice chairman of
the company's international business, succeeded Lee Scott, who retired
Feb. 1. Scott is continuing as chairman of the executive committee of
the board until January 2011.
Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe
told shareholders that the company was increasing sales and profits
faster than its competitors. He noted that Wal-Mart forecast earnings
per share for fiscal 2008 of between $3.30 and $3.43.
The company came in at $3.35. Meeting
that projection came as the economy went into a nosedive.
"Did we know when we provided guidance
that consumer confidence would look like this?" Schoewe said, pointing
at a graphic that featured a sharp downward arrow. He said the retail
environment became increasingly difficult and that Wal-Mart was
pressured internationally by a stronger dollar.
The meeting featured Wal-Mart's
customary celebrity appearances. Miley Cyrus, who has a new apparel line
with Wal-Mart, performed, as did American Idol winner Kris Allen, who is
from Arkansas. Basketball legend Michael Jordan also spoke briefly.
Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright
promised shareholders that the company will press for more diversity in
its workforce and create more career opportunities for advancement.
"In the year ahead, we will take bold
steps. We will not confuse efforts with results," said Castro-Wright
Ark. Without offering specifics, Castro-Wright said that the company
will do more to help associates, including hourly associates, advance in
the workforce and get competitive pay.
The nation's biggest private employer
has long been under pressure by labor-backed critics to keep improving
its workplace practices, though criticism has diminished recently.
Castro-Wright says that 40 percent of
regional general managers are "of color." Twenty percent of that group
are women.
Wal-Mart, which generated more than
$400 billion in sales last year, has pulled shoppers away from rivals
around the globe because its re-emphasis on low prices along with the
right mix of merchandise and marketing have come together just as the
economy went sour.
Even entertainer Ben Stiller, the host
of the meeting, took the opportunity to take a jab at Target ( TGT -
news - people ).
"You guys get up early," said Stiller,
referring to the 7 a.m start of the meeting. "I hear they are still
sleeping over at Target."
Still, after enjoying a 20 percent
surge in its stock price in 2008, Wal-Mart has seen its shares fall 7.5
percent so far this year as Wall Street turns to retailers that sell
more discretionary goods and could benefit when the economy improves.
That has driven up share prices for such merchants as Macy's Inc. ( M -
news - people ) and Minneapolis-based Target.
Wal-Mart continues to move forward
with an aggressive remodeling of its stores, which includes a better
display of electronics and lower shelves to help shoppers navigate the
store more easily. The company plans to remodel 500 of its more than
3,600 stores in the U.S. this year.
The company is also launching more
exclusive launches in apparel and home furnishings that should help
shoppers buy more than just detergent and groceries. This week, the
company launched a new fashion line with teen star Cyrus and BCBG
designer Max Azria for the critical back-to-school shopping season.
Chuck Bartels contributed to this
report from Little Rock, Ark.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All
rights reserved.
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Wal-Mart
pledges more diversity, advancement
Associated Press,
06.05.09
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores
Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright is pledging to shareholders at its
annual meeting Friday that it will press for more diversity in its
workforce and create more career opportunities for advancement.
The company's business has been one of
the few bright spots in retailing as it steals market share and
customers away from rivals amid the recession.
But as the nation's biggest private
employer, it is under pressure by labor-backed critics to improve its
labor practices.
Castro-Wright says that 40 percent of
regional general managers are "of color." Twenty percent of that group
are women.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All
rights reserved
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Wal-Mart: We're hiring 22,000
By Parija B. Kavilanz,
CNNmoney.com
June 4th, 2009
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. said Thursday that it expects to hire more than 22,000
people to staff its new or expanded domestic stores this year.
"During this difficult economic time,
we're proud to be able to create quality jobs for thousands of Americans
this year," Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart U.S., said
in a statement.
Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), the
world's largest retailer, had previously announced it would open 142 to
157 stores new or expanded stores in 2009, which is fewer than the total
number of its new or expanded stores in 2008. The company did not
specify how many stores it opened last year.
Wal-Mart added 33,000 jobs in the
United States last year, according to the annual report released in
April.
The company said it will add 1,000 or
more workers in each of 8 states: Arizona, California, Florida,
Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
The retailer said the new hires will
fill positions across its business units, including cashiers and sales
associates, as well as pharmacists, human resource managers and customer
service associates.
The discounter said benefits,
including health plans that offer customized health coverage options,
will be offered to its full and part-time workers.
Wal-Mart is the largest private-sector
employer in the United States with a workforce of 1.45 million. Its
total worldwide workforce is more than 2 million.
The announcement comes on the eve of
the government's May report on national employment, which is expected to
remain bleak. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the
unemployment rate will rise to a 25-year high of 9.2%, with 520,000 jobs
lost last month.
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The issue is much
bigger than Wal-Mart
By Chris Lamb,
fredericksburg.com
June 4th, 2009
The issue is much bigger than Wal-Mart
The Wal-Mart issue has a most
dangerous tone indeed. Our decisions affecting the extent to which the
Wilderness is protected will establish a real-world precedent that
outlives other issues of today.
Curtailing the encroachment of
"big-box" stores adjacent to the Wilderness is of the utmost importance.
Will the legacy of our generation in
Virginia be that of compromising our heritage and history in exchange
for tax revenue?
What if a casino boat were moored
beside the Arizona Memorial in 75 years, or if in 100 years Wal-Mart
built a store 300 feet from the national park where Flight 93 crashed in
Somerset County, Pa.?
If we permit the proposed Wal-Mart to
be built beside such hallowed ground, what message will we have given to
our descendents? What sort of metrics will be devised to "govern" future
inroads upon the most important sites across the country?
Many arguments that support building a
Wal-Mart at the proposed location cite economic development and
pre-existing commercial zoning.
Unfortunately, the addition of a large
retail commercial complex hardly can be said to spur the creation of
jobs that promote significant regional economic growth and produce a
tangible contribution to GDP that is competitive with other regional
growth.
This question need not involve
discussing the short-term economic benefits or downfalls of the proposed
shopping development on the site.
The issue at hand is a far loftier
question than that, with ramifications that genuinely outlive us all.
If we cannot draw the line on the
encroachment of sprawl today, our own legacy is already doomed for
tomorrow.
Target thrives in
Wal-Mart country
By Suzanne Kapner,
Fortune
June 4th, 2009
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ROGERS, ARK. (Fortune) -- If Target
builds it, will shoppers come?
That was the question some local
residents asked when Target opened its first store here in March, deep
in the heart of Wal-Mart country.
The answer is, not only do they come,
but sometimes they bring their Wal-Mart-employed spouses.
"I've always been more partial to
Target, because they have a better clothing selection," says Angela
Klauck, who moved here a year ago from Austin, Texas, when her husband
got a job with Wal-Mart. Asked whether he would be upset with her for
shopping the competition, she said, "Absolutely not. He'd be right here
shopping with me."
Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500)
executives, in fact, have become regular visitors at this Target (TGT,
Fortune 500) store. It's located about seven minutes from Wal-Mart No.
1, the first Wal-Mart ever built, which opened in 1962, and is about 20
minutes (without traffic) from Wal-Mart's headquarters in neighboring
Bentonville.
Former Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott and his
successor Mike Duke are both frequent visitors, according to Target
store manager Chuck Simmons, who jokes that he has become so friendly
with Wal-Mart's district manager that "he's like my second boss."
[back to top]
Wal-Mart's Silence
Distorts Retail Results
By Jeanine Poggi,
TheStreet.com
June 4th, 2009
[back to top]
When retailers reported their May
same-store sales on Thursday, the numbers fell short of analysts'
expectations. Investors, fearful these dismal results signaled a
prolonged weakness in consumer spending, poured bucketfuls of red all
over the sector, and sending the S&P Retail Index down by as much as 3%
during the day.
But lost amid the cacophony was one
simple fact: These results may be as skewed as a fun-house mirror, as a
result of the absence of Wal-Mart Stores.
The behemoth, which accounts for a
little more than 11% of sales in the U.S. retail market, announced last
month that it would no longer report monthly sales -- and it's arguable
that the entire sector's results were dragged down as a result.
The numbers released today by the
International Council of Shopping Centers showed that in May U.S.
chain-store sales sank by 4.6%.
Over the past six months, though,
Wal-Mart has consistently outperformed the ICSC Index. On average,
Wal-Mart saw a 3.2% monthly increase in sales between November 2008 and
April 2009, while U.S. chain stores as a whole fell .6% during the same
period -- numbers capable, in light of the Wal-Mart's market share, of
padding the entire sector.
Wal-Mart, of course, is hardly alone
in ending its monthly same-store sales reports. Sears(SHLD Quote), Home
Depot(HD Quote), Lowe's(LOW Quote), and Chico's FAS(CHS Quote) have all
ended reporting the figures
Currently, in fact, comparable sales
reports only represent about 10% of total U.S. retail sales, according
to Customer Growth Partners. "The monthly reports Wall Street so
breathlessly awaits really primarily portray only two retail sectors,
apparel chains and department stores, each of which represent well under
3% of U.S. personal consumption expenditures," Craig Johnson, president
of CGP said in a statement.
All of which essentially makes retail
sales like the Queen of England -- a curiosity worth gawking at, but far
less powerful than the reputation that proceeds it.
[back to top]
Walmart Looks for
Expansion Overseas
KATV (Arkansas)
June 4th, 2009
[back to top]
Walmart officials say the retail giant
is actively seeking acquisitions abroad, including in Russia, as its
low-price formula helps it pick up market share and customers in the
global recession.
Wan Ling Martello, senior vice
president and chief financial officer of Walmart, told reporters at a
media conference Thursday that the company is well positioned for
growth. Company officials are preparing for Friday's annual shareholders
meeting.
Sales in Walmart's international
business, which now accounts for almost 25% of its revenue, rose 9.1% to
$98.6 billion in its latest fiscal year, which ended January 31st. The
company operates 10 different formats like hypermarkets and supermarkets
under more than 60 store banners. Martello said about 80% of Walmart's
international business is from acquisitions.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart Plays It Smart
By Melinda Peer,
Forbes
June 4th, 2009
[back to top]
Company outshines rivals by helping
customers save money during rough economic times.
It hardly seems fair. On the same day
that retailers said same-store sales continued to slump in May, Wal-Mart
Stores--which recently opted out of providing monthly sales
updates--managed to show up rivals with plans to hire 22,000 new workers
for positions at stores across the U.S.
Michigan, which is still reeling from
the collapse of the U.S. auto industry, stands to benefit the most from
the news with 1,500 new positions opening up in the state. (See
"Detroit: Beyond Bankruptcy.") Arizona and Florida, two areas hit hard
by the housing market crash, are next in line with 1,300 new positions
slated for each state. (See "So Much For A Housing Bottom.")
"We are excited that during these
economically challenging times, Wal-Mart is investing in Michigan by
creating good paying jobs and offering benefits to their employees,"
said Richard Studley, president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
"The positive impact that these jobs will have on the families of the
new employees and their communities cannot be overstated."
So while the rest of the retail sector
is desperately trying to pry sales from consumers who are loath to
spend, Wal-Mart is actually putting money back into customers' wallets.
By successfully cultivating the perception that it makes competitive
pricing a priority, Wal-Mart has become the go-to place for shoppers at
various income levels looking to save money during the weak economic
environment. The company is one of the few retailers to see an uptick in
sales from new customers, signaling that it's taking customers from
rivals.
"Traffic at Wal-Mart U.S. stores has
increased for seven consecutive months, with comp traffic gains at
affluent stores--those located in areas where household incomes are
greater than $65,000--continuing to outpace the rest of the chain, as
more affluent customers are opting to shop at Wal-Mart during the tough
economic times given the company's better in-store experience and strong
commitment to price leadership," said Baird analyst Peter Benedict. On
Wednesday, Baird initiated coverage of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT -news -
people ) at "outperform" with a price target of $60.
Benedict expects the company to retain
these key customers, which yield higher sales tickets, even after the
economy recovers by focusing on improved product mix and the in-store
shopping experience. On Wednesday, Wal-Mart announced it will carry an
exclusive clothing line by teen star Miley Cyrus and clothing designer
Max Azria of BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, in an attempt to lure customers from
food and essentials aisles and into the stores' clothing and
entertainment sections. Target (TGT - news - people ) has used designer
partnerships to freshen its image and long-ago distinguished itself as a
discounter that doesn't sacrifice style--a perception that may have hurt
the retailer as consumers made bargains their top priority. Recently,
the retailer has been venturing into groceries and emphasizing its
competitive pricing to better compete with Wal-Mart. (See "Look Out,
Wal-Mart.")
On Thursday, Target said same-store
sales fell 6.1% in May, compared with the 4.3% decline expected by
analysts. Its stock was down by 37 cents, or 0.9%, at $40.60, during
Thursday's afternoon trading session. Shares of Costco Wholesale ( COST
- news - people ) and BJ's Wholesale Club ( BJ - news - people ) also
traded lower, having posted monthly same-store sales declines of 7% and
6.8%, respectively. The wholesalers were hurt by lower gas prices, which
dragged down fuel sales.
Shares of Costco lost 99 cents, or 2%,
at $47.48 while BJ's stock shed $1.49, or 4.2%, at $33.63. Wal-Mart
shares were also down, by 15 cents, or 0.3%, at $50.73. The Retail
HOLDRs ( RTH - news - people )exchange-traded fund was down by 61 cents,
or 0.8%, at $80.42.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart Employees Demand Better Pay, Benefits, in Durant
By Rita Kotey,
KXII
June 4th, 2009
[back to top]
DURANT, OK -- Some Wal-Mart employees
from across Oklahoma gathered at the Durant store Thursday morning to
say they want better pay and more affordable health insurance. Some
employees say they want to organize a union to stop unfair treatment of
workers. Rita Kotey has the story.
"I’ve had to work two jobs just to
make ends meet here," Susi Hernandez said.
"Their slogan that says saves money
live better their saving money because they don’t give the employees
enough pay or benefits," Vicki Barnes said.
Vicki Barnes and Susi Hernandez both
work at the Durant Wal-mart. They say with low pay and un-affordable
health insurance they are ready to take action.
"I do believe I’m being treated
unfairly as an associate there," Hernandez said.
They gathered with other employees
from across the state to get the word out about options that employees
could have if the employee free choice act is passed.
It’s pending legislation that would
allow the national labor relations board to certify their union and
become their bargaining representative, if a majority of employees sign
cards in agreement.
Some employees like Peggy Johnston say
that would give her the voice and representation she has not had in the
six years she's been a Wal-mart employee.
"It would give us the choice to
organize a labor union and it would give us the choice to have a
representation and have somebody to help us to gain the things that we
need," Johnston said.
Wal-Mart corporate representative
Michelle Bradford says
"We urge members of congress to appose
the legislation because we believe it would eliminate freedom of choice
and the option of a secret ballot. We are hearing great things from out
associates across the country saying they are enjoying the jobs, pay,
and the opportunity to advance. “
Protesters say until legislation is
passed for the employee free choice act they will try to convince other
employees to join their cause.
"Whether than them tell us that labor
unions are bad we cant look into them we want the choice we want to
stand up for our rights,” Hernandez said.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart
says it will create 22,000 jobs in 2009
Associated Press,
06.04.09
[back to top]
BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- As Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. opens about 150 new or expanded stores in the U.S. in 2009,
the company expects to hire about 22,000 people for new positions.
Those positions include plenty of
cashiers and stock clerks, but the world's largest retailer will also be
adding store managers, pharmacists and personnel workers.
Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) is
holding its annual shareholders meeting on Friday, and employees from
its stores around the world are spending the week in Bentonville at
company headquarters.
Wal-Mart, still the target of
criticism from union-backed groups for its pay and benefits, has
improved its health insurance coverage and opened it to full- and
part-time employees. The company says 94 percent of its employees have
health coverage, either through Wal-Mart or another family member.
"At Wal-Mart, we offer competitive pay
and benefits and real opportunities for our associates to advance and
build careers," Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said. "Job
creation is just one way in which we're working hard every day to help
people across this country live better."
Other employee benefits include a
401(k) plan, stock purchases and discounts for workers making in-store
purchases.
The company has touted its generic
drugs program in which Wal-Mart is selling $4 prescriptions for many
popular medicines. Competitors, such as Kroger Co. ( KR - news - people
), have matched the price for some prescriptions.
"During this difficult economic time,
we're proud to be able to create quality jobs for thousands of Americans
this year," Castro-Wright said.
Earlier this year, the company shared
more than $2 billion with its workers through bonuses, profit sharing
and payments into the company 401(k) plan.
Wal-Mart has more than 2.1 million
employees in the U.S. and abroad. The company had sales last fiscal year
of $401 billion.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All
rights reserved
[back to top]
Minnesota
judge approves Wal-Mart wages settlement
Associated Press,
06.04.09
[back to top]
HASTINGS, Minn. -- A Minnesota judge
has given final approval to a settlement of a wages-and-hours lawsuit
against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that could be worth up to $54.25 million.
A joint news release from Wal-Mart (
WMT - news - people ) and the plaintiffs' attorneys on Thursday says the
settlement concludes seven years of litigation over Wal-Mart's
employment practices in Minnesota.
About 100,000 people who worked for
Wal-Mart in the state from Sept. 11, 1998, until Nov. 14, 2008, are
eligible for a share of the settlement.
Dakota County District Judge Robert
King Jr. filed the final approval Monday. He ruled last summer that
Wal-Mart cut workers' break times and failed to prevent employees from
working off the clock.
Wal-Mart has faced dozens of similar
lawsuits across the country.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All
rights reserved
[back to top]
Labor, land-use activists offered Salinas a Wal-Mart 'compromise'
Donohue, Lutes: Permit a 'negotiating
tool' with Wal-Mart
By MIKE HORNICK
The Californian
June 4, 2009
[back to top]
Tuesday's Salinas City Council
decision to repeal its big-box store ordinance was based in part on a
proposal by labor and community groups that had supported the ban.
Last week, Chris Fitz, representing
groups including the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council and LandWatch
Monterey County, presented a draft resolution to City Attorney Vanessa
Vallarta. It could force Wal-Mart to meet terms of a conditional-use
permit if negotiations with the retailer aren't to the city's
satisfaction.
"There wasn't anything wrong with the
ordinance," Fitz said Wednesday. "But because there were pressures and
reasons the council might repeal [it], we came up with a compromise that
addresses the concerns of voters who signed the referendum petition."
Fitz is the former director of
LandWatch and is now forming a new organization, Coalition for Working
Families. He also works for UniteHere! Local 483.
The ordinance banned stores of 90,000
square feet or more from devoting more than 5 percent of retail space to
groceries and other nontaxable items. Wal-Mart, which intends a grocery
mix of at least 20 percent, delayed occupying the former Home Depot in
the Harden Ranch Plaza Shopping Center in north Salinas because of the
ban. Now that the ban is lifted, resolution awaits negotiations with the
city. The council voted 4-3 to repeal the ban and directed city staff to
negotiate further with the retailer on traffic impact mitigation fees
and other issues.
If negotiations are not successful,
the council reserved the option of a conditional-use permit for
Wal-Mart, which would trigger a California Environmental Quality Act
review. Resulting impact study fees, for everything from traffic to
carbon footprint and endangered species, would cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars, Councilwoman Jyl Lutes said.
'A negotiating tool'
If a labor-backed proposal opened a
door to Wal-Mart, it also put ban opponents Mayor Dennis Donohue and
Councilwoman Janet Barnes in the unexpected position of opposing a
motion to repeal it.
"The conditions are potentially more
onerous than the original ordinance," Donohue said. But he emphasized
that the conditional permit is an option, not a requirement. "It's a
negotiating tool," he said. "I think there was movement in the right
direction. We may determine there's no significant traffic impact beyond
what's being negotiated."
Donohue said Tuesday's vote expressed
the council's will to weigh in on city staff's negotiations with
Wal-Mart. "The ban was not rescinded unconditionally," he said. "So the
future of Wal-Mart is still uncertain."
The council could take up the matter
again at its June 23 or July 21 meetings, Donohue added.
Traffic impact fees are normal
business expenses, the mayor said. It's the council's process as much as
its policies that is getting attention.
"The business community is still
unsettled about what happened Tuesday night," he said. "Business wants
clear signals. If we're not predictable, it can be stifling."
"The use permit is the leverage we
have with Wal-Mart," Lutes said. "You either mitigate the traffic
impact, or we've got four votes on the City Council that will say the
thing goes to a CEQA review."
Lutes cites a city report that
estimates an added 3,500 cars per day on Boronda Road if Wal-Mart moves
in.
"That's 350 new cars per hour on a
road that can't take one more car at certain times of the day," she
said.
The use permit idea has been applied
similarly in Oakland, Inglewood and other California cities, Fitz said.
"When cities are broke and there's no
money, this is a good tool to get roads fixed or widened," Lutes said.
"This would apply equally to Target, Kmart, Macy's, whoever. Maybe there
isn't always a big change in use; but if there is, the city shouldn't
have to pay the cost. That should be part of the price of doing
business."
Wal-Mart could not be reached for
comment Wednesday. The retailer purchased the Home Depot site for $8.5
million.
"The ordinance we suggested bans
nothing," Fitz said. "All it does is create a conditional use. But
Wal-Mart could referend that, too."
Additional Facts What's next The
Salinas City Council may take up the Wal-Mart issue again at its June 23
or July 21 meetings.
[back to top]
Area Wal-Mart
Workers Join Effort to Unionize
By Ylan Q. Mui,
The Washington Post
June 3rd, 2009 [back to top]
The United Food and Commercial Workers
union held organizing campaigns at several Wal-Mart stores across the
country this week -- including one yesterday in Landover Hills -- as it
renews pressure on the world's largest retailer to increase pay and
improve health benefits.
In the Washington area, union
representatives said they have been responding to increased inquiries
from workers. UFCW Local 400 spokesman Mark Federici said hundreds of
Wal-Mart employees in the area have signed union authorization cards,
but he declined to give a specific number.
"They see their company actually being
a rare success story in this tight economy, and they rightfully are
asking where do they fit in to all that," he said.
Similar rallies were held at stores in
Seattle and Miami this week, a few days before Wal-Mart will hold its
annual shareholders meeting Friday at its Bentonville, Ark.,
headquarters. The UFCW is hoping to build on momentum from a rally it
held in April that drew Wal-Mart employees from 17 states to Capitol
Hill to meet with lawmakers and lobby for the Employee Free Choice Act,
the labor movement's top legislative priority. The bill would allow
unions to organize through signing cards rather than a secret ballot
election, as many companies require.
Wal-Mart has long been at loggerheads
with the labor movement, particularly over health care. After heavy
union criticism, the retailer introduced plans with nominal premiums and
decreased the waiting period for part-time employees to qualify for
coverage. It also slashed the cost of many generic prescription drugs to
$4 at its pharmacies, forcing competitors to follow suit.
"We don't think our associates have
any reason to be more interested than before, and looking at all we
offer, many of our associates just don't seem to feel that union
membership would be a better deal," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore
said.
Efforts to unionize Wal-Mart employees
in Canada have gained traction. In April, workers at a store in
Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, won the only collective bargaining agreement in
North America after four years of legal wrangling. Last year, Wal-Mart
shut down the tire and lube department of a store in Gatineau, Quebec,
after a handful of employees secured a union contract.
Wal-Mart is the country's largest
private employer with about 1.4 million workers. Shoppers have flocked
to the behemoth retailer known for its low prices as the recession has
taken a toll on their wallets. The company trimmed about 800 workers
from its headquarters staff this year but avoided the mass layoffs that
have plagued other retailers such as Macy's and Home Depot, which each
eliminated about 7,000 positions.
[back to top]
Cheering
success, seeking more at Wal-Mart annual
By Nicole Maestri,
Reuters
June 3rd, 2009
[back to top]
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart
Stores Inc employees could be shouting the retailer's corporate cheer
with renewed vigor at this year's annual meeting.
Thousands of employees from across the
globe will descend upon Fayetteville, Arkansas for the retailer's June 5
annual meeting. After years of being hounded by union-backed critic
groups, politicians and competitors, employees can revel in the fact
that their employer has gotten its groove back and is gaining market
share as the worldwide economic downturn drives frugal shoppers into its
stores.
Investors are eager for more gains,
and Wal-Mart, under newly installed CEO Mike Duke, is focused on
delivering them by expanding its global reach and implementing "Project
Impact" to improve sales in its U.S. stores.
"The fact is that all over the stores,
there are new brands, there are new shoppers coming in to the stores,
and they are buying 40 percent more than regular shoppers," said Gilford
Securities analyst Bernard Sosnick.
But the question hounding the retailer
amid its recent success is can these gains last when the economy
improves and shoppers once again choose to shop elsewhere.
"The battle among retailers is to get
footsteps in the store," Sosnick said. "I don't know what's going to
happen three years after a recovery, but I know what's going to happen
at its inception -- whoever's got the footsteps will benefit."
PROJECT IMPACT
Wal-Mart was gaining momentum at its
annual meeting last year as its strategy of emphasizing low prices and
sprucing up its stores coincided with a recession that sent consumers
into its aisles seeking discounts on food and medicine.
But the momentum accelerated. While
other retailers have seen their sales plunge, Wal-Mart has posted
positive U.S. same-store sales for the past 24 months, and its results
have outpaced smaller rival Target Corp for 17 consecutive months,
according Thomson Reuters data.
Its stock rose 18 percent last year as
investors sought a safe haven amid a financial crisis. But this year,
its stock is down almost 10 percent as investors seek better returns in
shares of more discretionary retailers, like Target.
"What we would watch for with the
stock is whether or not some of these share gains that they've gotten
principally because of the economic downturn and their better value
proposition ... will stay," said Janna Sampson, co-chief investment
officer at OakBrook Investments.
To try to keep the business of the new
shoppers Wal-Mart has lured amid the recession, the company is reducing
clutter and widening aisles in its stores while getting rid of slow
moving merchandise, beefing up its selection of name brand products, and
relaunching is Great Value private label.
It expects the effort will result in
fewer markdowns, help improve its labor productivity, and make its
stores a "friendlier" place to shop.
HINTS ON SALES OR GLOBAL EXPANSION
Sampson said she will be listening for
any guidance Wal-Mart can provide as to how sales fared in May. While on
June 4 many large U.S. retail chains will report their monthly results,
Wal-Mart is ending its practice of reporting its U.S. sales on a monthly
basis.
"I think if sales are good, they'll
probably make some comments," Sampson said. "If they're soft, they may
not because they may not want to put a down note on the annual meeting."
Goldman Sachs analyst Adrianne Shapira
said in a research note that she will listen for updates on sales, its
expenses and how inflation or deflation is affecting its results.
Last year, Wal-Mart's sales got a huge
boost as food prices soared but that benefit has since moderated.
Wal-Mart is not just looking
state-side to boost its business. Last year at its annual meeting, it
said Southeast Asia was "an area that has potential", and it has been
vocal about exploring opportunities in Russia. It has also recently
acquired a majority stake in Chilean supermarket chain D&S.
Global expansion is an area Duke knows
well, having headed Wal-Mart's international unit before becoming CEO on
Feb 1.
While the annual meeting marks Duke's
debut as the retailer's CEO, he is not the only executive in a new job.
Doug McMillon, the former head of its Sam's Club warehouse division, is
now leading Wal-Mart International. Wal-Mart hired former Michaels
Stores Inc CEO Brian Cornell to head Sam's Club.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart Seeks
Super Center In Manchester
WMUR (New Hampshire)
June 3rd, 2009 [back to top]
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Controversial
plans for a Super Wal-Mart in Manchester are one step closer to being
realized, following a vote of the board of Aldermen.
Tuesday night the board agreed to
rezone land on Gold Avenue from industrial to commercial, paving the way
for the retail giant to go forward with its plans.
Neighbors opposed to the project said
they have nothing against Wal-Mart but think that streets in the area
are too narrow to support a 190,000 square foot store.
Supporters said Wal-Mart will bring
jobs to the city and applaud the zoning change because they worried
heavy industry may have tried to develop the property.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart to
stop reporting monthly sales figures
By Sandra M. Jones ,
Los Angeles Times
June 3rd, 2009 [back to top]
The retailing giant says it will
report sales quarterly from now on because it wants Wall Street to focus
on its long term. It's following the lead of Sears, CVS, Home Depot, Ann
Taylor and others.
Few retailers these days have an
appetite for telling the world how their stores are faring each month,
and now Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is joining the crowd.
When retail chain stores report May
sales today, the world's largest retailer for the first time won't be
among them. Wal-Mart said it wants to encourage Wall Street to take a
longer term view of the company, and so from now on will be reporting
sales quarterly.
The move comes as analysts are
predicting another down month for the retail industry and getting a
handle on consumer behavior becomes increasingly difficult.
Wal-Mart's decision is vexing because
it accounts for 15% of retail industry sales, according to an estimate
from Credit Suisse, the New York-based investment bank.
"Wal-Mart has a big impact," said
Matthew Katz, a New York-based managing director at AlixPartners, a
consulting and financial advisory firm.
A growing chorus of retailers have
stopped reporting monthly sales: Sears, Chico's, CVS, Family Dollar, Ann
Taylor, Home Depot, just to name a few. Macy's stopped reporting monthly
sales last year but restarted under pressure from Wall Street.
Investors like the monthly number
because it provides a window into a company's performance and which
retailers are attracting the most consumers.
Retailers are often frustrated with
the monthly ritual because the figure alone can be misleading. A shift
in spending on a big holiday, such as Easter falling in March one year
and in April the next, can make it look like a single month is
particularly bad or unusually good and change Wall Street's perception
of the company.
Five years ago there were 87 companies
that reported monthly sales. Today there are 34, said Frank Badillo,
senior economist at Retail Forward.
Monthly chain stores sales have
"always been a piece of the puzzle" when looking at the economy, Badillo
said. Without Wal-Mart, he said, it's just a smaller piece.
The most telling part of the monthly
report is same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year. A
Wall Street analyst created the same-store sales measure in the early
1970s to try to figure out what was really going on at a failing
department store chain.
Jerry Gallagher had just taken over
coverage of W.T. Grant Co. for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. The
retailer's sales were growing as it opened outlets, but Gallagher
suspected it was in trouble. When he asked the retailer how its older
stores were doing, the company wouldn't say. So Gallagher came up with a
calculation, calling it same-store sales.
The theory: All things being equal, if
same-store sales declined, the retailer's profits are probably falling.
It became, and is today, the barometer by which Wall Street takes a
quick measure of a retailer's health.
But over-reliance on the metric has
hurt the retail industry, Katz said. Young stores that show big
percentage gains in annual revenue can boost same-store sales figures.
Wall Street rewarded retailers for building new stores, and that led to
too many stores, Katz said.
"It creates an illusion of growth,"
Katz said. "As an industry we're oversaturated, and we're paying for it
now with tremendous store closures."
Wal-Mart has managed to post monthly
sales gains during one of the most brutal retail climates in a decade,
while the industry at large has been in decline. The discount chain said
same-store sales increased 2.9% for the March-April period combined.
But now Wal-Mart is facing tough
comparisons from a year ago, when consumers were spending federal
government rebate checks at its stores.
Wal-Mart declined to comment on the
timing of its decision.
"We manage the company for the long
term," said a Wal-Mart spokesman, "so we made this decision. It gives a
better view of the long-term performance of our U.S. stores."
[back to top]
Cedar City
Walmart sued for racial profiling
thespectrum.com
June 3rd, 2009
[back to top]
CEDAR CITY — A federal lawsuit was
filed Tuesday against Walmart in Cedar City for alleged racial profiling
and discrimination by Hoole & King Law Offices of Salt Lake City on
behalf of Chandra M. Green. Advertisement
The former resident of Cedar City
alleges in her complaint demanding a jury trial that she was detained by
Walmart security for no other reason than the color of her skin. Green
is black and the big box store had experienced a string of bad checks
written by black women two months earlier from the time she was detained
while shopping, March 12.
The complaint says the case is about
Walmart’s failure to properly train and monitor the behavior of its
employees and security guards to prevent discriminatory treatment of the
store’s patrons. The purpose of the suit is to protect her rights and
the rights of minority shoppers at Walmart, the complaint says.
[back to top]
Police:
Wal-Mart Robbery Likely An Inside Job
KIROTV
June 3rd, 2009 [back to top]
LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- The robbery of a
Lakewood Wal-Mart that left an armored car guard dead was likely an
inside job involving an employee of the store, police sources tell KIRO
7 Eyewitness News.
A store employee was among two people
arrested Tuesday night in the investigation, police sources said. When
reporter Jeff Dubois asked workers at the store if she worked there and
was told "she is not here today."
The man accused of firing the fatal
shot in the robbery was arrested Wednesday morning, police sources said.
The sources said Calvin Finley was arrested at a motel in nearby Fife.
Meanwhile, officers from multiple
police agencies and the FBI continue searching for the other robber seen
on surveillance camera images immediately after the shooting and
robbery.
A single bullet killed a guard and
wounded a male customer during the Tuesday afternoon robbery in
Lakewood.
Police released these surveillance
camera images of the two men they said robbed an armored car guard,
fatally shooting him.
The robbers grabbed a money bag from
the guard and drove off after the shooting. Their stolen white getaway
car was later found abandoned in Tacoma.
Killed was Kurt Husted, 39, a 16-year
veteran of Houston-based Loomis armored cars, company spokesman Pat
Flaherty said.
Husted's family issued a statement,
saying they deeply mourn his loss.
"He was a wonderful, caring person
whom we loved deeply and will miss forever. He was also a very private
person," the statement said.
Husted was shot outside a branch of
Anchor Bank located inside the Wal-Mart.
"As he was coming out of the bank, he
was shot in the head," said Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman.
The guard had been wearing a
bulletproof vest, Flaherty said. He said Husted was not married.
Kurt Husted
The same bullet also injured a male
customer who was hit in the shoulder, police said. He was with a child
who was in a shopping car. The child was uninjured and the man's injury
was not life-threatening, she said.
The customer, who was not identified,
was taken to Tacoma General Hospital.
There was money in the bag the robbers
grabbed, Hoffman confirmed, but she declined to say how much it
contained.
In a statement, Wal-Mart officials
said their thoughts and prayers were with those "victimized by this
tragedy. We appreciate the quick response of local authorities, and we
are working with them in their investigation."
[back to top]
Salinas City
Council repeals big-box ban
4 to 3 vote ties
Wal-Mart's future to use permit, negotiations with city
By MIKE HORNICK
June 3, 2009
[back to top]
The Salinas City Council repealed its
ban on big-box stores with more than 5 percent of retail space in
groceries late Tuesday, but by a 4-3 vote tied future discussions with
Wal-Mart to a conditional use permit at the former Home Depot in Harden
Ranch.
Councilwoman Jyl Lutes said she
favored "a conditional use permit that requires anyone coming into a
building 75,000 square feet or more to show a benefit to the community."
She was joined in the vote by council members Sergio Sanchez, Steve
Villegas and Gloria De La Rosa. Mayor Dennis Donohue and council members
Tony Barrera and Janet Barnes opposed the motion.
The council vote sends the matter back
for further negotiations with Wal-Mart, and left ban opponents in the
audience disappointed despite the repeal.
"I would only rescind the ban if there
were some guarantee like a new conditional use permit tied to paying for
the impacts," Lutes said. Lutes said the traffic impact on Boronda Road,
which narrows and congests near the Harden Ranch site, was her main
concern and that a permit would offer the city its "only leverage" with
Wal-Mart.
"It's going to cost millions of
dollars to fix the problem [at Boronda]," Lutes said. "That's not all
Wal-Mart's problem if they go in, but it's going to make it very
difficult for people who live around Harden Ranch to move around."
Donohue had favored further
negotiations with Wal-Mart, but said the permit would be too limiting.
"The council can sit down with
Wal-Mart and do business," Donohue said. "If they want to be in this
[area's] market they need to be in Salinas. The incentives break our
way.
"If we do not rescind this, it
represents a clear and present danger to the economic future of this
community," Donohue said.
"I would be supportive of repealing
the ordinance if we can direct the staff to come back with something
that deals with traffic and other services the city provides,"
Councilman Sanchez said. Sanchez said he was concerned that the
projected $500,000 in annual sales tax revenue from the new store might
be "washed away by the costs of providing services for Wal-Mart."
"It's a migraine that won't go away,"
Councilman Villegas said. "I'm all for business; I know we need it. But
I don't want to pay $230,000 for an election. It's a dilemma."
The vote brought to a sudden end three
and a half hours of public comment and council discussion on the
much-debated ban.
Thirty or more Wal-Mart supporters
waved signs saying, "Repeal the BBO," and many spoke during public
comment.
"We've got this business that wants to
come to Salinas and we're fighting them tooth and nail," said Brian
Higgins of Salinas Jaycees, who supports repeal of the city's big-box
store ban.
Deanna Carvey, director of Salinas
Oldtown Association, said the ordinance served no purpose but to
"demonize one business at one point in time."
"The city," she said, "does not have a
viable alternative [at Harden] that would generate as much sales tax
revenue as Wal-Mart."
Connie Jones of the Red Lobster
restaurant spoke of the impact on her business when Home Depot moved out
and Circuit City closed.
"Home Depot closed two years ago and
we're in a dying strip mall," Jones said. "But we haven't heard from the
City Council, ÚWhat can we do to help you?' "
"You're doing a great job," a ban
supporter told council members. "You're asking the right thing. Don't
trade your job for a bargain."
"We are not telling Wal-Mart not to
come in, [the ban] tells them to do business in a certain way," a
representative of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council said.
"You will get what you pay for, and
pay for what you get," said a Prunedale business owner who supported the
ban. "Some claim Wal-Mart was treated unfairly or the council was unfair
to business. To those specious claims I say, ÚHogwash.' "
"They are too big to have to negotiate
with us, this dot on the map that is Salinas," David Lutes said.
"Postpone your decision to see what the impact really is."
Villegas asked Wal-Mart spokesman
Aaron Rios if Wal-Mart is willing to put up a million-dollar bond to
guarantee that the Westridge store, which the company plans to vacate
for Harden Ranch and remodel for a second store, would not be left
vacant.
"We're willing to negotiate, but
yesterday the number was $500,000," Rios said.
"I'll cut it back to 500,000, if
that's what you like, but can you give me a Yes or No?" Villegas
answered.
"I have the authorization to move
forward with discussions; I don't have the authorization on $500,000,"
Rios said.
[back to top]
Unions Target Wal-Mart
By Lana F. Flowers,
NWA
June 2nd, 2009
[back to top]
SPRINGDALE — Unions trying to organize
Wal-Mart workers picked shareholder meeting week to stage demonstrations
in Little Rock and elsewhere in the nation.
Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
does not have any unionized stores or departments in the United States.
Walmart employees who want to form unions will picket at 2 p.m. today at
the Walmart Supercenter at 8801 Baseline Road in Little Rock, although
the shareholder's meeting is 200 miles away in Fayetteville.
Unions want to call attention to the
Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow unions to form by secret
ballot or when a majority of workers sign cards stating they want to
form a union. The act also would require employers to meet with union
employees within 90 days or face federal arbitrators, who would set
terms of the union contracts good for up to two years.
Local opponents of the act were also
busy this week. Rogers businessmen Chris Crossland and Pat Carroll, both
of Crossland Construction in Rogers, are among a group of 11 from
Arkansas who traveled to Washington, D.C., today to lobby against it.
A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Blanche
Lincoln, D-Ark., confirmed that Crossland and Carroll are to meet with
Lincoln this morning.
Crossland Construction in Rogers held
a lunch for about 288 people in late March. The lunch included speakers
who were against the Employee Free Choice Act and those attending
included bankers, real estate brokers, construction firms, construction
contractors and others.
The free choice act appears to be
dormant, according to Katie Laning Niebaum, a Lincoln spokeswoman. The
act was introduced March 10 but has not been up for a Senate vote, she
said.
"Right now, the senators who are doing
the big push behind the bill recognize it does not have the votes to
pass in the Senate in its current form," Niebaum said.
Some senators are working on a
compromise version of the free choice act, but Lincoln is not one of
those, Niebaum said.
If the free choice act does not pass,
the United Food and Commercial Workers union will continue efforts to
unionize retail workers, including those at Wal-Mart, said Meghan Scott
of WakeUpWalMart. WakeUpWalMart also is using shareholders' week to
launch a national petition drive and will distribute 50,000 cards asking
people to support better wages, health care and working conditions for
Walmart workers, according to a news release.
WakeUpWalMart is funded by the United
Food and Commercial Workers International Union. The union in late
spring sent representatives to 15 states — including Colorado, Florida
and Texas — to get Walmart workers to sign union cards, said Jill Cashen
of WakeUpWalMart. She did not have figures on how many Walmart employees
nationwide signed the union cards.
The United Food and Commercial
Workers' Union has been working harder in Arkansas and other areas to
get Wal-Mart employees to sign union cards, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman
Daphne Davis Moore. She did not know how many Arkansas Wal-Mart
employees signed union cards.
Workers can form unions under existing
law if at least 30 percent of them sign cards expressing union interest,
then call for an election, said Cynthia Nance, dean of the School of Law
at the University of Arkansas.
Unions are formed by bargaining unit
among employees with something in common, Nance said. Walmart automotive
department employees could form a union while the rest of the store did
not, for example.
Employees then contact the National
Labor Relations Board to have a union election. The board conducts a
hearing on employees' objections and sets polling places, Nance said.
Then, a majority of employees must vote to form a union. Employees or
the employer then can contest results to the National Labor Relations
Board, Nance said.
Arkansas Walmart workers earn an
average of $10.86 per hour, according to state figures on http://walmartstores.com,
the retailer's public relations and news release Web site. That figure
includes workers at discount stores, Supercenters and Neighborhood
Markets but excludes Sam's Club workers.
Oklahoma Walmart workers earn an
average of $10.51 per hour and those in Missouri earn $11.27 per hour,
according to Wal-Mart.
Moore said Wal-Mart employees don't
need unions to air concerns because the retailer's management will hear
any grievances and work with employees to solve them.
There are no unionized Wal-Mart stores
in the United States, Moore said.
Walmart meat packers in Jacksonville,
Texas, voted to form a union nine years ago. Walmart then eliminated its
meat packing department. The retailer decided to sell case-ready meats,
which are packed before being shipped to stores. Moore said that
decision had nothing to do with workers' efforts to unionize. She
forwarded a copy of a National Labor Relations Board opinion from
January 2001 that stated Wal-Mart had a plan to use case ready meats
prior to the union activity.
The only unionized Wal-Mart in North
America is in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. About 180 workers got union
contracts April 8. Arbitration in August 2008 allowed workers at a
Wal-Mart tire and lube express in Gatineau, Quebec, to have a collective
bargaining agreement. Wal-Mart in October 2008 closed that tire and lube
express, according to a report from the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.
An Ottawacitizen.com article from
October 17, 2008, stated Wal-Mart spokesmen said it closed the tire and
lubrication shop because of costs tied to the labor agreement.
In 2005, Wal-Mart closed a store in
Jonqiuere, Quebec, days before an arbitrator was to impose a contract.
"The union contract that was imposed
is simply unworkable," Wal-Mart Canada spokesman Andrew Pelletier told
the Ottawa Citizen in October.
[back to top]
Walmart workers
for change to rally tomorrow
By Richard Blake,
Examiner.com
June 2nd, 2009
Walmart Workers for Change will be
holding a rally tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. in the park near 1st and
Teller in Lakewood. If you can't make their rally be sure to take a look
at their website at http://www.walmartworkersforchange.org, especially
if you have the misfortune of working for Walmart. The rest of us ought
to see if there is some way we can lend support to their movement as
well. After all Walmart is likely responsible for sending more American
manufacturing jobs to China than any other American corporation.
If there is one company in this
country that needs to have a union it's Walmart. Walmart is the largest
retailer in the world and largest employer in the United States. Walmart
workers average $10.86 hr for an average 34 hour week, two thousand
dollars a year short of the federal poverty level. Meanwhile Walmart's
CEO makes over $30 million a year. However, that is even chump change
compared to the holdings of the Walton family. They are worth over $100
billion.
In addition to a living wage Walmart
workers are seeking a health care plan that doesn't leave nearly half of
Walmart employees uninsured or covered by taxpayer funded programs,
which, in turn are paid for by the rest of us. And, of course the
devastation that Walmart has wrought on locally owned small businesses
that have had the misfortune to be in an area where a new Walmart has
gone in are well known.
During the current recession Walmart
(which was arguably caused at least in part by corporations such as
Walmart) is one of the few companies that has actually prospered. If for
nothing else the Walmart employees involved ought to be commended for
their courage. Walmart has been notorious for its use of just about any
tactic to resist unionization in the past.
Wal-Mart will implement sustainable packaging scorecard in Mexico
Emballage Digest
June 1st, 2009
[back to top]
In a special conference session at
Expo Pack México (June 23-26, Mexico City, Mexico), Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc., will provide details on its plan to implement a Sustainable
Packaging Scorecard in Mexico.
The retailer plans to launch the
scorecard in Mexico toward the latter part of this year. and will give
at Expo Pack Mexican packagers and the packaging supply chain that
supports Wal-Mart’s suppliers the first detailed public view of the
Scorecard’s objective, scope and timeline. In addition, Wal-Mart will
provide details on the development of its Mexican Packaging Sustainable
Value Network (SVN), which is a committee that will work in
collaboration with Wal-Mart on the launch of the scorecard. Wal-Mart
will describe the SVN's role and makeup, and how it plans to contact and
communicate with potential members during and after the event. “Wal-Mart
first announced a sustainable packaging scorecard for suppliers to its
U.S. stores during PACK EXPO 2006. The scorecard was actually launched
in the U.S. in 2008 as the first step of a plan to roll out the
scorecard internationally,” said Charles D. Yuska, PMMI president and
CEO.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart
Wins Initial Approval for Wage Settlements
By Margaret Cronin Fisk,
Bloomberg
June 1st, 2009
[back to top]
May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores
Inc., the world’s biggest retailer, won preliminary court approval to
pay as much as $85 million to settle 30 lawsuits claiming the company
didn’t pay employees for all hours worked.
The settlement covers cases filed in
federal courts in 29 states and Puerto Rico, according to court filings.
The accord is part of a global $640 million resolution of wage-and-hour
claims reached between Wal-Mart and workers in December.
The settlement is “fair, reasonable,
and adequate,” U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro said in granting
tentative approval today. The agreement was a “hard-fought compromise of
claims that have been actively litigated before this court” since
February 2006, he said.
The suits claimed that Bentonville,
Arkansas-based Wal-Mart violated wage and hours laws by denying workers
rest breaks and manipulated time cards to “shave” their pay. The suits
were filed as class actions, or group lawsuits, on behalf of all hourly
workers in the individual states, including Alabama, Michigan, Maryland,
Oregon and Texas.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Davis
Moore didn’t immediately return a call for comment.
The lawsuits are combined in In Re:
Wal-Mart Wage and Hour Employment Practices Litigation, MDL 1735, U.S.
District Court, District of Nevada (Las Vegas).
[back to top]
Longtime Wal-Mart officer Linda Dillman to leave the company
By Brian White,
Bloggingstocks.com
June 1st, 2009
[back to top]
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
hired Linda Dillman in 1991 through an acquisition, and she eventually
became the Chief Information Officer of the world's largest retailer.
Wal-Mart, in many ways, transformed the power of information to gain
incredible efficiency and insight into supply, demand and supplier
logistics under Dillman's watch. in 2006, however, Dillman took on the
post of benefits and Risk Management -- not her specific cup of tea. One
must wonder why she took the post, then?
All that is coming to an end in July,
when Dillman will leave Wal-Mart permanently. One o the "Most Powerful
Women" in Fortune's views, Dillman is leaving to go back to her roots in
technology. It isn't clear where Dillman will end up, but you can guess
that many a firm will be interested in her talents. Maybe Dillman will
want to stay in the HR field, but running the systems that take care of
all that information.
What happened to Wal-Mart under
Dillman's tenure is nothing short of astounding. Using real-time
information and creating systems to make use of the mountains of data
flowing into and out of retailers every second, Wal-Mart was able to
expand and continue serving hundreds of millions of Americans every
month while knowing purchasing patterns and economic logistics enough to
make sure all those items were on the shelves as fast and smartly as
possible -- whether they were made in China or a few states away.
[back to top]
NW
Arkansas Prepares For Walmart Shareholders Meeting
By Allison Woods,
NWAhomepage.com
June 1st, 2009
[back to top]
Walmart Shareholders are taking over
the area. The Annual Walmart Shareholders Meeting is back again. This
event brings in thousands of people from across the globe, and as
hundreds of buses cruise into the area, businesses and residents
prepare.
"I've lived in the Rogers area for the
last six years and I've seen that the shareholders meeting is good for
the economy, but it gets very congested, a lot of people," says Steve
Duran, Rogers resident.
People from neighboring states and
from across the world come to see Walmart’s homeland. Jon Martinek who
moved here from the U.K to work for Walmart says one stop everyone is
sure to make is at the 5 and Dime Walton Museum in Bentonville.
"I know that we have about a thousand
coming in from different businesses around the world and everyone of
those will come though this square. Some of the visitors will visit the
center and some will visit the restaurants and see all the places we
have to offer around here," says Martinek.
And that means businesses are going to
be busy.
"It's going to be wild and crazy and
we can't wait. It's going to be so interesting to have the opportunity
to talk with so many people and to see who's from where," says Beth
Cook, B Larue Gifts & Sass in Bentonville.
And some are even thinking about
planting their roots right here in Arkansas.
"I’m from Dickson Tennessee and
looking at Walmart for future companies to join and maybe moving by next
week," says Nikunj Roi.
Events will be going on through the
rest of the week and Friday is the shareholders meeting. But, starting
tomorrow you'll see some big name performers in town.
[back to top]
Walmart to End Support for DRM-Wrapped Songs in October
By Mark Hefflinger ,
Digital Media Wire
June 1st, 2009
[back to top]
Retail giant Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has
announced that it will shut down the servers maintaining access to
customers who purchased security-protected songs from its online store
before the company abandoned the use of digital rights management (DRM)
in February 2008, Hypebot reported.
In an email to customers, Walmart
suggested that customers who purchased DRM-wrapped songs back them up on
CD; otherwise, after Oct. 9, they will no longer be accessible should
one need to reinstall their operating system or suffer a system crash.
The company initially said in
September 2008 that it would discontinue DRM server support, but after
hearing from customers, it said in October that it would at least
temporarily continue support.
Both Microsoft and Yahoo were forced
to alter their own plans to discontinue support for DRM servers, with
Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) pledging to continue support through 2011, and
Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) offering to refund the song purchases.
While songs sold at Apple's (NASD:
AAPL) iTunes Store are now DRM-free, the company has given no indication
that it intends to discontinue support for them.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart Brings Big
Acts to Fayetteville
KFSM-TV
June 1st, 2009
[back to top]
It's Wal-mart Shareholders' Meeting
week...and that means some pretty big musical acts are coming to
Fayetteville.
It starts tonight with Sugarland and
Brad Paisley.
The shows are at Bud Walton Arena.
Doors will open for shareholders at
5:45pm and for the general public at 6:15pm.
The show is scheduled to start at
6:30pm.
Tomorrow, Foreigner and Daughtry will
perform.
Again, doors At Bud Walton will open
at 5:45pm for shareholders and 6:15pm for everybody else.
[back to top]
VIDEOS
[back to top]
Fighting
Wal-Martization 25min. (2005)
A new video by
The Labor Video Project 25 min.
(2005)
Wal-Mart is now the largest private
employer in the United States and has the same impact that General
Motors had nearly 50 years ago. This 26-minute video shows why working
people and trade unionists are fighting back and what Wal-Mart has in
store for the communities it is seeking to build stores in. "Fighting
Wal-Martization" is a hard hitting documentary that looks at how the
constant price cutting not only drives local small businesses out of the
community but how this ends up driving down the living conditions of the
very people who shop at Wal-Mart. The video also looks at the healthcare
crisis and how Wal-Mart increases its profits by sending it¹s employees
to public hospitals to get treatment thereby shifting costs back onto
the taxpayer. This video can be used at union meetings, community
meetings and on cable TV to get the message out about the Wal-Martization of America and what it means to every working person.
Please mail your check of
$20.00 and order form to
Labor Video Project
P. O. Box 720027,
San Francisco, CA 94172
For more info:
lvpsf@labornet.org, (415) 282-1908
Wal-Mart: The
High Cost of Low Prices (www.walmartmovie.com)
Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop
(www.independentamerica.net)
Big Box
Mart
(www.jibjab.com)
Garth
Brooks Parody
(www.walmartworkersrights.org)
"Is Wal-Mart
Good for America?" Frontline, PBS Video,
(www.pbs.org)
[back to top]
[back to top]
NON-FICTION
The Case Against Wal-Mart By Al Norman Raphel
Marketing ruth@raphael.com
Wal-Mart: The Face Of Twenty-First Century Capitalism Edited By
Nelson Lichtenstein The New Press
www.thenewpress.com
The Great Risk Shift: The Assault on American Jobs, Families, Health
Care and Retirement By Jacob S. Hacker Oxford University Press
www.oup.com
War On The Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special
Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight
Back By Lou Dobbs Viking, a member of Penguin Group
www.penguin.com
Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age By Allison H.
Fine Jossey-Bass www.joseybass.com
Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers
and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, By Stacy
Mitchell, www.beacon.org
www.newrules.org
Wal-Mart: The Face Of the Twenty-First-Century
Capitalism, Edited by Nelson Lichtenstein, Published by The New
Press
www.thenewpress.com
The Bully Of Bentonville - How the high cost of
Wal-Mart's Everyday Low Prices is Hurting America, By Anthony Bianco,
Published by Doubleday
Email:
specialmarkets@randomhouse.com
How Wal-Mart is Destroying
America (and the world), By Bill Quinn,
Published By Ten Speed Press, Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707,
www.tenspeed.com (pp. 163)
Slam
Dunking Wal-Mart, By Al Norman, Published By
Raphel Marketing, 12 S. Virginia Avenue, Atlantic City, New Jersey
08410,
www.sprawl-busters.com (pp. 237)
The
Great American JobsScam, By Greg LeRoy,
Published By Barrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 235 Montgomery Street,
Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916,
www.bkconnection.com (pp. 257)
Nickel
and Dimed, By Barbara Ehrenreich, Published By
Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 115 West 18th Street, New York,
NY 10011,
www.henryholt.com (pp.221)
United
States of Wal-Mart, By John Dicker, Published
By Jeremy P. Tarcher (Penguin Group usa),
www.us.penguingroup.com (pp.257)
The Wal-Mart Effect, By Charles Fishman
www.penguin.com
Megamall On The Hudson, By David Porter and
Chester L. Mirsky
www.trafford.com
FICTION
Death
By Discount, By Mary Vermillion, Published By
Alyson Publications, P.O. Box 4371, Los Angeles, CA 90078-4371,
www.maryvermillion.com (pp. 275)
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