Sam's Club

Continued growth and increased competition from Amazon.com and the dollar stores. Improved in-stock levels offset by questionable in-store execution. Reduced buyer turnover and senior executives receptive to trading partner views.


When planning commission officials in Northwest Arkansas gave Walmart the go ahead for a 40,000-sq.-ft. store in Bentonville, Ark., back in 1998, it was the retail industry’s biggest story that year.


Change was in the air again this year at Sam’s Club as the warehouse club division welcomed yet another CEO and head merchant combination. In early 2012, Rosalind Brewer became president and CEO, and Charles Redfield was named EVP merchandising. The change could have had suppliers saying, “here we go again,” due to Sam’s history of senior leadership turnover. Instead, the transition was apparently painless for the 67% of survey respondents who sell products to Sam’s.

DULUTH, Ga. — NCR Corp. is partnering with health kiosk maker SoloHealth to service interactive consumer healthcare kiosks at retailers as SoloHealth rolls them out around the country, the two companies said Tuesday.

NCR's services group has signed a three-year contract with SoloHealth to provide on-site repairs after the units are installed in what the companies expect to be more than 2,500 retail locations by the middle of 2013.

NEW YORK — The Northeast is still recovering from one of the worst disasters it has ever faced. Many residents remain without electrical power, while others have lost their entire homes, businesses, workplaces and in a growing number of cases, their lives.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam's Club, via its Simply Right wellness brand, has donated $500,000 to Vitamin Angels, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing availability, access and use of micronutrients among at-risk populations in need. The monetary donation will help Vitamin Angels expand their efforts to reach at-risk children age five and under with vitamin A and daily multivitamins and pregnant or breastfeeding women with prenatal vitamins around the world and domestically.

WASHINGTON — Sam's Club has pledged more than $2 million in donations to nonprofits supporting small business growth. The announcement was made by Sam's Club president and CEO Rosalind Brewer.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — First-quarter profits at Walmart exceeded analysts’ estimates as same-store sales increased 2.6% and the company said its strategy of low prices on a broad merchandise assortment is resonating again with shoppers.