WALMART

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart maintained an optimistic outlook for the holiday season despite a 1.5% third-quarter comp increase that reflected a modest deceleration in sales momentum seen earlier this year.

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.


As more Americans join the ranks of diabetics, the opportunity to target these consumers at the shelf becomes more crucial. 


Retailers like Rite Aid are using pull-box displays that allow customers to physically handle a blood-glucose meter before they make that purchase decision. That kind of consumer engagement, evident throughout Rite Aid’s latest Wellness format store, for example, helps anchor diabetes as a front-end destination center. 


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.

WASHINGTON — Target, Walmart and McKesson were each recognized Friday as one of America’s more community-minded companies as part of the The Civic 50 — the first scientific evaluation to rank the companies that best use their time, talent and resources to improve the quality of life where they do business. 

The survey was conducted by the National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light, and was published in the Nov. 9 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek.

Earlier this week, DSN reported that members of a prescription drug program offered by Humana to Medicare beneficiaries will soon be able to obtain 10 generic hypertension drugs from Walmart for a penny.

It's certainly good news for people with high blood pressure, but it also has big implications for the pharmacy retail industry.