WALMART

SOUTHPORT, Conn. — Walmart ranked No. 1 out of six retail pharmacy operators who were identified as part of the “Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities" by DiversityBusiness.com last week. Other pharmacy retailers on the list included, in order, Kroger, Supervalu, Target, Walgreens and Ahold USA.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — In an unexpected turn of events, Brian Cornell is stepping down as Sam’s Club president and CEO and will be replaced by Rosalind Brewer, who currently serves as president of the Walmart U.S. East business unit. The company announced a number of other senior personnel changes as well in advance of the new fiscal year.

In a statement, Walmart said Cornell, 52, recently informed the company that he and his wife would like to move back to the Northeast for family reasons. His departure comes as Sam’s has experienced strong sales growth.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Sam's Club is set to open its newly relocated store in Baton Rouge, La., on Jan. 26.

The 134,000-sq.-ft. club, located at 9598 Cortana Place near the junction with Airline Highway, now will be part of the Cortana Mall shopping area, approximately one mile south of its former location. The club also features environmentally friendly materials and LED energy-efficient fixtures.

To celebrate the grand opening, the store will host a Louisiana-pride themed ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8 a.m. on Jan. 26.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Looking to put America's inventors front and center by uncovering the next great product, Walmart and @WalmartLabs have kicked off the "Get on the Shelf" contest.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Walmart has named a replacement for Eduardo Castro-Wright, who announced his pending retirement in September. The company announced that Neil Ashe is the new president and CEO of the company's global e-commerce business, effective Jan. 16. Castro-Wright will assist in the transition.

Ashe is replacing Eduardo Castro-Wright who announced his pending retirement in September and will assist in the transition.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it is helping customers prepare for tax season by offering low-cost tax preparation services and free in-store federal form 1040EZ filing. The retailer also will provide $3 and $6 check-cashing services.

"We believe Americans shouldn't have to pay exorbitant prices on their everyday financial needs," almart Financial Services VP Daniel Eckert said. "It's their money and we want to make sure they can cash checks, pay bills and transfer money at a low price."

DALLAS — U.S. Preventive Medicine on Wednesday named Ronald Loveless its vice chairman. Loveless will serve alongside vice chairman Ron Loeppke, who joined the company in 2008 to direct product innovation, research and clinical standards at the company.

Loveless, a Walmart retiree and first CEO of Sam's Club, will play a key role in guiding the growth of U.S. Preventive Medicine in the United States, as well as international markets, the company stated.

MINNEAPOLIS — Despite an overall decrease in free standing insert coupon activity, retailer promotion pages within the FSI vehicles recorded a 30.7% increase to more than 17 billion pages in 2011, continuing the significant annual increases in retailer promotion activity, which began in 2007, Kantar Media reported Wednesday.

Overall, the number of free-standing insert coupons distributed through 2011 dropped 6.5% compared with 2010. This decline in FSI coupon activity followed two consecutive years of annual increases of 8% in 2009 and 7.2% in 2010.