Walmart

The continued effects from last fall’s economic meltdown remain a top concern for retailers -- and that’s no surprise. Consumer spending has significantly changed, leaving many storeowners struggling to compete with large-scale discounters. Understanding the hows and whys behind evolving spending habits has always been important for success, but now it’s become a matter of survival.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Mi Pueblo Food Centers will receive 2009 Hispanic Retail Excellence Awards at next month’s fifth Hispanic Retail 360 Summit, set to take place Aug. 9 to Aug. 11 in Las Vegas. The world’s largest retailer and the 12-store, northern California-based independent will be feted at the annual trade event for their strong commitment to serving the fast-growing Hispanic community in the United States.

Walmart made good on its intentions to develop a worldwide sustainable product index, as revealed during a meeting with 1,500 of its suppliers, associates and sustainability leaders this week at its home office. The index will establish a single source of data for evaluating the sustainability of products.

Ukrop’s Supermarkets is considering buyers for a potential sell-off of its stores, with Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter said to be one of the frontrunners, according to published reports.

In the midst of an economic downturn, even more affluent U.S. shoppers are reconsidering grocery and foodservice purchases, according to “Premium Consumers in the New Economy: Food and Foodservice, a recent report from New York-based market research publisher Packaged Facts.

Grocery retailers haven’t been spared the devastating effects of the economic downturn. The March 2009 voluntary Chapter 11 filing by Bi-Lo, a 215-store grocery chain based in Mauldin, S.C., illustrates the extraordinary lengths to which grocery retailers must go to refinance debt and secure their operational positions.

First, the good news: More than half of the nation’s leading supermarkets are making progress with increased sustainability in their seafood operations, according to results of Greenpeace’s latest seafood sustainability scorecard, “Carting Away the Oceans.”

One is the largest retailer in the world, the other a 12-store, northern California independent. But the one thing they have in common is a strong commitment to serve the fast-growing Hispanic community in the United States.