Walmart

PLOVER, Wisc. -- The National Association for Retail Marketing Services (NARMS) here said it is expecting nearly 500 attendees from around the world at its 11th annual spring conference and business meeting, to be held April 1-4 at Amelia Island Plantation in northeast Florida.

CHICAGO -- Dollar sales of cosumer packaged goods grew just 1.6 percent in 2005, an extraordinarily challenging year marked by a devastating hurricane season and uneven economy. But while industry growth was disappointing, trends across specific channels and categories were encouraging, said Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), a provider of enterprise market solutions for the CPG, retail, and healthcare industries.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart's third test supercenter opened yesterday in Plano, Texas, but rather than focusing on the earth's environment, as do the first two experimental supercenters in McKinney, Texas and Aurora, Colo., this one focuses sharply on the competitive retail environment, breaking much new ground for the traditional mega-discounter of basics.

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- A fresh foods legend has fallen on hard times severe enough to call for drastic cuts and spur rumors of an imminent demise. Intense competition has forced Larry's Markets to cut its corporate staff by 70 percent, and to bring in outside help to run the operations for the retailer's six stores.

NEW YORK -- Wal-Mart was the top traditional retailer of any kind on Fortune Magazine's annual list of Most Admired Companies, but a number of other retail food merchants made the grade on various specialty sub-lists as the business magazine recognized hundreds of firms for being named companies worth admiring by businesspeople.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951 based here are praising recently introduced legislation to restrict industrial banks, including one proposed by retail giant Wal-Mart, from opening branches in Michigan.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Wegmans Food Markets Inc. will be opening three supermarkets in the greater Philadelphia area, according to a local published report. The Northeast upscale retailer's Mount Laurel, N.J. store opened yesterday, while its Cherry Hill, N.J. location will debut in June and a Warrington, Pa. market will bow in December. Wegmans' earlier Philadelphia-area store, in Downington, Pa., opened in 2003.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- In celebration of National Frozen Food Month in March, Wal-Mart supercenters across the country shared the National Frozen Food Association's "Warm Up to Frozen" message on Saturday by offering a calendar, tied to the upcoming 20th Century Fox release "Ice Age: The Meltdown," that features frozen food tips and vendor information.