Walmart

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Wal-Mart's shoppers, which now include half of all U.S. primary household shoppers, are a varied bunch -- but its supercenter shoppers are the most loyal, according to a new report from Retail Forward, a consultancy based here.

DENVER - In a sign that supercenters are still Wal-Mart's preferred format, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer has said it will wait to build its smaller-format Neighborhood Markets in Colorado until its supercenter development plans there are further along, according to published reports.

TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico - Residents of Teotihuacan, a major archeological site outside Mexico City, are protesting the construction of a Wal-Mart store on the edge of the ruins.

The state of the economy is having a heavy impact on the spending patterns of many Wal-Mart customers, said H. Lee Scott, president and c.e.o of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. at Goldman Sachs' 11th Annual Global Retailing Conference. But while some conditions are real, such as high fuel prices, others may be exaggerated in consumers' minds by negative media reports.

KOBE, Japan - The world's largest retailer is looking to expand its global presence once again, this time by considering an investment in Daiei, Japan's third-largest and financially troubled retailer.

DENVER - Unionized grocery workers and three food retailers -- King Soopers, Safeway, and Albertsons -- have agreed to extend their contract negotiations until Oct. 16, according to the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), which brokered the agreement.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - In response to weaker-than-expected August sales for retailers, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. cut back its financial forecasts.

MINNEAPOLIS - Target Corp. completed the sale of its Mervyn's department store division -- a promotional, middle-market department store with 257 stores in 13 states primarily in the West and South -- to an investment consortium, as well as the divesture of Mervyn's $475 million credit card receivables to GE Consumer Finance.