Walmart

MINNEAPOLIS - To further its aggressive future growth strategy, Supervalu, Inc. has tapped a former Wal-Mart real estate director, Matthew Desmond, to serve as corporate v.p. of real estate. Supervalu's board of directors also elected Desmond as an officer of the company at its meeting on Aug. 11.

WAYNE, N.J. - Toys 'R' Us, Inc., struggling with competition from Wal-Mart and other discounters, said yesterday that it's considering selling its toy retailing to focus on its better-performing Babies 'R' Us unit.

BOISE, Idaho - Albertsons' only Bay Area distribution center, a 439,703-square-foot facility in San Leandro, Calif., will shut down as the grocer seeks to consolidate operations.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - TodoBebe, a Miami-based integrated media company dedicated to providing information about pregnancy and babies to Spanish speakers worldwide, said late last week that it will hold TodoBebe Baby Fairs at Wal-Mart supercenters in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami, beginning next month.

LONDON - Leading U.K. supermarket chain Asda, a division of Wal-Mart, is extending its George brand to jewelry. The new 360-SKU range of George Jewelry, which was been co-created by Asda's jewelry and George teams, will make up 40 percent of the company's total jewelry offering, Asda has announced.

MARKHAM, Ontario - Meijer is enhancing its customers' shopping experience in three of its new stores with the help of mobile point of sales systems, provided by Markham, Ontario-based PowerCart.

NEW YORK - Grocers' cross-channel competitors offered a mixed bag of July sales reports, with warehouse clubs riding fuel price hikes to the stronger results, while other discounters delivered softer performances in the month.

BERKELEY, Calif. - California taxpayers are subsidizing Wal-Mart employees with public assistance programs to the tune of some $86 million annually, according to a report by the UC Berkeley Labor Center here.