Walmart

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was on track to meet its June sales forecast, but it gave little indication of whether demand for summer merchandise was finally improving, reports Reuters.

JACKSONVILLE, Texas - A judge has ordered Wal-Mart to reopen its meat-cutting department and bargain with unionized butchers whose jobs were eliminated when the retailer switched to case-ready meat.

SALT LAKE CITY - Flower retailers exhibiting at the 2003 Super Floral Show in Salt Lake City are turning their attention to supermarkets as they seek to grow business, The Associated Press reports.

LONDON - J Sainsbury, Britain's second-largest grocer, is looking to cut 150 head office jobs, a spokeswoman told Reuters late Thursday, as it fights sluggish sales growth and slipping market share.

CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is working with its top 100 suppliers to deploy new radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for tracking crates and pallets in its supply chain beginning in January 2005.

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. says it will develop software and services that will help retailers, manufacturers and distributors use radio tags to track and manage goods within stores and factories, reports Reuters.

CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Monday said that its June sales remained on track as consumers stocked up on soup and hot chocolate instead of fans and air conditioners, prompted by cooler-than-normal U.S. weather, reports Reuters.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Lee Scott, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., used the company's annual meeting Friday to address accusations that it treats employees unfairly, saying managers who don't follow company policy need to find work elsewhere, according to an Associated Press report.