International Strategy

Gap got an earful Tuesday during its annual shareholder meeting about not living up to its reputation as a socially responsible company. The San Francisco retailer received over 20,000 calls and plenty of hate mail from disgruntled customers around the world who are angry over its failure to sign onto an international agreement calling for building safety in Bangladesh, where recent factory accidents killed 1,100 workers. Another 50 protesters from labor groups like Global Exchange and International Labor Rights Forum picked outside the retailer's shareholder meeting.

Wal-Mart said it won’t accept an agreement “at this time” to improve fire and building safety in Bangladesh that’s supported by labor monitoring groups and signed by several retailers this week. Instead, in the wake of the deadly Rana

Three weeks after a building collapse in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 workers, the retailing giant H&M, the largest purchaser of garments from that country, agreed on Monday to sign a far-reaching and legally binding plan that requires retailers to help finance fire safety and building improvements in the factories they use in Bangladesh.

Best Buy is leaving the European market. The company is selling its stake in a joint European venture with U.K.-based consumer electronics retailer Carphone Warehouse Group for cash and stock worth about $775 million (USD). Best Buy will also pay Carphone 29 million pounds (about $45 million) related to existing agreements that will be terminated when the deal closes. The U.S. retailer also said that it will incur an approximately $200 million asset impairment charge related to the stake sale.

U.S. office supplies retailers Office Depot and Staples are having a tough time in India, and are either on the verge of shuttering their stores or selling them off, according to The Economic Times. Indian player Reliance Retail is closing down all four outlets of Office Depot, while Staples is looking at selling off 49 percent of its stake. Staples has a cash-and-carry arrangement with Future Retail, which operates the supermarket chains Big Bazaar and Pantaloon.

Staples is bringing its branded products to Japan through a wholesale distribution relationship with Jointex, a leading office products wholesaler and division of Plus Corp., a manufacturer of stationery and office furniture based in Tokyo. A wide range of Staples' brand products, including technology accessories, writing instruments and supplies such as notebooks and binder clips with unique designs are now available to small business customers in Japan via delivery and retail stores. 

Vitapath, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Vitamin Shoppe, has opened its first two Canadian stores in the greater Toronto area. The company expects to expand its retail stores under the Vitapath banner across Canada, with additional locations expected to open later in 2013.

India's government announced an inquiry into lobbying practices by Wal-Mart Stores on Wednesday after a report that the retailer had pressed U.S. lawmakers to help gain access to foreign markets. Wal-Mart disclosed in a report to the U.S. Senate it had paid $25 million over four years to lobby American lawmakers, in part to help gain access to overseas markets including India.

FiftyOne Global Ecommerce, a provider of global e-commerce solutions, released data and survey findings showing that international sales more than tripled at U.S. retailers as consumers in over 100 countries around the world opened their wallets to take part in Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping specials. U.S. retailers have increasingly positioned themselves to expand their reach and grow sales beyond their borders, especially during the critical holiday shopping season.

Toys"R"Us may be in the throes of an intensely competitive holiday season, but several recently announced initiatives are designed to position the company for success beyond Christmas 2012. Expanding its presence in global e-commerce, as well as Asia, the company is launching a dedicated web store, Toysrus.com.cn, in China. Toys"R"Us is also developing mobile-optimized sites and apps for iOS and Android in 11 markets around the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the U.K. Tablet-optimized sites will be available in select markets as well.