Wal-Mart

Comedian Tracy Morgan is suing Wal-Mart over the deadly limo crash that left him critically injured and killed his close friend. The 45-year-old Morgan was returning from a gig when a Wal-Mart truck traveling 20 miles per hour over the speed limit rear-ended his limo. Morgan suffered broken ribs, a broken nose and a broken leg in the crash early in the morning of Saturday, June 7, while his friend and comedian colleague James McNair was killed. Morgan was a regular on "Saturday Night Live" for seven years and later starred in the series "30 Rock." 

Now that digital and social media are reaching what Wal-Mart U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Quinn calls "critical mass," the retail giant is reshaping its marketing team and changing how it works with suppliers — including buying media for them. Wal-Mart met recently with around 200 supplier marketing executives in part to discuss the Walmart Exchange, or WMX, which its executives bill as a digital targeting, buying and optimization platform that will bring everything from sales to social media data to bear on spending plans for Wal-Mart and its suppliers.

Hindu critics say Urban Outfitters new duvet cover featuring Lord Ganesh is insensitive to their faith and have asked that the item be pulled. The cover, available online for $129-$169, depicts the elephant-head Hindu deity who symbolizes wisdom. Criticism of the retailer comes barely a week after Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Sears came under fire for selling a commemorative poster featuring a photo from the Dachau concentration camp's main gate. Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, has asked Urban Outfitters to take the duvet cover off the market.

Five hundred suppliers, 200 merchants and 800 meetings equaled made in U.S.A. magic for Wal-Mart as the retailer looks to accelerate domestic sourcing with a first-ever event dubbed Open Call. Wal-Mart held the event at its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters yesterday to discover domestically sourced products from new and existing suppliers that can help the company meet its goal of buying an additional $250 billion in American-made products in the next 10 years.

Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Sears came under social media fire from consumers over the holiday weekend for selling a commemorative poster featuring a photo of one of Nazi Germany's concentration camps. Online shoppers were horrified to learn that an image from Dachau's main gate was being sold as a piece of home decor. The offending item was listed on the Wal-Mart page with the description: "Gate with inscription Arbeit Macht Frei, Dachau Concentration Camp, Dachau." Wal-Mart also promised that the poster "would make a great addition to your home or office."

Kroger said Wednesday that it's buying Vitacost.com, an online seller of vitamins and other health-oriented products, for $280 million. Kroger said the acquisition would open up opportunities to sell its products online and compete with companies like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart. "The deal could be transformative for Kroger," said Burt Flickinger III, managing director at retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. Kroger's online retail options are now limited to King Scoopers in Denver and 154 Harris Teeter stores, primarily in the Southeast. Its Denver model has been a small-scale work in progress that wouldn't work nationwide, the company said. 

The ground has been shifting under the world of retail, but in my opinion, the real quake hasn't hit yet. There are three major factors causing this upheaval: economic uncertainty that's begun to split the middle class, the increasing share of wallet moving online, and the shift from the boomer generation to millennials as the driving force. While there's no "magic bullet" to address these changes, a deeper examination of these factors brings to light consistent themes and provides a jumping off point to ward off a real quake. There are immediate, low-risk changes that every retailer should consider implementing as soon as possible.

Costco has been a remarkably successful player in discount retail over the last several years, and the company has outgrown competitors such as Wal-Mart and Target by a considerable margin. But investing is about the future, not the rearview mirror, so investors need to analyze if the company can continue outperforming on a forward-looking basis. Interestingly, there are some reasons to believe Costco should continue getting stronger over time. When comparing Costco versus other mass-merchant retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, the difference can be truly remarkable. Costco has done much better than both 

Wal-Mart named 13 executives to its U.S. merchandising operations, marking the latest shake-up since CEO Doug McMillon took the reins in February. As part of the changes, Scott Huff will be promoted to executive vice president overseeing merchandising operations for the U.S., according to a company memo sent by U.S. Chief Merchandising Officer Duncan Mac Naughton. Huff has been at Wal-Mart since 1994, when he started as an intern. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company also named new executives to oversee everything from consumables and sales innovation to baby products and adult beverages.

The arrival of omnichannel has the retail industry drawing new battle lines in the sand. Pundits predicted e-commerce would eventually crush brick-and-mortar, with Amazon.com as the big gun and other popular pure-plays falling in line behind. Omnichannel commerce is retail's direct answer to the Amazon era. If traditional retailers can leverage their core strength — their brick-and-mortar stores — and master the integrated online and offline experience, they may indeed have the upper hand.