Walmart

Dollar stores, one of the few categories of retail winner during 2009 (besides Wal-Mart), keep piling on the positive numbers. Dollar General Co. reported numbers for its second fiscal quarter on Thursday, turning in 8.6 percent increase in same-store sales compared with 2Q08. Its quarterly net income increased 238 percent.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has appointed Scott Price EVP, president and CEO, Walmart Asia. Effective Oct. 15, Price will report directly to Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Walmart International, and have responsibility for the company’s current operations in Asia, including China, India and Japan, in addition to business development in the Asia region.

Dorothy Allan, SVP-retail strategy for Dallas-based TracyLocke, has worked on direct, online and retail marketing and is now focusing on helping packaged goods companies get the most ROI for their shopper marketing efforts. So, she’s seen the rise of shopper marketing first-hand, but has also witnessed a big change in the market over the last year or so because of the economy.

The way consumers shop for everyday products continues its transformation toward the Web. In 2008, online retail accounted for approximately 7 percent of total retail sales in the United States, with 1.5 percent of consumer packaged goods (CPG) spending done on the Web.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; MasterCard Worldwide; and First Data yesterday launched a green payroll program designed to reduce the number of paper paychecks and pay stubs distributed each year to Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the United States.

Walmart Stores and Sam’s Club, in partnership with The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Minority Supplier Development Council, will give local businesses an opportunity to sit with Walmart buyers and debut their products as a way to help provide an economic boost to local communities.

In head-to-head blind taste tests held by Consumer Reports, 23 store-brand foods were rated as tasting as good as -- or better than -- their national-brand counterparts, out of 29 food products.

Celebrity cook Paula Deen is launching a new line of baked goods this week exclusively at Walmart.