Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- In response to criticism from publishers at regional newspapers across the country, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. here recently placed full-page advertisements in 336 Midwestern newspapers as a test for a possible change in its newspaper advertising policy.

DAYTON, Tenn. -- Shoplifters who've struck stores including Wal-Mart, Save-A-Lot, Dollar General, and Bi-Lo in this Tennessee town are being punished in an unusual manner: They're modeling signs proclaiming their guilt while standing in front of the stores.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Associated Grocers of New England, Inc. here said yesterday that Brett Davis has joined the company as facility manager, a new position at the wholesale grocery cooperative.

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK -- Two recent consumer surveys offer different takes on what Americans think of Wal-Mart and whether negative publicity has scarred its chances for future success.

It's hard to imagine a grocer that knows its home state better, or that tries harder to treat everyone like family.

As more consumers turn to alternative remedies for what ails them, retailers can capitalize on this new popularity.

NAPLES, N.Y. -- This was a year of transition for many packaged goods marketers, paving the way for an extremely active year for new products in 2006, according to global business information provider Datamonitor. New packaged goods rollouts in the United States are up 6.5 percent from last year, though Oct. 31, 2005, as the end of low-carbmania has allowed other health-and-wellness-related trends to take hold.

WASHINGTON -- In its latest attempt to bring negative attention to Wal-Mart, WakeUpWalMart.com, along with the National Consumers League, sent a joint letter yesterday to attorneys general in all 50 states, calling on them to launch a full-scale investigation into Wal-Mart's pricing practices. The groups cited findings of two newly released studies conducted by the University of Illinois-Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development and the University of California-Berkeley.