Walmart

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a move that promises to have a profound effect on American retailers, including supermarkets, a class action suit was filed against major banks and credit cards companies charging them with collusion in imposing onerously high interchange fees on retailers for credit card transaction.

CINCINNATI ¿ Kroger Co.'s stock price was whipped about by the market yesterday, after a financial analyst from J.P. Morgan said the chain's reported gains for the first quarter could not be sustained, and its strong outlook on the rest of the year was probably too ambitious.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --Winn-Dixie's taken out the pruning shears, in a recovery strategy that will radically cut back the organization before rebuilding it.

PLEASANTON, Calif. and CINCINNATI Ohio -- In a nod to the seriousness of the spread of the illegal drug methamphetamine, Safeway Inc. and the Kroger Co. said yesterday they will begin moving certain over-the-counter pseudoephedrine (PSE) medications to what they called secure locations in the store, such as behind in-store pharmacy counters.

The high price of orange juice is dampening sales in several large juice markets, especially in the Northeast, according to the Florida Department of Citrus.

SKIATOOK, Okla. -- Checking competitors' prices is common practice in the supermarket industry -- but is it legally a slippery slope? Industry players and watchers are asking the question, in the wake of a recently filed lawsuit in which the owners of a Super H supermarket here claim that Wal-Mart workers stole proprietary information from scanning Super H shelf bar codes.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Not all the media exposure Wal-Mart's been getting regarding its employment practices has been negative. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been named one of "The 30 Best Companies for Diversity" by Black Enterprise magazine. It was the only retailer to make the list, which is being featured in Black Enterprise's July issue.

PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Safeway, Inc. here said yesterday it named John A. Lewis as s.v.p., internal audit, a new position. He will have overall responsibility for the company's internal audit function, reporting to e.v.p. and c.f.o. Robert Edwards.