Mike Duke

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world's largest retailer, unexpectedly said yesterday that its chief executive will retire in February and be replaced by the head of its international division. The surprise change in leadership right before the crucial holiday season comes as Wal-Mart has roared back to success as people looking for bargains shop more at discounters. Still, the company faces hurdles ahead amid slowing growth in the United States, and analysts say the decision to tap an international executive serves as a testament that the company sees its growth coming overseas.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s low-cost strategy during the holidays both helped and hurt its performance in the fourth quarter: The world's largest retailer reported an almost 15 percent decline in profit, but its namesake U.S. business continued to draw in more shoppers. During the period, Wal-Mart guaranteed shoppers it would give them the lowest price on a given item, no matter when they bought it during the holiday season. That resulted in its first gain in customer counts in several years.

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the recession’s biggest beneficiaries, felt the pinch during the fourth quarter as quarterly sales fell at its namesake US stores for the first time. Still, overseas growth and a concerted cost-cutting campaign pushed profit up 22 percent. The discounter faced tough price competition from rivals during the holidays. That contributed to a decline in customer counts and spending. The company said that a key measure of sales showed its third consecutive quarterly decrease as it continues to grapple with deflation in groceries and electronics and a tough...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted a second-quarter profit increase of 5.7 percent on Tuesday and raised its outlook for the year as its results benefit from international sales growth and cost cutting. But the world's largest retailer was unable to stop a two-year sales slump at its Walmart stores in the U.S as customers continue to grapple with a weak job market and other economic woes. While its international business has consistently been strong, Wal-Mart's U.S. operations have suffered as the nation's economic downturn has pummeled low-income Americans –- Wal-Mart's core customers.

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to double its sales of locally sourced produce in the United States by the end of 2015. The move by the world’s biggest retailer is part of a new sustainable agriculture strategy that looks to steer more business to small and medium-size farmers globally while reducing farming’s environmental impact. If Wal-Mart meets its goals in the United States, local produce would still make up only 9 percent of the produce it sells. But because of the retailer’s sheer scale, it has the potential for a sizable impact.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which posted flat first-quarter earnings yesterday, will spend another summer marketing its wares to families who want to have fun even in hard times. The world's largest retailer plans to stick with the "staycation" theme it adopted last year, when skyrocketing fuel and food prices kept people home. Now, it's unemployment instead of inflation that's leaving people looking for something to do around the house. Groceries account for just about half of Wal-Mart's US sales, and the company has picked up market...

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart is missing out on the consumer resurgence. The world’s largest retailer failed to reverse an almost two-year slide in a key revenue measure in its fourth quarter, it said yesterday, after all but promising in November that it would. At most other retailers, holiday shoppers spent more, and consumer confidence is now at its highest point in three years. Wal-Mart’s mistakes in merchandise and prices, along with financial stress on its lower-income customers, forced it to rely on international growth and cost-cutting to post a 27...

BEIJING - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world's largest retailer, said yesterday it will set new quality standards for its suppliers, following a series of scandals involving Chinese-made products, which account for a major portion of the company's sales. Meanwhile, the United Nations recommended China increase oversight of its food safety system and hold businesses accountable for their products, amid the latest scandal involving tainted milk products that have killed several babies and sickened tens of thousands across China.

NEW YORK - Visits to Wal-Mart's US locations open at least a year dropped 2.6 percent from February through June, according to an internal memo, while rivals are attracting customers. Those Wal-Mart stores had 82.8 million fewer visits through the first five months of the company's fiscal year than a year earlier, says the memo, which was obtained by Bloomberg News. Wal-Mart doesn't disclose those traffic numbers, and David Tovar, a spokesman, declined to comment on the memo. Wal-Mart's plan to recapture customers by returning thousands of products to US store shelves has...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s low-cost strategy during the holidays both helped and hurt its performance in the fourth quarter: The world's largest retailer reported an almost 15 percent decline in profit, but its namesake U.S. business continued to draw in more shoppers. During the period, Wal-Mart guaranteed shoppers it would give them the lowest price on a given item, no matter when they bought it during the holiday season. That resulted in its first gain in customer counts in several years.

NEW YORK - Visits to Wal-Mart's US locations open at least a year dropped 2.6 percent from February through June, according to an internal memo, while rivals are attracting customers. Those Wal-Mart stores had 82.8 million fewer visits through the first five months of the company's fiscal year than a year earlier, says the memo, which was obtained by Bloomberg News. Wal-Mart doesn't disclose those traffic numbers, and David Tovar, a spokesman, declined to comment on the memo. Wal-Mart's plan to recapture customers by returning thousands of products to US store shelves has failed to reverse a...

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart is missing out on the consumer resurgence. The world’s largest retailer failed to reverse an almost two-year slide in a key revenue measure in its fourth quarter, it said yesterday, after all but promising in November that it would. At most other retailers, holiday shoppers spent more, and consumer confidence is now at its highest point in three years. Wal-Mart’s mistakes in merchandise and prices, along with financial stress on its lower-income customers, forced it to rely on international growth and cost-cutting to post a 27...

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to double its sales of locally sourced produce in the United States by the end of 2015. The move by the world’s biggest retailer is part of a new sustainable agriculture strategy that looks to steer more business to small and medium-size farmers globally while reducing farming’s environmental impact. If Wal-Mart meets its goals in the United States, local produce would still make up only 9 percent of the produce it sells. But because of the retailer’s sheer scale, it has the...

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the recession’s biggest beneficiaries, felt the pinch during the fourth quarter as quarterly sales fell at its namesake US stores for the first time. Still, overseas growth and a concerted cost-cutting campaign pushed profit up 22 percent. The discounter faced tough price competition from rivals during the holidays. That contributed to a decline in customer counts and spending. The company said that a key measure of sales showed its third consecutive quarterly decrease as it continues to grapple with deflation in...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which posted flat first-quarter earnings yesterday, will spend another summer marketing its wares to families who want to have fun even in hard times. The world's largest retailer plans to stick with the "staycation" theme it adopted last year, when skyrocketing fuel and food prices kept people home. Now, it's unemployment instead of inflation that's leaving people looking for something to do around the house. Groceries account for just about half of Wal-Mart's US sales, and the company has picked up...

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world's largest retailer, unexpectedly said yesterday that its chief executive will retire in February and be replaced by the head of its international division. The surprise change in leadership right before the crucial holiday season comes as Wal-Mart has roared back to success as people looking for bargains shop more at discounters. Still, the company faces hurdles ahead amid slowing growth in the United States, and analysts say the decision to tap an international executive serves as a testament that the company sees...