Content about Sam's Club

Bentonville, Ark. -- For the first time in the retailer’s history, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said that, through Walmart and the Walmart Foundation, it has given more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions.

The Monday announcement makes Walmart the first U.S. retailer to achieve the $1 billion in giving mark, up from $872.7 million last year. The growth in global giving was largely due to increased in-kind donations in the U.S. to local food banks and families impacted by disasters.

New York -- Walmart announced Tuesday an ambitious plan to hire more than 100,000 veterans over the next five years. The pledge was part of Walmrt U.S. CEO Bill Simon’s Tuesday keynote address at the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & Expo in New York.

Beginning Memorial Day, Walmart will offer a job to any honorably discharged veteran in his or her first 12 months off active duty. Most of these jobs will be in Walmart stores and  its Sam's club locations. Some will be in the company's distribution centers.

Dallas -- 7-Eleven announced that it has completed the purchase of 12 stores from Fast Track  in Central North Carolina, including Winston-Salem. Terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

Remodeling of the units to transform them into 7-Eleven stores gets underway in late November and rebranding is expected to be complete by mid-February 2013.

Houston — Waste Management has partnered with Sam's Club to provide membership discounts to small and medium business customers, allowing them access to Sam’s Club’s savings on bulk merchandise and supplies.

Atlanta -- Sam's Club has become the first warehouse club retailer to install SoloHealth's comprehensive health-and-wellness screening kiosks, SoloHealth announced Wednesday.

SoloHealth said it will begin the rollout of its SoloHealth Station to more than 500 Sam's Club locations nationwide. The kiosks, currently available in select U.S. retail locations, is expected to be in more than 2,500 retail locations by mid-2013.

Washington, D.C. — Sam's Club has pledged more than $2 million in donations to nonprofits supporting small business growth. The announcement was made by Sam's Club president and CEO Rosalind Brewer.

"At Sam’s Club our small business owners are our partners, and we want to put our money where our mission is — which is to be agents for and support our members and the small business community," said Brewer, addressing guests at the Dream Big Small Business of the Year awards luncheon at the Shoreham Hotel.

Washington, D.C. — Sam's Club has pledged more than $2 million in donations to nonprofits supporting small business growth. The announcement was made by Sam's Club president and CEO Rosalind Brewer.

"At Sam’s Club our small business owners are our partners, and we want to put our money where our mission is — which is to be agents for and support our members and the small business community," said Brewer, addressing guests at the Dream Big Small Business of the Year awards luncheon at the Shoreham Hotel.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a better-than-expected 9.2% increase in first-quarter profit on increased sales in the United States and a strong performance abroad.

Wal-Mart earned $3.74 billion in the quarter ended April 30, 2012, up from $3.39 billion in the year-ago period.

Waban, Mass. -- Research results released Tuesday by Temkin Group, which rates the customer experience of 206 large companies across 18 industries, showed that only eight companies deliver excellent customer experience: Sam's Club and Publix led the pack, followed by Starbucks, Subway, Chick-fil-A, Aldi, Winn-Dixie, H.E.B., and credit unions.

According to the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings, in its second year, 76 companies (37% of the total) earned "poor" or "very poor" ratings.

New York City -- Apple Inc. and Sam’s Club are in early discussions to expand their partnership, possibly by adding in-store Apple shops in select Sam’s locations, according to a report on 9to5Mac, a website for Apple enthusiasts. Sam's Club stores already sell iPhone, iPad, and iPod products.

The report, which cited unnamed sources, said that a range of plans are being discussed, including having Sam’s simply sell a broader range of Apple products without in-store features.

Dallas -- 7-Eleven has entered into an agreement with Sam's Mart LLC to acquire 55 Sam's Mart stores in North and South Carolina and convert them to 7-Eleven stores this year. Local contractors will be hired for the remodeling program to begin later this year.

The transaction is anticipated to close in February, subject to standard closing conditions and regulatory approvals.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. said Thursday that six new national tenants will occupy former Borders locations in Puerto Rico, New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio and Missouri.

PetSmart's newest Puerto Rico store will be located in the former Borders location at Plaza Escorial, a 636,000-sq.-ft. power center in Carolina, anchored by Walmart, Sam's Club, Home Depot, Old Navy and Caribbean Cinemas. In 2010, DDR introduced PetSmart to Puerto Rico and this store marks the fourth PetSmart location in a DDR center on the island.