Same store sales at Walmart's U.S. stores declined 1.4% in the first quarter, but the retailer forecasts comps should rebound during the second quarter.

Softer than expected sales trends prompted Target to lower its first quarter earnings outlook Tuesday morning.

In a move that will reunite all Albertsons stores under one operator, Supervalu on Thursday morning announced a definitive agreement under which it will sell 877 stores across the Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market banners and related Osco and Sav-on in-store pharmacies to AB Acquisition, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, in a transaction valued at $3.3 billion.

Recent events, which have driven Wall Street analysts to speculate that Safeway is a buyout target, are not interrelated, Safeway chairman and CEO Steve Burd assured analysts Thursday morning during the grocer's first-quarter conference call.

Family Dollar Stores on Monday named Paul White to the position of EVP and chief merchandising officer.

Despite low consumer confidence, the volatile economy and a hurricane, many retailers reported better-than-expected sales in August.

Not long after the Vintage Varsity collection of young men’s and women’s apparel hits stores, Target News Now opined that the garments seemed a little pricy and cost conscious college kids would be likely to defer purchases until the goods were marked down.

Kroger on Thursday beat analysts’ quarterly consensus, posting 46 cents in earnings per share (adjusted for a goodwill impairment charge) that exceeded consensus by 2 cents EPS with higher-than-expected identical-store sales lift of 3.8% (excluding fuel).

There’s no way to sugarcoat the 1.8% same-store sales decline produced by Walmart’s U.S. stores division during the fourth quarter, especially after management vowed last fall that comps would turn positive during the period and end six quarters of negative results. Being so far off on sales guidance does not speak well of management’s forecasting abilities or grasp of the complexity issues that have contributed to sales weakness, and Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke acknowledged as much when he noted that “some of the pricing and merchandising issues in Walmart U.S. ran deeper than we expected, and they require a response that will take time to see results.”

The 1.8% comp decline is not only disappointing, but it also serves as a distraction from positive results elsewhere in the organization like an overgrown mole in the middle of a supermodel’s forehead. It’s just hard not to keep looking at that mole, or in Walmat’s case, a negative 1.8% comp even though the company has many other attractive features.

There were three takeaways to come out of Supervalu’s third-quarter analyst call Tuesday morning: the deep discount banner Save-A-Lot will be the most significant catalyst for growth going forward; Supervalu aggressively is addressing pricing issues that have had consumers who are more accustomed to the “hi” in the grocer’s "hi-lo" pricing strategy shopping elsewhere; and while traditional Supervalu banners ACME, Shaw’s and even Jewel-Osco do not have a “For Sale” sign on their respective front lawns, at least not yet, they can be had for the right price.