- BusinessThe Street•7 hours ago
Walmart Has Started Doing Something Ground-Breaking in China That Should Terrify Amazon
Through its partnership with Chinese online direct sales company JD.com (JD) , Walmart CEO Doug McMillon revealed on an earnings call Thursday that the retailer was able to launch one-hour delivery from 80 stores in China, faster than the two-hour service it provided last year. Walmart operates 433 stores in China, including 15 of its members-only warehouse format Sam's Club. Last June, Walmart announced its deal with JD, China's second-largest online retailer after Alibaba (BABA) , under which JD took control of Walmart's Chinese e-commerce business, although the U.S. retailer still operates all of its direct-to-consumer sales. The partnership was anticipated to better position Walmart in China, where historically it had trouble driving sales.
BusinessThe Street•5 hours agoThere's a Horrible Trend at Staples That Should Remind Everyone How Bleak Retail is Right Now
Staples (SPLS) execs may want to temper their enthusiasm on the office supplies giant's turnaround, at least until sales at physical stores start growing again. That is if they ever do. The company reported Tuesday that same-store sales, a key retail metric that measures sales from stores open longer than a year, plunged 6% in North America for the first quarter. Last year, Staples saw North America same-store sales drop 5%. The metric hasn't risen since 2006, when sales rose 3%. Like other bricks-and-mortar retailers, Staples has battled a consumer shift to buying merchandise online at places such as Amazon (AMZN) . As a result, the company has aggressively closed stores to try and bolster
BusinessThe Street•yesterdayGetting an inheritance? Don't make these mistakes
It turns out you've got a pretty good shot of landing an inheritance. According to the Washington, D.C-based CFP Board, one-third of Americans can expect get a "significant" inheritance in their lives. If you fall into that fortunate category, congratulations. The Board says inheritance cash has multiple benefits, from providing the ability to pay off long-term debt to financing a family member's college education. But as hard as it might be to believe, there can be a downside or two with an inheritance, primarily because many recipients squander the inheritance and don't want wind up using the money wisely. "Windfalls can turn into mixed blessings when people indulge themselves or rush into
