Retail, Walmart | featured news

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether to certify the largest class-action employment lawsuit in U.S. history, a long-standing dispute against mega-retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over alleged gender bias in pay and promotions.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is going for the jugular in the holiday retailing war, announcing Thursday that it will offer free shipping on nearly 60,000 online items _ with no minimum purchase requirement.

The retail giant will offer all six models of the iPad and will roll out the tablet devices to over 2,300 stores by mid-November.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is putting electronic identification tags on men's clothing like jeans starting Aug. 1 as the world's largest retailer tries to gain more control of its inventory.

The retailer is joining with a Web-based university to give employees tuition reductions and credits from work.

Since edging out WalMart in 2008 to become the top music retailer, Apple has increased its lead with iTunes and is now outselling both Walmart and second place BestBuy combined, while handling more than half of all digital music sales in the US.

A sharply divided federal appeals court on Monday exposed Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to billions of dollars in legal damages when it ruled a massive class action lawsuit alleging gender discrimination over pay for female workers can go to trial....

PRICE CUTS: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is trumpeting what it calls a large round of price-cutting on all of its products, including food. The world's largest retailer says it will cut prices on 10,000 items in stages.

THE SKEPTICS: Analysts question whether the changes differ meaningfully from the retailer's usual promotions. They also note Wal-Mart's prices undercut competitors less than they used to.
THE REASON: Analysts say the cuts are Wal-Mart's way of responding to toughened competition. The company's fourth-quarter report showed store traffic dropped.

For decades, the Walmart brand meant low, low prices. The big box chain is now going toe to toe with high-end grocery stores by offering high-quality from local small farms.

Controversy is brewing over reports that Walmart is selling a black Barbie doll for only half of what the white doll is being sold for, ABC News reports.