The week in Walmart news – postponed hearings in South Africa, upcoming arguments before the Supreme Court

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Grace

South Africa’s Competition Tribunal postponed hearings regarding Walmart’s bid to take over Massmart this week. The hearings were set to begin Tuesday but were postponed when the government said that it needed more time to prepare to challenge the companies’ economic claims.

• While the hearings were set to go forward without the government’s submission, a coalition of labor unions involved in the case requested a delay of the hearings out of fairness, rather than proceed without all of the information on the table. “It is only fair that all evidence be on the table before we go forward,” said Christy Hoffman, Deputy General Secretary of UNI Global Union. “It was the best outcome in a difficult situation.” This delay was ultimately granted.
• In addition to issues with Walmart’s track record of questionable labor practices record around the world, a key issue at stake in the hearings is the impact Walmart’s entry into South Africa would have on local suppliers.
• The hearings are set to resume May 9.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Dukes v. Walmart sex discrimination suit next Tuesday. The suit is the largest class action in US history. The court won’t be ruling on Walmart’s alleged discrimination against women though. Instead, Walmart has appealed the certification of its female employees as a class, claiming that the company is too large and spread out for its employees to have enough in common to be considered a class. The question before the Supreme Court is whether or not the case can move forward as a class action involving more than one million current and former female Walmart Associates.
Is Walmart too big to sue? Brush up on the details before next week with these stories:

• Reuters has a timeline of this gender discrimination case, which began almost ten years ago and is believed to cover over 1.5 million women.
• WBEZ Chicago has a piece on some of the arguments around certifying women as a class, while the LA Times looked at the significance of this case and explained how important class action suits are to workers facing large companies with deep pockets.
• The Supreme Court is expected to rule at the end of June. This article from Reuters looks at the possible outcomes.

Walmart continued its media blitz to assure shoppers and shareholders that it has learned from past management mistakes that have resulted in a seven quarter decline in same store sales. This week, Ad Age had a story about a series of ads the company will release next month, touting its “everyday low price” model. The article also highlights Walmart’s flagging sales growth and increased competition from dollar stores.

• Dollar stores might not be the only competition the company should fear though: on Thursday, analysts at William Blair & Co downgraded Walmart and upgraded Amazon.com, citing Amazon’s superior online pricing compared to Walmart.com