Looking back at Wal-Mart's year
Retail analysts believe 2017 was an important year for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as it competes with retailers like Amazon.com. Below is a timeline of key events that occurred:
Jan. 5 — Wal-Mart acquires ShoeBuy for $70 million. It begins an acquisition spree that includes outdoor retailer Moosejaw (Feb. 15) and women's clothing site ModCloth (March 17).
Jan. 20 — The company begins a round of job cuts, removing about 1,000 positions before Jan. 31. Additional cuts occur in April and July. Sam's Club eliminates 700 back-office positions in September.
Jan. 30 — Under e-commerce chief Marc Lore's leadership, Wal-Mart introduces free two-day shipping without a membership fee on more than 2 million items.
March 22 — Store No 8, the company's Silicon Valley innovation hub, begins operations with plans to identify, invent and invest in ideas that will “transform the future of commerce.”
April 11 — The retailer introduces Pickup Discount, offering customers a discount for purchasing selected items online and picking them up in one of its 4,700 U.S. stores
June 1 — Wal-Mart reveals it is testing a new delivery service that uses its own employees to drop off extra packages pay at the to customers end of their for store shifts.
June 16 — The company acquires online men's clothing retailer Bonobos for $310 million. Bonobos founder and Chief Executive Officer Andy Dunn is placed in charge of the company’s digital brands.
August 22 — Wal-Mart partners with Google to make hundreds of thousands of items available to purchase through voice shopping with Google Home, a virtual personal assistant.
Sept. 7 — The 1,000th online grocery pickup location opens in Seattle. Wal-Mart announces in October plans to expand the service to an additional 1,000 stores next year.
Sept. 15 — Wal-Mart announces plans to build a new home office in Bentonville, replacing the building that has been its headquarters since 1971. The project will take 5 to 7 years to complete.
Sept. 22 — The retailer partners with Deliv and August Home on a pilot program that gives delivery workers access to customers' homes to drop off packages and put groceries in their refrigerators.
Oct. 3 — Wal-Mart acquires Brooklyn, N.Y.-based delivery service Parcel Inc. The logistics company will offer same-day deliveries from Wal-Mart and Jet.com to customers in New York City.
Oct. 10 — Executives tell investors the company expects U.S. e-commerce sales growth of 40 percent in the next fiscal year. Wal-Mart will continue to slow the number of new store openings, devoting more of its capital to its e-commerce, technology and current store remodeling.
Nov. 13 — Wal-Mart partners with Lord & Taylor to create a dedicated space on Walmart.com for the department store chain to sell items.
Nov. 16 — Company stock surges to a record high of $99.62 after Wal-Mart posts its strongest U.S. sales increase in more than eight years during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
Dec. 6 — The company shortens its name to Walmart Inc., making a change that emphasizes its goal of being known as more than a big box retailer. The name change takes effect Feb. 1.