Walmart is expecting sales to grow throughout this year and next as consumers continue to be attracted by smaller store formats, e-commerce options and reduced prices. The company has also announced that it plans to add around the same amount of store space in the 2014 financial year as it plans for 2013. The plan is also to open more large centres than small in the US, despite the success of the latter. The retailer also touted strong sales at U.S. grocery stores and a big start to holiday layaway sales. In the year since the last investor meeting, WalMart's US arm, by far its topest business, has rebounded from a prolonged slump. At the same time, its international operations have come under scrutiny following a New York Times article in April about alleged bribery at its Mexican unit. There are plans to more than double the number of Neighbourhood Market grocery stores in the US by 2016, which will put pressure on competitors such as Kroger, Safeway and Supervalu. Source: Fresh Plaza
