Walmart, Target Won During Biggest U.S. Retail Strike Since 2003

Even as Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. get battered by rival Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to speed up free shipping, the mega retailers do have something to cheer. The big box giants were two of the winners as Stop & Shop’s 11-day strike sent New England shoppers flocking to competitors. The work stoppage at Dutch-Belgian retailer Ahold Delhaize’s biggest U.S. banner was the largest strike in the retail sector since 2003, and sent sales plummeting more than 80 percent at the chain’s stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, according to Earnest Research. The strike, which ended over Easter weekend when the retailer reached a tentative agreement with local unions, also prompted Ahold Delhaize to lower its full-year profit forecast. Read more at Bloomberg.