Associations

Kroger is a member of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Million Dollar Club for the second consecutive year. The company was inducted in the $250 to $500 million annual expenditure category.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has appointed Sue Pifer as VP of compliance and Tiffin Shewmake as the director of the Center for Retail Compliance (CRC).

“The experience and skills that Sue and Tiffin possess make them uniquely suited for delivering exceptional value to our member companies on a broad range of compliance issues. We are excited to have them join the RILA team,” said RILA president Sandy Kennedy.

The Network of Executive Women (NEW) has confirmed retail executives from Walgreens, Home Depot, Family Dollar, Publix and Walmart as featured participants at the organization’s Leadership Summit this fall.

Arlington, Va. - Nicholas Ahrens will join the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) as VP of privacy and cyber security. Joining the association from the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Ahrens will lead RILA’s privacy and data security agenda and serve as the lead advocate to the government on cyber security, privacy, data security and related issues.

PepsiCo announced its "Purple On!" campaign against bullying. The initiative supports GLAAD's annual Spirit Day, which takes place on Oct. 16. Spirit Day inspires citizens to wear purple to show their stance against bullying, and also to show support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.

Nicholas Ahrens will join the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) as VP of privacy and cyber security. Joining the association from the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Ahrens will lead RILA’s privacy and data security agenda and serve as the lead advocate to the government on cyber security, privacy, data security and related issues.

Washington, D.C. -- Retailers concerned by the lack of a West Coast longshoremen’s contract will continue to bring merchandise into the country at above-average levels this month but volume will drop from the record set in August, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.


Arlington, Va. – Cooperation among all public- and private-sector stakeholders in the retail industry is needed to ensure cyber security in the face of high-profile retail hacking attacks like the one recently uncovered at Home Depot, according to the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Sandy Kennedy, president of RILA, released a public statement on the importance of continuing to improve the security of debit and credit cards.

New York -- California is on track to become the first state in the United States to impose a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Lawmakers passed the bill last week, and California governor Jerry Brown on Thursday said he would probably sign it into law.  

The legislation would ban single-use plastic bags from supermarkets and drug stores in 2015, and from convenience and liquor stores in 2016. The bill would allow stores to charge 10 cents for paper or reusable bags.

New York -- Walmart, Target, CVS Caremark and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service are among the 50 best companies for Latinas to work for, according the magazine Latina Style.

Walmart ranked No. 10 on the list, Target No. 36, CVS Caremark No. 41 and the Exchange No. 46. The 2014 Latina Style 50 will be published in the magazine’s special August issue, and the companies will be recognized at the magazine’s awards ceremony and diversity conference early in 2015.