Consumer Affairs & Relations

Walmart on Tuesday reported a solid fourth quarter amid a big increase in online sales and higher store traffic. The company also announced it is raising its dividend.   Walmart earned $3.76 billion, or $1.22 per share in the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with $4.57 billion, or $1.43 per share, in the year ago period. Walmart’s earnings were impacted by investments in its digital business as it continues to boast its defenses against Amazon and other online competitors.    

It’s closing time for MC Sports.   The chain, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 14, is closing all 66 of its stores across the Midwest. A joint venture between Tiger Capital Group and Great American Group is conducting the going-out-of-business sales, which are now underway.  

The National Retail Federation has high expectations for the nation’s next secretary of labor.   On the heels of Alexander Acosta’s nomination to head the federal Department of Labor on Thursday, Feb. 16, the retail trade association’s senior VP for government relations David French released the following statement:  

Target Corp. is the central player in a drama that even Hollywood wouldn’t dream    A Florida man has been charged with plotting to bomb Target stores along the East Coast — an attempt to cheapen the company’s stock.  

GNC Holdings Inc. on Thursday posted dismal results for its fourth quarter and said it was suspending its quarterly dividend in a move to reduce its debt.   The nutritional supplements retailer posted a loss of $433.4 million, or $6.35 a share, compared to a profit of $42.9 million in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, earnings came in at 7 cents per share, well below the 36 cents that Wall Street analysts expected.  

Walgreens Boots Alliance is losing its chief merchandising and marketing officer.   Linda Filler, Walgreens' president of retail products and chief merchandising and marketing officer, will depart the retailer effective April 1. Filler has been in the role since January 1, 2015. Prior to joining the drug store chain, she was president of Claire’s Stores. Before Claire’s, Filler served as was executive VP and chief merchandising officer for Sam’s Club,   

The CEOs of Gap, Best Buy, Target Corp., J.C. Penney and several other national retailers met with President Trump on Wednesday to discuss tax reform and to make their case against the so-called border tax adjustment.  

The formerly high-flying Nasty Gal has been brought down to earth — and not in a good way.   The bankrupt fashion retailer will close its two Los Angeles-area stores by the end of February, the Wall Street Journal reported.    On Feb. 8, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California approved the sale of Nasty Gal’s intellectual property and customer database to British online fashion retailer Boohoo.com, which is seeking to speed up its expansion in the United States. 

Companies that suffer a data breach are subject to customer, opportunity and revenue losses well exceeding 20%.   This was according to the “2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report (ACR),” from Cisco, which surveyed nearly 3,000 chief security officers (CSOs) and security operations leaders from 13 countries in the “Security Capabilities Benchmark Study,” part of the ACR.  

Mattress Firm has tapped a veteran energy marketing executive to head up its marketing efforts.    The company has appointed Sicily Dickenson as its chief marketing officer. Dickenson brings more than 13 years of experience in digital marketing, marketing communications, creative services and brand marketing.