Consumer Affairs & Relations

Alibaba is championing the fight against counterfeit merchandise.   In a new alliance with international brands including Louis Vuitton, Samsung and Mars, Alibaba has created an anti-counterfeiting group. Called the Alibaba Big Data Anti-Alliance, the 20-member consortium of industry and technical leaders is working to keep pirated goods off of Alibaba’s e-commerce platform, according to the company’s website.  

Target has made a key addition to its executive team.    The discounter has promoted Rick Gomez to the position of executive VP and chief marketing officer, effective Jan. 29. Gomez, currently senior VP of brand and category marketing, has been with Target since 2013. He replaces Jeff Jones, who left Target last summer to become president of Uber.   

Faster shopping and the transformation of old age are two of the trends identified by Euromonitor International on its annual report of the trends that will shape the consumer landscape this year.   The “Top 10 Global Consumer Trends for 2017” report noted that 2016 was defined by uncertainty with growth in global consumer expenditure slowing to 2.4% in real terms – the lowest rate of growth since the financial crisis.  

Though General Growth Properties has long been most commonly known as GGP in the retail industry, the big mall owner has now made it official.   Effective Jan. 27, the big mall owner with 126 properties in 40 states, officially changes its name to GGP. Founded in 1954 to develop grocery-anchored strip centers, GGP evolved into one of the largest providers of A-level mall space.  

Wawa has big plans for the Sunshine State.    The privately-owned, Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain plans to open 25 to 30 stores every year throughout Florida during the next several years.   In 2017, Wawa will start its push into the southeast part of the state, with a first wave of stores opening in Palm Beach and Broward Counties.  

L.L. Bean has been drawn into something that it has always shied away: the political spotlight.      It all started with the news that Linda Bean, granddaughter of company founder Leon Leonwood Bean and a member of the Bean board, had made a substantial donation to a pro-Trump PAC during the president-elect's campaign. Trump then thanked Bean for her support via a tweet that ended with “Buy L.L.Bean.”     

Amazon is being penalized for inaccurate pricing practices on its Canadian website.    According to the Competition Bureau, a Canadian independent law enforcement agency, Amazon will pay a $1 million penalty and $100,000 towards the Competition Bureau’s costs — punishment for violating the Competition Act, a law that ensures consumers are not misled by references to inflated regular prices.   

The National Retail Federation on Tuesday called on the U.S. Supreme Court to allow merchants to freely and accurately show customers the added costs that come with paying by credit card rather than cash.  

Starbucks Corp. is no longer selling alcohol.   The chain will stop selling beer and wine as it brings to an end to its "Evenings" program. The program, currently in operation in 439 company-owned stores in the United States, will end Jan. 10, although it may continue overseas. Also, Starbucks plans to integrate beer and wine into its new higher-end Roastery format.  

Apparel retailer The Limited is out of the brick-and-mortar retail business.   The ailing chain, which has quietly been closing stores around the country for the past couple of weeks, announced the news with a short statement on its website on Friday, Jan. 6. The move was not unexpected. Limited has struggled amid increased competition from fast-fashion upstarts, both offline and online.