Consumer Affairs & Relations

Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) shareholders have spoken.
 
In good news for the Canada-based department store operator, all of the nominees listed in its management information circular dated April 28, 2016 were elected as directors of HBC at the annual meeting of shareholders held Monday, June 6 in Toronto.
 
The newly-elected directors are:

· Richard A. Baker
· Robert C. Baker
· David G. Leith
· William L. Mack
· Lee Neibart
· Denise Pickett

Image Courtesy: news.nike.com

Retailers looking for global opportunities in emerging markets should head to Asia, particularly China, according to a just-released survey.   

China ranks as the top country in A.T. Kearney’s 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), followed by India, whose high market potential, fast growth, improved regulatory environment, and ease of doing business pulled it up to second in the rankings. (See end of article for top 30 rankings.)

Signet Jewelers Ltd., whose store banners include Kay Jewelers and Zales, issued a strong rebuttal against charges that its stores swapped customers’ gems for lesser-quality stones while they were in for service.   The controversy started with an article by BuzzFeed about a Maryland woman who said her engagement ring — purchased at a Kay Jewelers store — had its diamond swapped out for a lower-quality manmade stone while in for service. The story quickly went viral on social media.   

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct an investigation into an organization founded by the credit card industry that sets data security standards.

According to a letter from NRF senior VP and general counsel Mallory Duncan to FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the practices of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI DSS) raise antitrust concerns.

The search capability on Amazon.com reportedly malfunctioned for several hours the morning of Thursday, June 2.

According to TechCrunch, an outage prevented users from being able to search for products or open product categories on the Amazon.com homepage. The homepage itself and product pages were not affected by the service interruption, which appeared to be resolved as of 10 a.m. EDT.
 

Russ Dispense, president of the King Soopers division of The Kroger Co., plans to retire on July 1 after 51 years with the company.

Dispense began his career with Kroger in 1965, when he joined King Soopers as a courtesy clerk. He served in various leadership positions in stores and district management through the years, as well as at warehouses, manufacturing plants and administrative offices. Dispense was promoted to VP of retail operations and merchandising for the King Soopers division in 1983. He also served as VP of real estate.

Ahold USA first quarter sales were up 4% to $8.2 billion. Excluding gas, sales increased 4.1% at constant exchange rates. The addition of 25 A&P stores in the New York Metro market in fourth quarter 2015 was the main contributor to the overall sales growth and resulted in an overall market share improvement in both dollars and volume, Ahold reported.

Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon Athletica Inc., is not one to mince words.

Wilson, the company’s largest shareholder with a 14.2% stake, on Wednesday issued an open letter to investors in which he sharply criticized the apparel retailer’s management, calling its competence “uninspiring at best.” He called for annual election of the board to hold members accountable for Lululemon’s performance.

The 95-year old co-founder of the North Carolina-based supermarket chain that became Food Lion has died at the age of 95.
 
Ralph Ketner and two others in 1957 founded Food Town, which changed its name to Food Lion in 1982.