Consumer Affairs & Relations

Strength in the furniture and mattress category during the fourth quarter wasn’t enough to help Conn’s avert same-store sales decline with each of the company’s other merchandise classifications reporting weakness.

Conn’s said its total sales for January increased 7.9% to $101 million and for the three months ended Jan. 31, sales increased 7.4% to $376.5 million. The gains were the result on news stores as same stores sales at the specialty retailer of furniture, mattresses, home appliances and consumer electronics declined 2.3%.

Columbus, Ohio -- Casto announced that it has been selected by Edwards Communities Development Company to lease the retail component of The Highline at Nine, Edwards new mixed-use project located in Columbus, Ohio.

The retail development is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2017. Located on the doorstep of The Ohio State University’s South Campus and the northern edge of the Short North Arts District, The Highline at Nine will include approximately 22,000 sq. ft. of prime retail and restaurant space along with 480 student housing beds.

Target is rolling Caroline’s Cart out to all of its stores nationwide beginning March 19, the retailer recently announced. The vast majority of Target locations, with the exception of smaller format stores where there are no full-size carts, will have at least one Caroline’s Cart, and many will have more, depending on their guests’ needs, Target said.

Nordstrom is launching a new national marketing campaign withprint, digital and video components as the retailer seeks to improve its connection with younger customers.

It’s been quite common of late to hear retailers cite warm weather and intense competition as sources of sales weakness, but the prize for originality goes to PriceSmart after the warehouse club operator reported a January same-store sales decline.

GameStop Corp. has entered into a partnership that will expand the retailer from selling video games to video-game publishing, the Dallas Business Journal reported. “As we’ve said many times before, GameStop will continue to invest in new and exciting innovation and strategic opportunities that will grow our video game business and deliver better and better entertainment experiences for our customers,” Mark Stanley, GameStop VP of strategic initiatives, said in the report.

According to Forbes, during the week of Feb. 1, eBay Inc. remediated a flaw in its network security program that allowed hackers to place malware within the “active content” eBay merchants use to deliver pop-up ads and other dynamic messaging to customers. However, this action may not be enough to address wider security issues at eBay. [Forbes]

Rite Aid stockholders have voted to approve the proposed merger with Walgreens Boots Alliance, the Pennsylvania retailer announced Thursday morning.

Approximately 97% of the votes cast at today's special meeting of stockholders voted in favor of the adoption of the merger agreement, which represented approximately 74% of Rite Aid's total outstanding shares of common stock as of the Dec. 18, 2015 record date and constitutes a majority of the outstanding shares of Rite Aid common stock entitled to vote at the special meeting.

Meijer is continuing to provide support to Flint with a $500,000 donation to help meet the needs of the city’s residents, who are struggling with contaminated drinking water.

The retailer’s donation will be distributed to three nonprofit organizations that are coordinating a variety of relief efforts related to the ongoing water crisis, including:

If you were an Uber user in Austin, Texas, this fall, you might have been surprised to see the option to take a horse and buggy instead of a car appear on your smartphone.

The tongue-in-cheek offer was part of Uber’s effort to inform and mobilize customers in its fight against what the company contended were antiquated regulations being considered by local government.