Consumer Affairs & Relations

Officials from the city of Troy, Michigan, made the rounds of the New York Deal Making show looking for a partner to help them erect a proposed $350 million town center.  

Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid have entered into an agreement to sell 865 Rite Aid stores and certain assets related to store operations to Fred’s for $950 million.   The transaction is subject to Federal Trade Commission approval, the approval and completion of the pending acquisition of Rite Aid by Walgreens Boots Alliance, and other customary closing conditions.  

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is being accused of shorting the wages of employees by not paying them for overtime.   The class action lawsuit, filed in New Jersey’s Middlesex County Superior Court, accuses the home goods retailer of violating the state’s Wage and Hour Law by not paying some of its employees time-and-a-half for hours worked over 40 hours.   

The union that represents cargo pilots who fly Amazon goods has launched online ads that warn staffing problems could lead to delayed deliveries.       The ads, set to run on Facebook and Google, link to a site called “Can Amazon Deliver?” that outlines alleged staffing issues at two cargo airlines from which Amazon leases planes, reported ReCode.  

The Kroger Co. is offering early retirement to approximately 2,000 corporate employees.   The offer does not include store and district associates, senior officers, and supermarket division presidents.  It is part of the chain’s effort to lower expenses without directly impacting shoppers.   

Lowe's Canada has made some strides since it acquired RONA Inc. in May.   At the time, the company had made a number of promises to RONA stakeholders, including that it would maintain RONA's multiple retail banner strategy, its local and ethical procurement strategy, and the vast majority of its employees and senior executives. It also promised to enhance distribution services to affiliate dealers, among other things.  

A mall owner in Springfield, Missouri, has asked the town council to declare the area surrounding his site blighted and charge a tax to go towards improvements to his property.   Curtis Jared told town administrators that sprucing up his Brentwood Shopping Center would create more jobs and tax revenue, according to local radio station KTTS. He wants them to form a community improvement district allowing a one-cent increase in the local sales tax.  

Town administrators in Newnan, Georgia, have proposed offering incentives to owners of local shopping centers to re-invigorate them.   Municipal staff this week invited a group of community leaders to brainstorm about what could be done with the number of dilapidated centers in Newnan. Obstacles preventing owners from re-investing, the group said, included lack of cash flow, fear of selling due to capital gains taxes, and a reluctance to invest until neighboring properties improved.