Consumer Affairs & Relations

A spat with a toy vendor could make for a difficult holiday shopping season for Sears Holdings.   Due to claims of financial difficulties, reports claim that toy manufacturer Jakks Pacific has halted sales of its Star Wars and Disney Princess toys, among other merchandise, to “a major U.S. customer," which was presumed by some to be Kmart, according to CNBC.  

Raley’s, the Northern Californian grocery chain, got one step closer to its vision to build a neighborhood “hub” in Sacramento.   According to a report in the Sacramento Bee, the city’s Planning and Design Commission voted 12-to-1 to approve the chain’s plans for “The Park,” a 108,000-sq.-ft. open-air center ringed by a metal canopy and featuring large store windows and shrub-filled “green screens.”  

Ron Loveless, the first CEO of Sam's Club who grew the retailer for several years before retiring in 1986, has died.   According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Loveless died Monday at the age of 73 after "a long battle with cancer," according to a memo from Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Sam's Club CEO Rosalind Brewer sent to Sam's Club employees.  

The use of cash remains strong among in-store shoppers.   That’s according to a new survey by Cardtronics, in which 89% of consumers report using cash in the past six months to pay for merchandise in a physical store.    Cash was followed by debit cards, used by 74% of consumers in the last six months, and credit cards, used by 66% of consumers. Eighteen percent of consumers reported using store mobile apps to pay for something in the last six months, and 17% used a mobile wallet. 

The past decade has witnessed a monumental shift in regulatory oversight of retailers’ environmental compliance programs. As a result, retailers have faced a crash course in the myriad hazardous waste control laws, once widely believed to not be relevant in the retail context.   Historically, most enforcement has been at the state and local level. But in just the past month, we’ve seen a flurry of retail-related activity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including the following:  

The Wet Seal is going to be very busy on Nov. 3.   That’s the day the retailer, in partnership with GGP, will open 13 holiday pop-up locations at GGP regional shopping centers throughout the nation.   "We see an opportunity for additional brick and mortar locations during the peak holiday season," said Wet Seal CEO Melanie Cox.    The temporary stores will range from 3,000 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft. each.  

That didn’t take very long.   Industry veteran Paula Schneider, former CEO of American Apparel, has been named chief executive of DG Premium Brands, whose brands include 7 For All Mankind, Splendid and Ella Moss.   Schneider took the reins of the embattled American Apparel in December 2014. She steered the chain through bankruptcy and reorganization and launched an ambitious turnaround strategy. Schneider left American Apparel in early October amid rumors that the company was on the block.

Organized retail crime does not discriminate.      In a unanimous finding, a full 100% of retailers reported that their companies had experienced ORC in the past year, up from 97% in 2015, according to the 12th annual ORC study released by the National Retail Federation. It is the first time in the survey’s history that all responding companies reported being a victim.