Consumer Affairs & Relations

A ruling in the dispute between the Federal Trade Commission and Staples could hinge on whether the judge in the case is an Amazon Prime member who appreciates the online giant’s disruptive business model and potential to impact the business-to-business marketplace.  

Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz recently touched down at Target Corp. headquarters in Minneapolis as part of Target’s series of “innovation speakers.” “With Starbucks, I dreamed of building a national brand and different kind of company, achieving balance between profit and conscience, bringing people along on the journey, and impacting the communities we serve,” Schultz said. “The kind of company my parents never got the chance to work for.

It was probably inevitable that somebody at some point would challenge the legality of the Oct. 1, 2015 EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) liability shift.

Publix Super Markets added its soon-to-be CEO, current CFO and a retired Deloitte executive to its board of directors when the Southeast’s leading food retailer held its annual stockholders meeting on April 12.   Publix president Todd Jones, CFO David Phillips and retired Deloitte executive Jessica Blume were elected to the board of the $32.4 billion retailer.  

A shakeup in the executive ranks is reportedly occurring at Kohl’s.

According to AdAge, Will Setliff, executive VP of marketing at the department store chain, is resigning his position the week of April 11. There has been no press release from Kohl’s or Setliff and surprisingly little coverage of his career shift outside of AdAge.

If you are following the presidential race with even a passing interest, you have no doubt heard a great deal about wage stagnation and economic inequality.

Numerous causes and remedies have been offered ranging from a needed increase in the federal minimum wage to $15/hour, mandatory paid sick leave, “wage theft” protections and even scheduling reform for hourly workers. And, while there hasn’t been significant progress in Washington, D.C., on those issues, numerous states and localities have passed similar measures addressing wage and benefit issues.

Amazon is the best place in the world to fail—that’s just one of the  insights and observations in CEO Jeff Bezos’ annual letter to shareholders.  

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties announced that it has completed $151.5 million ($86.9 million at CBL's share) in dispositions in two separate transactions.

CBL and its 50/50 joint venture partner sold the Renaissance Center, a 363,000 sq. ft., community shopping center located in Durham, North Carolina.