Consumer Affairs & Relations

Jill Turner-Mitchael, SVP overseeing health and wellness for Sam’s Club, was the keynote speaker at the Northwest Arkansas Council’s Health Care Summit in Rogers on Wednesday, April 6, Talk Business and Politics reported Thursday.

The federal judge presiding over the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to block a merger between Staples and Office depot urged the parties to resolve their difference, but that seems unlikely given both sides are firmly entrenched in their positions.

A total of 425 new H&M stores are slated to open this year, including the new market of Puerto Rico, and the fast fashion retailer also will expand its e-commerce efforts to Japan and 10 additional markets.

The global retailer disclosed its aggressive physical and digital growth plans with the release of financial results for the period ended Feb. 29, which were negatively affected by the strong U.S. dollar. H&M is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

Increased security risks tops the list of a new survey of 300 top global retail executives on the topics keeping them up at night.

According to “Finding Retail Growth: A View from the Corner Office,” sponsored by Demandware and conducted by Economist Intelligence Unit, retail leaders view increased security risks, the rise of globally competitive online marketplaces, shifts in consumer taste and increased globalization as the four most significant challenges impacting the industry.

PayPal announced it is cancelling plans to open a new operations center in North Carolina after the state passed a law that many see as restricting protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The news comes as leaders of the High Point Market, the largest furnishings industry trade show in the world, warned that “hundreds and perhaps thousands” of customers will not attend the Market, held in High Point, North Carolina in April, due to their opposition to the new law. The Market attracts retailers, designers, suppliers and manufacturers.

The rise of fast-fashion, changing fashion tastes and online commerce may be claiming another teen apparel retailer.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg, which cited people with "knowledge of the situation.” The report said the filing could occur as early as next week.

For about three hours the morning of April 4 it looked like Christopher & Banks had found itself a new board member, but then the company discovered a conflict that prevented the high level executive from accepting the nomination.

Apparel retailer Express has been building its brand and upping its cool factor among millennials by signing up famous athletes and models to serve as “brand ambassadors.”

It’s just one of several tactics that the chain is using to drive its performance under the leadership of CEO David Kornberg, who took the reins in January 2015.

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