Consumer Affairs & Relations

Super Tuesday shed a very strong light on what the general election campaign is going to look like as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump performed well and solidified their frontrunner status.

More importantly, it was essentially a validation of Donald Trump's campaign style and strategy so far. Whether you are a fan of The Donald or not, it is clear that part of that strategy has been focusing on social issues like immigration, race and other political hot potatoes and pushing issues important to Main Street merchants to the back burner.

Personal information of some Walmart online pharmacy customers reportedly may have been visible online during a four-day period in February 2016.

According to Reuters, a coding mistake may have exposed basic information such as name, address, date of birth, and prescription history of fewer than 5,000 consumers. The error potentially allowed online Walmart pharmacy customers to view each other’s data if they were logged into their accounts at the same time. Social security numbers and full payment card or health insurance information were not visible.

Kohl’s announced it donated more than $51 million in 2015 through various charitable efforts and programs.

The donations include nearly $16 million in corporate grants through Kohl’s premier associate volunteer program and approximately $19 million donated through Kohl’s Cares® cause merchandise, in addition to other philanthropic giving.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) convened its 31st annual Supply Chain Conference earlier this week. RILA’s Caroline Stec provided a recap of an event which drew record attendance.

Starbucks Corp. has lost one of its veteran executives.

The coffee giant revealed in a regulatory filing that former COO Troy Alstead will not return to the company following a year-long unpaid leave. Alstead, whose resignation was effective February 29, 2016, had long been seen as the company’s number two executive and an eventual replacement to current CEO Howard Schultz.

Cold winter weather in the Western states helped Big 5 Sporting Goods post an increase in same-store sales and profit in the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 3, the retailer said net sales increased to $275 million from net sales of $250.3 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. Same-store sales increased 0.1% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 and 1.4% for the full year.

Delhaize America is joining other retailers in announcing it will work with suppliers to reach a 100% cage-free shell egg assortment by 2025.

Meijer will spend $400 million on store expansion and remodeling in 2016 as the chain looks to expand its footprint.

The investment includes the construction of nine new Meijer supercenters and 32 remodel projects. While Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin will each welcome new Meijer supercenters later this year, dozens of other Meijer stores have begun or will soon begin remodel projects to further enhance the customer shopping experience.