Consumer Affairs & Relations

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A new retail brand called Main & Vine is entering Kroger’s extensive store portfolio soon and it could spell more trouble for Whole Foods and other competitors.

A Web site for the new concept is filled with beautiful photos of fresh products and bills the store as a place, “where eating is healthy, affordable and fun!” The site does not offer an indication of when the store will open other than soon.

Jet.com customers waiting for Christmas deliveries may want to start setting their sites on Boxing Day or other post-Christmas holiday events.

In a brief statement on its website, Jet.com acknowledged that it cannot guarantee that deliveries for any item not eligible for two-day shipping will arrive by Dec. 25. The statement cites nationwide shipping delays that have affected its delivery partners and thanks customers for their patronage during the retailer’s first holiday season.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation is out with its annual Giving Report, which puts a monetary value on all the ways the retailer and its charitable arm sought to make a difference during the 2015 fiscal year.

From a big picture standpoint, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation donated more than $1.4 billion in cash and in kind donations, primarily food, and Walmart’s 2.2 million employees also contributed more than 1.5 million hours of their time outside of work to volunteer causes.

The former president of Trader Joe's has created a supermarket concept in the Boston area that offers fresh, healthy food at affordable prices. Now just a few months since opening, the store boasts over 300 customers visiting daily and has begun to look into expanding with a second location in the Boston area. [Food World News]

A week after Walmart announced it would launch a mobile payment solution, one of its chief rivals is reported to be working on the same.

Target Corp. is in the early stages of developing its own mobile wallet, according to Reuters, but it has not yet committed to launching the product.

Walmart has recalled marketing executive Tony Rogers from his post in China to lead the retailer’s domestic marketing efforts.

Dov Charney, the founder and ousted CEO of American Apparel, continues with his efforts to regain control of the company. But with the chain slated to emerge from bankruptyc in mid-January, time is running out, Bloomberg reported.

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