Consumer Affairs & Relations

The National Retail Federation reiterated its support Jan. 27 for a federal data breach notification standard as a congressional panel held a hearing on this issue, saying legislation should provide consumers with notice whenever a data breach occurs. 

Less than a week after getting shareholder approval to sell itself to Dollar Tree Inc., Family Dollar said fewer discounts led to increased December sales.

For the month ended Jan. 3, Family Dollar said its sales increased 3.6% to $1.21 billion from a year earlier. Same-store sales increased 1.2%, compared with a 3% decline last December.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has cleared the merger of supermarket operators Safeway Inc. and Albertsons, creating a larger competitor to rival chain Kroger. But there is one caveat.

The FTC agreed to the deal only after Safeway and Albertsons agreed to sell 168 stores to address the FTC’s competition concerns.

NJOY, an independent e-cigarette and vaping company, on Monday announced the appointment of Paul Sturman as its new CEO and president.

Sturman joins the company from Pfizer's consumer healthcare business where he served as global president and general manager. Sturman was responsible for the $3 billion division's global operations, which included development and marketing of such household brands as Advil, Centrum, Chapstick and Robitussin. Before joining Pfizer, he was president of Johnson & Johnson's North American consumer healthcare unit.

With the Internet of Things (“IoT”) comes yet another technology-driven advancement that challenges businesses with promising opportunities and potentially vexing responsibilities. In particular, manufacturers and retailers who plan to sell (or are already selling) IoT devices increasingly face consumer questions about data security and privacy.

Boston -- Gordon Brothers Group, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, industrial and real estate sectors, announced that Michael D. Sullivan has been promoted to managing director, business development in the Northeast Region for the firm’s Valuation & Advisory Services Division.

Cupertino, Calif. – Mickey Drexler, chairman and CEO of J. Crew and former CEO and president of Gap Inc., is retiring from the board of directors of Apple Inc. as of March 2015. Apple disclosed the impending retirement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Drexler has served on the Apple board since 1999 and is currently its longest-tenured member. No replacement has been announced. Drexler was initially recruited to the Apple board to help the company, which opened its first store in 2001, create a retail strategy.

Fort Worth, Texas - RadioShack Corp. announced that it received a continued listing standards notice from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Jan. 15. The retailer received the notice because its average market capitalization was less than $50 million during a period of 30 consecutive trading days and stockholders' equity of the company was below $50 million.

Salt Lake City – ReposiTrak,a leading provider of Compliance Management and Track & Trace solutions for food safety exclusively endorsed by FMI and ROFDA, said that W. Lee Flowers and Company, which operates or supplies 90 IGA / KJ’s Market and independent supermarkets in the Carolinas and Georgia, has chosen ReposiTrak to manage their food safety-related risk.



Retailers factor in all kinds of variables when evaluating suppliers and a recent change at sauce and dressing manufacturer Litehouse gives sellers of food and consumables something new to think about.

The 50-year-old family owned Litehouse company based in Sandpoint, Idaho recently became 100% employee owned following the execution of an employee stock ownership plan. Litehouse first formed an ESOP plan in 2006 when it sold 30% of the company as a commitment to employees and their communities.