Consumer Affairs & Relations

Brisbane, Calif. – Bebe Stores Inc. continues to expand its global presence.

Bebe announced it has signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement with Shanghai-based brand agency Longgoal LLC to open between 60 and 150 Bebe stores, shop-in-shops and third-party retailers in Greater China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The first store is expected to open in the summer of 2016.

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores raised more than $217,000 for Make-A-Wish this past spring, when it held a two-week charitable program.

Irvine, Calif. — Tilly’s Inc. missed Wall Street expectations by falling profit and increasing revenue in a mixed second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income fell 54%, from $1.3 million to $600,000, with a tax settlement hindering profitability.

Total net sales fared better, rising 6%, from $123 million to $130 million. Same-store sales — including e-commerce — climbed 0.5%.

Despite missing Wall Street forecasts and declining profit, President and CEO Daniel Griesmer said he was pleased with results for the quarter.

New York -- Walmart plans to stop selling AR-15 assault rifles and other modern sporting rifles, a move the company says is motivated not by politics but by falling consumer demand.

The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is in the green again – at least when it comes to taking its sustainability responsibilities very seriously.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. has released an estimate of costs related to its 2013 data breach.

In a 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Target estimated it had incurred $168 million in liabilities and was eligible for $55 million in insurance reimbursements (as of August 1, 2015).

New York -- Target Corp. has finished EMV conversion at the point-of-sale. And the retailer is letting customers in on the news.

The chain has posted an article, “Chip Cards at Target: Five Things You Need to Know Before You Check Out,” and related video on its blog.

In the posting, Target gives customers some advice for using chip cards, including that they leave the card in the card reader until prompted to remove it.   

New York -- Coming soon: a theatrical spin on the drama surrounding American Apparel and its controversial founder and ousted CEO Dov Charney.

The play, entitled “Unseamly,” is due to make its off-Broadway debut on October 8, at the Urban Stages theatre. The drama, which first ran in Montreal in 2014, was written by Oren Safdie a first cousin of Charney. (Safdie has had several plays produced off-Broadway).