Consumer Affairs & Relations

Fayetteville, Ark. -- Walmart U.S. on Wednesday announced that it is making a small but “significant” change to its employee name badges as part of its renewed commitment to associates.

“I'm proud to say that we're bringing back ‘Our People Make the Difference’ on our badges. These words are just as important today, and to our future, as they ever were,” said Walmart U.S. COO Judith McKenna.

Walmart reportedly is relaxing its dress code and raising the temperature at its stores as part of an effort to improve working conditions. 

According to a Reuters report, Walmart made the announcement to a gathering of 3,000 workers brought to Arkansas this week before the company's annual shareholders' meeting due to be held on Friday.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. – Dollar General Corp. beat Wall Street expectations for profit but missed on sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income totaled $253 million, up 14% from $222 million the same period the prior year.

Higher initial inventory markups, improved inventory shrink rate and lower transportation costs helped boost net income. Net sales increased 9% to $4.92 billion, compared to $4.52 billion. Same-store sales increased 3.7%, resulting from increases in both customer traffic and average transaction amount.

The answer to the questions above may not be as obvious as one would think. Retailers not only suffer losses in the billions, but they also must spend millions in an effort to thwart this behavior. In the past, retailers could rely on the criminal justice system, but today’s limited resources have left retailers with only civil demand laws which are currently being scrutinized.

Kohl’s is joining Walmart and other retailers in stepping up to help with flood relief efforts in Texas and Oklahoma.

Kohl’s has announced it will be donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross, which is delivering much-needed emergency supplies and services in the impacted areas. In addition to a financial contribution, Kohl’s encourages its associates to volunteer in support of cleanup efforts through its Associates in Action volunteer program.

By Emily Westridge Black and Christopher Quinlan

With major data breaches making headline news on a near-weekly basis, the retail industry is increasingly focused on cybersecurity. When creating their cybersecurity plans retailers should: 

• Create a strong cybersecurity team that is cross-sectional, and include personnel from legal, information technology, human resources, and communications or public relations departments. The team should also include at least one member of senior management.

Cincinnati -- Kroger Co. plans to bring nearly 650 jobs to new centers in a suburban city in southwest Ohio.

Kroger and Ohio officials announced Monday the $46 million investment by Kroger in buildings and renovations for a distribution center and a business administration center for customer service, human resources recruiting and digital innovation in Blue Ash.

Amazon  is facing increased competition these days. In some of the more publicized developments, subscription-based e-commerce site Jet.com is taking off soon, EBay is piloting a service to compete with Amazon Prime in Germany, and Google is reportedly planning to introduce a “buy” button that will turn searches into transactions.

Beyond the natural competition any successful business generates, there are specific factors making it more appealing than ever for retailers of all sizes to try taking on Amazon. Here are three of the most significant ones.