Consumer Affairs & Relations

Weis Markets says its customer experience strategy is paying off, as the grocery chain credited the effort with its increase in same store sales in the first quarter.

True Value Company has selected a specialty retail veteran as its next chief financial officer.

New York -- O’Reilly Automotive posted a strong first quarter, laying the foundation for continued growth in 2015. America’s second largest retailer in the automotive aftermarket industry said its expansion plans are on track after profit rose in the first quarter on higher sales and better margins, continuing a trend of 15% or greater profit growth for the past six years. The company said it plans to build a new distribution center in Texas to help support its 205 new stores in 2015.

Lakeland, Fla. – Publix Super Markets Inc. satisfied the public in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. The retailer’s net income jumped 11% to $548.9 million from $493.7 million in the same period a year earlier.

Sales were $8.3 billion, a 7% increase from $7.8 billion. Same-store sales increased 5.3%.

Publix stock is not publicly traded and is made available for sale only to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors.

The consumer electronics industry has reached a new milestone: It recycled 660 million pounds of used electronics products last year.

The number is the CE industry’s highest ever annual total, and the U.S. is now recycling CE products in record numbers, according to the Fourth Annual Report of the eCycling Leadership Initiative, led by the Consumer Electronics Association.

San Jose, Calif. – eBay Inc. shareholders have reportedly voted themselves a measure of power to nominate directors on the company’s board. According to the Wall Street Journal, 59% of shares voting at the meeting approved allowing investors who hold at least 3% of eBay’s shares for three years to nominate up to 25% of the company’s directors.

Publix continues to demonstrate that its customers indeed find that shopping there is a pleasure, judging by the grocery chain's first quarter results.

Publix’s sales for the first quarter of 2015 were $8.3 billion, a 6.8% increase from last year’s $7.8 billion. Same store sales increased 5.3%. Net earnings for the first quarter of 2015 were $548.9 million, compared to $493.7 million in 2014, an increase of 11.2%. Earnings per share for the first quarter increased to $0.71 for 2015, up from $0.63 per share in 2014. T

Secaucus, N.J. – Three days after an activist investor group filed a presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urging the election of new board members and claiming poor performance, The Children's Place Inc. has its own investor presentation with the SEC.

The presentation endorses the re-election of three board candidates at the May 22 annual meeting: Norman Matthews (chairman of the board), Kenneth Reiss (chair of the audit committee) and Stanley W. Reynolds (member of the audit committee).