Consumer Affairs & Relations

LIDS is celebrating 20 years of retail innovation with the launch of a new headwear line that will take customers back to the 1990s.

Available at select stores throughout North America and on LIDS.com, the 20th Anniversary Platinum Collection will feature a selection of limited edition (1,995 units) fashion hats inspired by popular designs from the past 20 years. The first style in the series, the Flawless cap, was originally launched in 2003 as part of a collection inspired by recording star Fred Durst of the band Limp Bizkit.

Staples Inc. has made a change in a key executive position even as the company awaits regulatory approval for a pending merger with Office Depot.

Staples said it has named Peter J. Scala as executive vice president, merchandising, effective immediately. Scala will report to Demos Parneros, president, North American stores and online, and will be a member of the company’s executive committee.

Jacksonville, Fla. – A majority of consumers are spending savings from lower fuel prices to buy groceries. According to the new “Why? Behind the Buy” report from Acosta Sales & Marketing, 72% of shoppers age 18-34 will spend fuel savings on groceries.

Almost all (95%) U.S. shoppers report buying household groceries at regular supermarkets in the past six months; followed by shopping at mass merchants (79%); warehouse/club stores (42%); dollar and drug stores (39%); convenience stores (25%); natural/organic grocers (21%).

A. Alfred Taubman, the father of the modern indoor shopping mall, has died. He was 91.

The announcement was made over the weekend by his son, Robert Taubman, the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Taubman Centers Inc. Taubman said his father suffered a heart attack.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly eliminating the position of zone manager in its stores as part of a plan to strengthen store managers that was first announced in February 2015. According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart will transfer the responsibilities of zone managers, who oversee multiple departments, to department managers.

Ikea is taking its multi-year partnership with American Forests to a whole new level with the introduction of an educational video for children.

The Swedish retailer and the forestry group have teamed up to produce a video to be shown in designated kids’ areas at Ikea stores. The video will explain how forests and trees benefit all life on the planet, including wildlife, and how trees help to slow or mediate climate change.

Publix is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year with an annual day of service in which more than 4,000 of its employees will participate in service projects.

Publix employees across the company’s six operating states will be volunteering with more than 125 nonprofits whose focus is on youth, education or the plight of the hungry and homeless.

Corporate identities don’t get more generic than Brown Shoe Company which helps explain the shift to a new name but most customers won’t even notice.