Consumer Affairs & Relations

Latham, New York -- DWM Facilities Maintenance announces today the promotion of Paul Meeks to executive VP of projects.  Meeks was an integral part of founding DWM with his brother David and has been with the company since its inception in 1997.

Austin, Texas – Thirty-five percent of consumers would stop shopping at a store where their data was hacked. According to a recent survey of almost 2,000 consumers by software consulting firm Software Advice, another 22% would be much less willing to shop there.

Washington, D.C. - Amazon.com, Inc. has billed parents and other account holders for millions of dollars in unauthorized in-app charges incurred by children, according to a Federal Trade Commission complaint filed today in federal court. The FTC's lawsuit seeks a court order requiring refunds to consumers for the unauthorized charges and permanently banning the company from billing parents and other account holders for in-app charges without their consent.

Toano, Va. – Lumber Liquidators reported a 7.1% decline in same-store sales and reduced its outlook for new store openings and earnings in a business update for the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Net sales for the quarter grew 2.3% to $263.1 million, from $257.1 million in the second quarter of 2013, well below Wall Street estimates of $303 million.

New York – In a settlement with the state of New York over a complaint by a New Jersey resident who was asked to cover her breast while nursing in a Nanuet, New York, store, Barnes & Noble has agreed to educate employees about its policies regarding public breast-feeding. As part of the agreement, Barnes & Noble also agreed to strengthen procedures for resolving customer complaints and to make a $10,000 donation to the Rockland County Breastfeeding Promotion and Support Program.

Plano, Texas - Rent-A-Center, Inc. has named Aubyn Thomas as VP marketing. With more than 15 years of leadership experience in brand strategy and customer-relationship management, Thomas recently served as VP consumer marketing at Lowe’s Home Improvement, where she was responsible for delivery of all consumer and professional marketing programs.

Earlier in her career, Thomas held leadership positions with organizations such as Macy’s, Caesars Entertainment, Bank of America and Lenscrafters Retail Group.

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch has reorganized its Diversity & Inclusion structure. Todd Corley, who has led the efforts since 2004, is leaving to launch the TAPO Institute, which will focus on inclusive leadership based on “principles of transparency, authenticity, persistence, and optimism,” Abercrombie said.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores’ third quarter income plunged 33% amid higher costs and increased competition. Same-store sales fell 1.8%, which marked the third straight quarterly decline.

Family Dollar is under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to put itself up for sale. The company has adopted a shareholder rights plan, or "poison pill."

New York -- Ron Johnson, who has been keeping a low profile since he was ousted from J.C. Penney in April 2013, made a rare guest appearance at Stanford University. Johnson, a graduate of Stanford and a member of its board, was a guest speaker at the university's View From the Top series in May, where he discussed with Stanford Graduate School of Business students Penny, Apple and Target and the lessons learned over his career in retail.

Cincinnati - The Kroger Co. has published its eighth annual sustainability report, setting its first-ever water conservation goal and providing a progress update on moving retail locations toward "zero waste" and sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil. Since 2000, Kroger has reduced energy consumption by nearly 35%. It has 557 Energy Star certified store locations and another 517 that are eligible.

Highlights of the report include: