Consumer Affairs & Relations

Arlington, Va. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) will testify Tuesday, Jan. 27 at the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing, “What are the Elements of Sound Data Breach Legislation.” In his testimony, Brian Dodge, executive VP at RILA, will focus on retailers’ priority of supporting a strong preemptive federal data breach law that allows for reasonable and clear notice triggered by potential customer harm.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) says retailers support a strong pre-emptive federal data breach law that allows for reasonable and clear notice triggered by potential customer harm.

In testimony this week before Congress, Brian Dodge, executive VP at RILA, will focus on retailers’ priority of supporting a strong preemptive federal data breach law that allows for reasonable and clear notice triggered by potential customer harm.

The National Retail Federation reiterated its support Jan. 27 for a federal data breach notification standard as a congressional panel held a hearing on this issue, saying legislation should provide consumers with notice whenever a data breach occurs. 

Less than a week after getting shareholder approval to sell itself to Dollar Tree Inc., Family Dollar said fewer discounts led to increased December sales.

For the month ended Jan. 3, Family Dollar said its sales increased 3.6% to $1.21 billion from a year earlier. Same-store sales increased 1.2%, compared with a 3% decline last December.

Boise, Idaho -- Albertsons and Safeway announced on Tuesday that they have received clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for the companies' proposed merger, which was announced on March 6, 2014.


The FTC's clearance follows Albertsons' and Safeway's agreement to a proposed consent order, which includes a commitment to divest 168 stores.



An extra week of sales and accelerating food inflation helped Delhaize Group, the owner of Food Lion stores, post profits that beat analyst estimates.

The company reported that fourth quarter U.S. revenues were $5.23 billion, a 12% increase from $4.67 billion the same period a year earlier. Same-store sales rose 3.6% in the U.S., but fell 6.9% in Belgium and 2.2% in Southeastern Europe.

NJOY, an independent e-cigarette and vaping company, on Monday announced the appointment of Paul Sturman as its new CEO and president.

Sturman joins the company from Pfizer's consumer healthcare business where he served as global president and general manager. Sturman was responsible for the $3 billion division's global operations, which included development and marketing of such household brands as Advil, Centrum, Chapstick and Robitussin. Before joining Pfizer, he was president of Johnson & Johnson's North American consumer healthcare unit.

With the Internet of Things (“IoT”) comes yet another technology-driven advancement that challenges businesses with promising opportunities and potentially vexing responsibilities. In particular, manufacturers and retailers who plan to sell (or are already selling) IoT devices increasingly face consumer questions about data security and privacy.