Consumer Affairs & Relations

Redevelopment continues to ignite retail

One of the most fascinating aspects of our ongoing economic recovery is the paradigm shift with respect to commercial development priorities. In the wake of the recession, new development has largely taken a backseat to redevelopment as developers and retailers alike have set their sights on opportunities in core urban markets that have been historically underserved.

Discount retailing has undergone a major transformation in recent years

Toward the end of 2008, it became painstakingly obvious to retailers that impulse spending was out and frugal saving was in. Faced with an imminent recession, staggering job loss and quickly depleting discretionary and savings accounts, consumers began to shift their focus to value. The impact of such a large-scale economic event and an abrupt consumer focus shift would appear to alter the fundamental realities of retail.

New York -- Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday unveiled a plan to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15. Although Murray said the hike has broad support across local government, business and labor communities, the City Council still has to vote on the proposal.
 
Under Murray’s plan, businesses with fewer than 500 employees would have seven years to comply and larger businesses would have three years. Further increases would be tied to inflation.
   

New York -- The White House on Thursday called on Congress to pass legislation to create a national standard that would alert consumers when their data has been hacked. It one-of-six policy recommendations that comes after a 90-day review of data and privacy.

"As organizations store more information about individuals, Americans have a right to know if that information has been stolen or otherwise improperly exposed," said the report, led by John Podesta, a top advisor to President Barack Obama.

New York -- A bid to raise the federal minimum wage was rejected by Republicans in the Senate, who blocked legislation Wednesday to boost the rate to $10.10 an hour. Senators predominantly voted across party lines, which places Democratic senators in favor and Republican senators opposed.

The defeat was expected, and it is expected to serve as a rallying cry for Democrats preparing their next campaign.

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will nominate for election to its board of directors four new independent director candidates: Bonnie R. Brooks, Sarah M. Gallagher, Diane L. Neal and Stephanie M. Shern. The board retained a third-party search firm to assist in the search process for new independent directors with relevant experience.

By Jason Fredrickson, Guidance Software

The recent cyber attacks on Target, Neiman Marcus and Michaels Stores had an immediate and profound impact on sales, as well as a widespread and ongoing ripple effect on consumer confidence in the safety of credit-card information at point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

An effort to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 failed on Wednesday, as the issue was not able to clear a procedural vote in the Senate. Senators predominantly voted across party lines, which places Democratic senators in favor and Republican senators opposed.

According to published reports, while the defeat was expected it is serving as a rallying cry for Democrats preparing their next campaign.

Walmart may not operate stores in New York but it managed to enlist the aid of the city’s top trash executive to reinforce the importance of accelerating recycling efforts.

Belk has entered into a multilayered partnership with the American Red Cross to aid those impacted by the recent storms that have swept through the southern United States.

As a part of the partnership, Belk will make a $100,000 contribution to help with immediate and long-term recovery efforts, and customers will have the opportunity to participate by donating to the fund on belk.com. In addition, Belk will work with the local American Red Cross chapters to provide store discounts to those affected by the storm.