Consumer Affairs & Relations

President Obama in his State of the Union address last night said he plans to sign an executive order increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour for workers on new government contracts and asked Congress to approve the same increase for all workers — and the National Retail Federation is not happy.

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay issued a response ahead of the president’s address.

In celebration of seven straight years winning "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores" in the J.D. Power Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study, Ace Hardware is kicking off its first-ever J.D. Power Award Neighborhood Tour across the country.

New York -- Consumer confidence increased in January for the second consecutive month, rising to 80.7 from 77.5 in December, according to The Conference Board. Economists had expected a smaller increase, to 79. It was the second consecutive increase.

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney Co. is amending its stockholder rights plan as part of move to protect its ability to use certain funds that can be used for tax benefits.

Penney said its shareholder rights plan can now be put into effect if an individual or group acquires 4.9% or more of its outstanding stock, down from its previous 10%.

Irving, Texas – An Illinois consumer has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Michaels Stores in federal court relating to the retailer’s possible recent data security breach. According to Bloomberg, Illinois resident Christina Moyer filed suit in Chicago federal court on Monday, Jan. 27, claiming the retailer broke an implied promise to protect the personal data of her and other consumers.

Dublin, Calif. – Ross Stores, Inc. has promoted Michael Hartshorn, 46 is being promoted to CFO, retaining his senior VP title, effective Feb. 2, 2014. Hartshorn will be responsible for the accounting, treasury, financial planning, tax, risk management and investor relations functions.

Minneapolis – An internal investigation conducted by Dorsey & Whitney LLP, independent counsel to the Audit Committee of Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. has found no wrongdoing in Tile Shop’s relationship with Beijing Pingxiu, a Chinese export trading company formerly utilized by the company and some of its Chinese vendors.

New Albany, Ohio - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is separating its chairman and CEO roles and expanding its board's size to 12 members. The teen retailer is also terminating its shareholder rights plan.

Irvine, Calif. -- Merchandise returns in 2013 cost U.S. retailers more than $267 billion in lost sales. That’s one of the findings contained in The Retail Equation’s 2013 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry study, which analyzes results from the National Retail Federation’s annual survey on merchandise returns and the 2012 Canadian Retail Security Survey from The Retail Council of Canada National Retail Federation.

New York -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association elected Richard Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar General, as the new chairman of its board of directors.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as board chairman for RILA and to work with this exceptional group of retail leaders to strengthen our industry,” said Dreiling. “RILA is a critical strategic partner in empowering our industry to speak with one voice to champion issues that affect the retail sector, our workforce and our valued customers.”