Consumer Affairs & Relations

Conn’s has appointed William E. Saunders Jr. to its board of directors. Saunders will also become a member of the audit committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee.

Brian Cornell’s tenure as Target’s chairman and CEO begins on August 12. Don’t expect it to last long if his track record at other recent employers is any indication.
 
Cornell brings to Target an impressive roster of C-level positions at big name companies — PepsiCo, Sam’s Club, Michael’s, Safeway — but the 55-year-old executive didn’t stick around for long at any of them.
 

Pacific Sunwear’s SVP of women’s merchandising and design Christine Lee has resigned. Filling the role on an interim basis will be Brieane Breuer, who joined PacSun in 2007 and is the company's current VP of women's design.

Breuer received her master's degree in fashion design and styling from Istituto Marangoni and during the past 13 years has held various merchandising and design roles at high-end fashion brands such as Valentino, as well as at Abercrombie & Fitch.

Washington, D.C. - Almost three-quarters of Americans worry about the quantity of personal information available online and more than half feel they cannot trust social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to keep their contact information, buying habits and political beliefs confidential. According to a new poll conducted by Rad Campaign, Lincoln Park Strategies, and Craigconnects, online security concerns rise as Americans get older.

Babies “R” Us has partnered with Medela, a manufacturer of breast pumps and postnatal supplies, to provide the Medela Breast Pump Rental Service to parents nationwide.

Customers visiting any Babies “R” Us store across the country will be able to rent the Medela Hospital-Grade Symphony Double Electric Breast Pump for 30, 60 or 90 days. The program remains flexible, with the opportunity to extend a rental after 30 days.

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is warning retailers about a new, nearly indetectable computer virus known as “Backoff” that poses a threat to POS systems. According to an advisory from Homeland Security, most antivirus software cannot recognize Backoff.

Fingerprinting and DNA sampling are on back-to-school lists at Sam’s Club this year where the warehouse club operator is using the allure of free services to expose would-be members to its value proposition.

On Saturday, August 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at clubs nationwide Sam’s is offering DNA testing and fingerprint kits as part of an annual free children’s health screening program. The screenings, which combine health and child safety information are available at the 596 Sam’s locations with a pharmacy.