Consumer Affairs & Relations

Atlanta – The Home Depot is taking steps to make amends for a racist tweet it sent from its official account on Nov. 7. The tweet, a promotion aligned with ESPN college football coverage, showed a photo of two African-Americans playing the drums along with a person wearing a gorilla mask and the caption: “Which drummer is not like the others?”

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation calculated retail industry job gains at 37,600 in October 2013, and 295,000 year-over-year, a 2.4% increase from 2012. Job gains were seen in every retail sector with the exception of clothing and clothing stores, which witnessed a contraction of 12,500 positions in September.

In its annual holiday sales and employment forecast, NRF predicted that retailers would see a 3.9% increase in sales and hire an additional 720,000 to 780,000 employees this holiday season.

Five new members were named to the board of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association this week, an organization focused on the interests of social media marketers.

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association, or WOMMA, was founded in 2004 and the newest members of the group’s board include: Mark Bisard, vp and senior counsel of American Express; Christine Morrison, group Social media manager for Intuit; Kathy Baughman, president and co-founder of ComBlu; Patti Regan, president and CEO of The Regan Group and Emily Bader, EVP of strategic planning  Zocalo Group.

The five year old Green Works brand from Clorox is facing new competition on the natural products front following the launch of Walmart’s Great Value Naturals cleaning products.

Walmart said the introduction of Great Value Naturals furthers its commitment to making eco-friendly products more accessible and affordable and will be available in more than 2,000 stores and online.

Clorox introduced its Green Works brand in early 2008 and the line was prominently featured in Walmart promotional vehicles at the time.

Aaron's has promoted VP of finance Steven A. Michaels to VP of strategic planning and business development. Additionally, Robert W. Kamerschen, SVP and general counsel, will add corporate secretary to his responsibilities, and Kimberly R. Rivera is joining the company as VP of learning and development.

"This is an exciting time for all members of Aaron's as we continue to strengthen our management team and build a platform for sustainable growth," said Ronald W. Allen, Aaron's chairman, president and CEO.

Washington, D.C. -- Retailers, advertisers and marketers called on Congress today to involve the Federal Trade Commission in efforts to eliminate frivolous patent lawsuits, saying vague letters sent out by “patent trolls” demanding licensing fees amount to unfair and deceptive practices. Patent trolls are companies formed to develop potential patent-infringement lawsuits without manufacturing their own products.

Austin, Texas – Whole Foods Market disappointed Wall Street analysts with its fourth quarter results despite posting increases in net income, sales and same-store sales. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, Whole Foods posted net income of $121 million, up 7% from $113 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Bentonville, Ark. – A glitch on the U.S. website of Wal-Mart reportedly provided consumers with enormous discounts for a short time on the morning of Nov. 6. According to Reuters, treadmills that normally cost hundreds of dollars were selling for $33.16 and widescreen computer monitors were selling for $9.

Wal-Mart has not said how many discounted items were sold before the glitch was discovered. The retailer has also said it will not honor any sales resulting from the glitch, but will give those consumers a $10 gift card.

Englewood, Colo. -- Blockbuster L.L.C., will end its retail and by mail DVD distribution operations by early January 2014. The company will close its approximately 300 remaining U.S.-based retail stores, as well as its distribution centers.

Whole Food’s said it gained market share during the third quarter, but the 5.9% same store sales increase the company reported fell short of expectations and the company tempered its outlook for 2014.