Consumer Affairs & Relations

New York – A group director for two Tiffany & Co. stores in Houston has filed a lawsuit alleging the retailer discriminates against African-Americans in hiring and promotions for management and executive-level jobs. A complaint filed by Michael McClure in federal court in New York on May 29 says that McClure is the only African-American holding one of 200 U.S. management-level positions at Tiffany, and that there are no African-American executives in the company.

Burlington Stores president and CEO Thomas A. Kingsbury has been elected as chairman of the board of directors.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Keep it simple — that’s secret to Dollar General's success Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO of the 75-year-old company said at its shareholders annual meeting.

"Simple neighborhood stores, simple, frequently-needed items and everyday low prices," he said. "For 75 years, [Dollar General has focused] on helping low- and middle-income families save money and save time by offering quality, basic merchandise at affordable prices in convenient, small-box neighborhood stores."

San Bernardino, California -- Plans are well underway to open two new state-of-the-art "Blue Ribbon" Stater Bros. Supermarkets in California, with one in Covina (Los Angeles County) and the other in Menifee (Riverside County).  

Walmart Canada president and CEO Shelley Broader’s responsibilities have been significantly expanded to include oversight of Europe and Africa.

Broader was named EVP, president and CEO of Walmart EMEA, a region Walmart defines as including Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. consumer spending fell by $8.1 billion, or 0.1%, in April 2014. It was the first monthly decline in consumer spending since April 2013 and followed a 1% increase of $117.6 billion the previous month.

New York – Verizon Enterprise Solutions has recently introduced a location-based service that will allow retail organizations to offer real-time benefits to their customers, such as proximity-based specials and fraud detection. Verizon Location Data Services, powered by Locaid, is available now to enterprise retail clients in the U.S.

Yonkers, N.Y. – Sixty-two percent of U.S. online consumers have done nothing to protect their privacy on the Internet. According to a recent national Consumer Reports survey of 3,110 adults, one-in-seven online consumers were notified that their personal data had been breached in 2013, a 56% increase from 2012, and a projected 11.2 million people fell for e-mail phishing scams, up 22% from the previous year.