Consumer Affairs & Relations

Around the globe, sellers from country A who promote their products as “Made in country A” are quick to point out that country A products are known for their quality, even by buyers from country C.

Michaels assured customers a previously disclosed data security issue had been fully contained and raised the disconcerting prospect that it is only possible to make such a claim after a breach has been detected.

The company said in January that it learned of possible fraudulent activity on some U.S. payment cards that had been used at it stores. An extensive investigation ensued that involved two independent security firms who, along with the company, worked closely with law enforcement authorities, banks and payment processors to determine what happened.

Irving, Texas -- Three months after the country’s largest arts and crafts chain revealed that its namesake and subsidiary stores had been hacked in what promised to be a major payment card security breach, Michaels Stores revealed late Thursday that 2.6 million cards were likely affected in the attack.

There is no one type of cyber criminal, just like there is no one kind of thief. Hacktivists tend to aspire to damage the reputations of organizations with which they personally disagree. State-sponsored hackers hunt for national security intelligence, insider information, and trade secrets. Malicious insiders — whether they’re commercial spies or simply disgruntled employees — steal, broadcast and sell employer secrets to disadvantage the business, make money, and empower competitors.

Those looking to understand how the retail industry will perform in the second quarter and beyond can gain an interesting perspective from the outlook shared by one of the world’s largest diversified packaging companies.

A $1 million donation from Walmart CEO Doug McMillion and his wife Shelley to the University of Arkansas will help kick start the creation of a new School of Global Retail Operations and Innovation.

Woonsocket, R.I. — Rob Price, senior VP marketing and advertising and chief marketing officer for CVS/pharmacy, has left the company to pursue a new role.   

“Rob led the retail marketing team during a period of tremendous growth and strong financial performance and brought numerous positive changes to the business. We thank Rob for his important contributions and wish him the best of luck in the next phase of his career,” the company stated.

A new low cost money wiring service from Walmart saves customers money and showcases the thought process the company applies to disrupt high margin businesses and generate store traffic.

The new service is called Walmart-2-Walmart and when it launches on April 24 customers will be able to wire up to $900 for only $9.50. between Walmart’s 4,000 U.S. locations. The service is intended to complement Walmart’s existing relationship with MoneyGram which offers a broader range of financial services including international transfers.