Consumer Affairs & Relations

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. announced that senior VP Robert "Pete" Williams plans to retire in May after 37 years with the company.

Williams, who began his Kroger career in 1977 as a management trainee, has served in his current role since 2007. Currently, he leads seven supermarket divisions. His replacement will be named.

By Pat Dermody, president, Retale

This is not a lecture about embracing digital. Chances are you have already heard that, read that, maybe even repeated it to yourself. If not, you had better hurry up.

Chicago – Information security firm Trustwave Holdings Inc., which is being sued in connection with the Target Corp. data breach, is denying that it managed data security for Target. In a letter to its business partners and clients, Trustwave CEO Robert McCullen said Trustwave did not monitor the Target data network or process credit card data from the retailer’s customers.

It looks like one year of free credit monitoring has become the new industry standard for retailers looking to placate customers potentially affected by a data breach.

Sally Beauty is the latest retailer to offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protection following reports in early March that the company detected an unauthorized intrusion into its data network.

North Bergen, N.J. -- The Vitamin Shoppe has been recognized as the top-rated vitamin store and top-rated vitamin store brand based on consumer satisfaction in ConsumerLab.com's 2014 survey of vitamin and supplement users. Each year, ConsumerLab.com, a provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition, surveys its subscribers about the vitamins and supplements they use.

Pleasanton, Calif. – Safeway Inc. on Friday said that no other bidders have emerged during the 21-day “go-shop” period following the announcement of its agreement to be acquired by AB Acquisition, the parent of Albertsons.

Under the definitive merger agreement, Safeway and its representatives were permitted to solicit and engage in negotiations with respect to alternative acquisition proposals during the 21-day period that ended on March 27 (the "go-shop" period).

Washington, D.C. -- Consumers opened up their pocketbooks a bit in February, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department. Consumer spending increased 0.3% last month after a downwardly revised gain of 0.2% in January. The February increase was the biggest since November.

Personal income was up 0.3%, matching January's gain. It was the second straight monthly increase.

It’s official. Loblaw has completed its acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation, which is now a separate operating division of Loblaw.

"The most successful partnerships are grounded in strengths that complement each other," said Galen G. Weston, executive chairman, Loblaw. "Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart are perfect partners. We will drive growth and profitability through our unmatched mix of store formats, products and offerings. This is truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts."