Consumer Affairs & Relations

Sears Holdings chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert has pared down his stake in the retailing company, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed that Lampert reduced his stake in Sears Holdings to 48.4%, from a 55.4% stake reported in March. That leaves him with about 51.6 million shares in the company, whose stock was valued at $50.38 per share Wednesday morning on the NASDAQ, down from its opening price of $52.62.

Newport Beach, Calif. -- Engaged Capital, an investment firm specializing in small and mid-cap North American equities and beneficial owner of approximately 400,000 shares of the common stock of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sent a letter to the company’s board of directors on Dec. 3. In its letter, Engaged Capital highlighted the upcoming expiration of Abercrombie chairman and CEO Michael Jeffries’ employment contract on February 1, 2014 as an opportunity for the board to set a new direction for the company.

Greek Yogurt leader Chobani hired 18-year Procter & Gamble finance executive Dipak Golechha to serve at its CFO reporting to founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya.

Golechha replaces former Chobani CFO James McConeghy who stepped down in November, the company said. His successor Golechha spent the past 18 years in finance roles at P&G including CFO of the company’s global snacks division.

Matthews, N.C. -- Despite the growth in e-commerce, Americans still prefer to make most holiday gift purchases in stores close to home, according to a recent national survey conducted for Family Dollar.

Seven-in-10 consumers say they describe themselves as in-person shoppers, while only 30% say they would be best characterized as online shoppers. Also, more than half of surveyed consumers say they expect to travel 10 miles or less when looking for the majority of their gifts this season.

Mountain View, Calif. – While shipping costs (21%) and registration (20%) were the features that users said needed the most improvement respectively, consumers felt very comfortable purchasing from the Web's top online retailers on Cyber Monday.

Seattle – Starbucks has priced an underwritten public offering of senior notes. The company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering of $400 million of 0.875% senior notes due 2016 and $350 million of 2.000% senior notes due 2018 to fund a portion of the payment required by the previously announced arbitration award in the Kraft litigation matter.

New York -- Investor Engaged Capital LLC has urged Abercrombie & Fitch to start a search for a new chief executive officer and consider selling the company, Bloomberg reported. The company owns less than 1% of the retailer’s shares outstanding.

Steady as she goes. That old nautical phrase, urging a firm hand on the wheel and an unwavering eye on the compass, seems apt for today’s retailers. While economic waters remain troubled, an improved economic forecast promises retailers a smoother route to profitability in 2014.