Consumer Affairs & Relations

RACINE, Wis. — SC Johnson is marking its 90th anniversary of donating to the local United Way.

For nearly a century, the family-owned company known for brands such as Glade, Pledge and Scrubbing Bubbles has donated more than $50 million in cumulative contributions to the local nonprofit organization.

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon isn’t running for elected office, but he sure sounded like a politician earlier this week as he laid out a three-tiered plan the retail industry can implement to restore U.S. economic growth.

JACKSON, Miss. — Cal-Maine Foods, the nation’s largest egg producer, has elevated two operations executives. Kevin Lastowski and Chris Myers have both been promoted to VP of operations.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma reported that its revenue increased 4.8% to $1.01 billion for the nine-week period ended Dec.30.The company also backed its fourth-quarter and full-year forecast.

Williams-Sonoma will discuss its performance in more detail in March when it releases its fourth quarter results.

Company president and CEO Laura Alber said the chain's performance reflected the strength of its brands even amid a time of consumer uncertainty and intense promotional activity across the retail industry.

Wayne, N.J. -- The Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund announced it has made a $1 million donation to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, created by New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie and First Lady Mary Pat Christie to aid, comfort and rebuild the Garden State in the wake of the devastation that impacted so many children and families.
 

New York -- Jerry McDougal, retail VP for Apple Inc., will be leaving the company, according to a Wednesday report by Bloomberg.

He will be replaced by Jim Bean, a VP in Apple’s finance division.

Company spokesman Steve Dowling told Bloomberg that Bean will be an apt replacement for McDougal, who served under former CEO Ron Johnson for many years.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer said Tuesday it has named J.K. Symancyk president of the company, effective Feb. 3. Symancyk was named COO of Meijer last year.

“I am pleased to introduce J. K. as our next company president," said Hank Meijer, co-chairman and CEO. "J. K. has been a key member of our leadership team, including most recently as our COO, and he has played an important role in the growth and success of Meijer since joining us in 2006."

New York -- A report released Wednesday by MasterCard revealed that Canadian retail sales, which grew just 1.6% in December, trailed the U.S., which also posted less than stellar results for the month.

Sales in the U.S. advanced 2.4% in December.

Canada’s results were particularly disappointing, considering the country’s December sales grew 4.3% in December 2011, according to MasterCard’s SpendingPulse report.

New York -- Total holiday retail sales increased 3% to $579.8 billion, below the National Retail Federation s projected forecast of 4.1%. Non-store holiday sales grew 11%, below the 12% growth forecast by Shop.org. (The NRF sales figures exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants.)

“For over six months, we’ve been saying that the fiscal cliff and economic uncertainty could impact holiday sales. As the number shows, these issues had a visible impact on consumer spending this holiday season,” said Matthew Shay, CEO, NRF.

New York -- Monday launched with heavily attended keynote addresses at the National Retail Federation’s 102nd BIG Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
    
Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan shared his views about the state of world politics, joined by moderator and Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren, who also is the outgoing chairman of the NRF.