Consumer Affairs & Relations

Wolverine Worldwide has appointed Ira P. Hernowitz as president of the Stride Rite Children's Group.

Hernowitz most recently served as EVP of "R" Us Brands for Toys “R” Us, Inc. He has served in a variety of leadership roles throughout his career, and deep experience in children's products.

Shopko continues to make good on its growth initiative with the opening of five new Shopko Hometown stores in November.  

The retailer opened the doors Monday to three Shopko Hometown stores in Ellsworth, Wis.; St. Peter, Minn.; and Winneconne, Wis. Two more openings are planned on Nov. 11 for Afton, Wyo., and Tomahawk, Wis. Shopko operates 330 stores in the Midwest, North Central, Mountain West and Pacific Northwest regions, including — with the five new locations — 180 Shopko Hometown stores.

Fremont, Calif. -- Men’s Wearhouse again rejected a $2.3 billion takeover bid by Jos. A. Bank, refusing to allow it confidential access to its books. Last week, Jos. A. Bank sent a letter to Men’s Wearhouse, hinting that it might raise its proposed takeover offer above $48 a share if it was allowed to conduct due diligence.

In a statement on Monday, Men’s Wearhouse once again reiterated its belief that its own turnaround plan would be better for shareholders.

Von Maur has opened its first location in Alabama, just outside of Birmingham, at Riverchase Galleria in Hoover. The 185,000-sq.-ft. store is one of the largest locations in the country.

Bank holding company Green Dot and Walmart have expanded the line of MoneyCard branded reloadable prepaid debit cards to include six new card types.

Prior to the latest agreement, Green Dot offered three version of prepaid debit products at 4,100 Walmart stores.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix reported net earnings for the third quarter fell 2.3% to $359.9 million, compared to $368.4 million in the year ago period.

Sales for the third quarter were $7 billion, up 5.6% from last year’s $6.7 billion. Same-store sales rose 4.1%.

Grocer Harris Teeter credited its pricing and promotional strategies for driving unit sales and customer visits, which led to increased net and same-store sales for fiscal 2013.

For fiscal 2013, sales rose 3.8% to $4.71 billion from $4.54 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales for the year increased 2.23%.

Naperville, Ill. -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved the merger of Office Max Inc. and Office Depot, the retailers said in a joint statement on Friday. The companies anticipate completing the transaction after market close on November 5, 2013.