Consumer Affairs & Relations

The Clorox Company has updated its strategic growth plan. Called the 2020 Strategy, it focuses on delivering long-term, profitable growth through the year 2020 and builds upon the company's recently completed centennial strategy.

The National Retail Federation showed its Christmas spirit on Thursday by releasing a holiday forecast that calls for sales to increase 3.9% to $602 billion and assumes the President and Congress will be able to resolve their differences.

NRF’s forecasted growth rate of 3.9% is a solid figure and well above the 3.3% average growth rate of the past 10 years and ahead of last year’s 3.5% gain. In addition, the trade group’s Shop.org digital division forecast that online sales would grow between 13% and 15% to roughly $82 billion.

Walmart was an early proponent of compact fluorescent light bulbs and now, thanks to a collaboration with GE, it plans to introduce low cost LED light bulbs under its Great Value store brand.

San Bernardino, Calif. -- Stater Bros. Markets announced that its VP of real estate, Mike Slaton, died suddenly on Sept. 28.

As a tribute to Slaton, the new 44,000 sq. ft. Stater Bros. supermarket, which opened last week in Redlands, Calif., will be dedicated in his honor.

Shares of Burlington Stores surged more than 40% in their first day of trading as the company executed an initial public offering on Wednesday.

The retailer operates 503 stores primarily under the name Burlington Coat Factory and sold 13.3 million shares that were priced at $17, slightly above an earlier range of $14 to $16. The limited number of shares contributed to strong demand and at the open the stock price popped more than 40% and closed at $25.13.

Proceeds from the sale were estimated to total roughly $205 million which the company planned to use to repay debt.

Springfield, N.J. – Village Super Market reported net income of $6.2 million during fourth quarter 2013 and $25.8 million during the full fiscal year. These figures were respectively down 31% from $9 million and 18% from $31.4 million year-over-year.

The retailer cited the negative impact of higher expenses and lower gross profits as contributing to its drop in net income.

J.C. Penney is making headlines again thanks to shareholder Alan Marcus, who is suing the troubled department store chain because of its recent decision to build equity by issuing more than $800 million worth of new stock, which sent share values plunging, Reuters reported.

The report said Marcus, who bought 300 shares of Penney stock on Sept. 26 shortly before the new stock was announced, is trying to obtain class-action status for his suit.

Garden City, N.Y. — Beth L. Lamport, 70, executive VP with Sabre Real Estate Group LLC died Sept. 27 at her home in Port Washington.

The cause was uterine cancer. “She was a dynamo in the business,” said Kenneth Breslin, a Sabre principal.