Consumer Affairs & Relations

New York -- J.C. Penney chairman and CEO Ron Johnson on Monday sent out an email to the chain’s customers  detailing how it is returning to the pricing policies its founder James Cash Penney intended.

"While you will see many changes, you can rest assured that we'll never lose sight of our founder's values," Johnson wrote. "When James Cash Penney built his first retail stores over a century ago, he called them 'The Golden Rule,' because treating customers with respect was his highest priority."

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will adjust its future financial reports to add more detail on legal proceedings and cyber security after U.S. regulators asked the retailer to better explain certain matters in its latest quarterly and annual filings, Reuters reported.
   
Wal-Mart's correspondence with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission took place in June and July and was made public on Monday.

Asheville, N.C. -- Ingles Markets’ new store in Mills River, N.C., has received an Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that recognizes the energy efficiency of the store’s design. The store was awarded the certification after meeting strict EPA guidelines for the estimated energy use of the building.

Best Buy founder and former chairman Richard Schulze on Monday offered to buy the struggling retailer and take it private for as much as $8.8 billion. Schulze said he would offer Best Buy shareholders between $24 and $26 for each of their shares in the chain, according to a letter sent to the board that he made public.

DALLAS — A lawyer representing former Tuesday Morning CEO Kathleen Mason asserts the closeout retailer fire her upon learning she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Kathleen Mason, the former President and CEO of the Dallas-based, closeout retailer, has filed charges of disability discrimination against her former employer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
 

GLENDALE, Calif. — Paul Grimwood, CEO of Nestlé UK and Ireland, has been appointed to the role of chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA following the announcement by current chairman and CEO Brad Alford, who is to retire in October 2012.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said that its same-store sales fell 7% in July as its split with Express Scripts continued to hurt its top line. (The two companies last month reached an agreement to resume doing business, but that doesn't start until Sept. 15.)

The company's pharmacy same-store sales were down 9.7%, while front end sales fell 2.4%. The performance missed analyst expectations.
 

Dallas -- Kathleen Mason, former president and CEO of Tuesday Morning Corp., has filed disability discrimination charges against the retailer, alleging she was removed after disclosing to the board that she was battling breast cancer.

"The board's attitude toward Kathleen changed after it learned of her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment,’ said attorney Roger Dunn, of Clouse Dunn Dunn LLP, Dallas, who is representing Mason, in a statement on Friday.

PLEASANTON, Calif. and FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Retailers of discounted apparel should feel pretty good heading into back-to-school season, as shown by the strong monthly performance of Ross Stores and TJX Cos. With both delivering another month of comps growth, it’s clear value-oriented stores remain popular with consumers.

Sales at Ross increased 12% to $709 million for the month, up from $635 million for same period last year. Comparable-store sales for the month grew 7% on top of a 7% increase last year.

RESTON, Va. — Beauty brand L'Oréal USA is leveraging Clarabridge, a provider of sentiment and text analytics for customer experience management, to monitor what is being said in real time about its 27 brands across social media outlets, including website reviews, product reviews, blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

The move will enable L'Oréal USA to automatically route consumer insight to the right people and more effectively engage with its consumers.