Consumer Affairs & Relations

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. has appointed former senator and secretary of the interior Kenneth Salazar to its board of directors. He replaces Mary Dillon, who resigned from the board last month after being named CEO of Ulta Beauty.

Salazar, who recently began working for the law firm WilmerHale, served as a Democratic member of the Senate from Colorado from 2005 to 2009 and as interior secretary under the Obama administration from 2009 until earlier this year, when he was replaced by Sally Jewell. 

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets has officially unveiled 12 former Grand Union stores in eastern and northern New York under the Tops banner at grand re-opening ceremonies.

The new Tops branded stores include stores in Saratoga, Warrensburg, Warren, Franklin, Essex, Clinton and Fulton counties.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Leading home furnishings retailer Ikea has extended its partnership with ECOtality, a clean electric transportation and storage technologies company, and plans to add 24 Blink electric vehicle charging stations across eight more locations in the United States.

Brooklyn, Ohio – The Weiss family, which founded the public American Greetings greeting card company is now looking to take it private. As reported by Reuters, the Weiss family is raising an existing buyout offer of $18.20 per share to $19 per share.

The increased offer was contained in a regulatory filing made July 1.
 

DEARBORN, Mich. — Workwear brand Carhartt is collaborating with vehicle seat cover protection manufacturer Covercraft to deliver Carhartt duck seat protection for pickups, SUVs, vans and over-the-road work trucks.

New York -- Federal authorities have arrested a former Tiffany & Co. executive, charging her with stealing more than $1 million in jewelry and then reselling it for $1.3 million.

According to reports, Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun was arrested at her home in Darien, Conn. She was charged with wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property by the FBI, and could face up to 30 years in prison.

MONROE, Mich. — La-Z-Boy has nominated Michael T. Lawton to serve a one-year term on the company's board of directors. La-Z-Boy shareholders will get to vote at the annual meeting, Aug. 21.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney became the latest retail chain to say it will stop selling products associated with celebrity chef Paula Deen following her admission she has made racially derogatory remarks.

In addition, Ballantine Books has ended an agreement with her to publish five books. That agreement included "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up,” which was scheduled for release in October 2013 and had reached number one in presales on Amazon.com and the Barnes and Noble website.