Consumer Affairs & Relations

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is working hard to improve its image with its latest announcement that its Acres for America program is conserving an additional 300 acres of land to protect and restore wildlife habitats in the heart of U.S. cities, including Bridgeport, Chicago, Portland, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.

New York -- Hudson + Broad, a New York City-based visual merchandising firm, is suing J.C. Penney Co. for $40 million. H+B is seeking $20 million in compensatory damages and an additional $20 million in punitive damages.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart announced that its Acres for America program is conserving an additional 300 acres of land to protect and restore wildlife habitats in the heart of U.S. cities, including Bridgeport, Chicago, Portland, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Ace Hardware ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Store Satisfaction Study. Ace has taken the top spot ever since J.D. Powers began researching the home improvement category six years ago.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp.’s net income surged a better-than-expected 18% in its fiscal second quarter, as its store traffic increased in most parts of the world. The coffee giant also raised its forecast for the year on the results and said it was accelerating its growth.

For the three months ended April 1, the company earned $309.9 million, compared with a profit of $261.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose to $3.2 billion, up from $2.79 billion a year ago. Same-store sales increased 7%.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Books-A-Million has named Todd Noden as Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, Noden will report to Terrance Finley, CEO and president of Books-A-Million. Noden will replace current CFO Brian White, who resigned to pursue other endeavors effective April 25.

Following up on last week’s article (One area where Amazon.com doesn’t have an advantage), the extent of that advantage in the U.S. was on display in the nation’s capitol this week.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation on Thursday urged the Federal Trade Commission to move cautiously in establishing regulations for mobile payments, and said any rules that are adopted should parallel those for the underlying form of payment and not be specific to the technology.

By Sam Khalilieh, [email protected]

Study after study has concluded that adding doors to medium temperature coolers (MTC) is a great solution for a variety of issues that plague grocery retailers. Whether looking at energy use, operational costs, product safety, or consumer comfort, there is no down side to adding doors. So why do so many overlook this very basic approach? This question has been puzzling me for a long time.

Mexico City -- A Wall Street Journal report on Thursday said that the Mexico’s Ministry of Public Functions – the country’s public-sector watchdog – will investigate new-store permits secured by Wal-Mart’s Mexico division, Wal-Mart de Mexico.

The agency is looking for misconduct on the part of federal government employees in granting construction and other permits, according to WSJ.