Consumer Affairs & Relations

DALLAS — Zale Corp. announced that Subha Ramesh has been named SVP real estate. Ramesh will report to Matt Appel, chief administrative officer.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association on Tuesday issued a statement in response to Bank of America’s decision to abandon its plan to charge new fees on debit card users.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores said Tuesday it has named Beth MacDonald to the position of VP – assistant general counsel and assistant secretary.

MacDonald, previously a partner in the Charlotte office of law firm Alston & Bird, joined Family Dollar in 2010 as divisional counsel - securities and was promoted to assistant general counsel in April.
 

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Stores reported Monday a loss of $24.1 million in the fiscal first quarter, compared with a loss of $76.8 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 3.1% to $1.59 billion, from $1.54 billion last year, helped by success from its gas-related reward program. Sales just missed Wall Street’s expected $1.6 billion in revenue.

Same-store sales rose 3.3%. During the quarter, the company opened two additional transformational remodeled stores that Winn-Dixie continues to monitor for additional roll-out.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Earth911, an organization that gathers, distributes and analyzes localized recycling information to assist manufacturers, organizations and consumers with product end-of-life solutions, announced that Patricia Kimball, Ph.D., has joined the company as VP retail strategy group.

“Her understanding and experience with implementing end-of-life solutions is directly relevant to Earth911’s corporate mission and goals. We’re thrilled to have Patty join our team of experts.”

New York City -- Walmart is scaling back from its round-the-clock, 24-hour operating schedule at select U.S. locations, according to USA Today.

The decision on whether to keep stores open 24 hours is a store-to-store decision, the report said, and does not mean the chain as a whole is retreating from its 24-hour format.

Click here to read the full story.

AUSTIN — Whole Foods is supporting Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign with several promotions:

• Whole Foods will match donations up to $25,000 of funds donated online, WholeFoodsMarket.com/holidays, to the cause;

• When shoppers purchase gift cards from Nov. 16 through Dec. 31, Whole Foods will donate $1 for every card purchased to No Kid Hungry;

San Francisco -- Four months after the Supreme Court tossed out a huge class-action lawsuit by female Walmart employees who claimed they were discriminated against by the world’s largest retailer, a smaller, regionalized group of employees has regrouped to file another gender-bias claim against Wal-Mart Stores.

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus announced Thursday that it had entered into agreements with Visa and MasterCard to begin, effective Nov. 1, accepting MasterCard and Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards at all 41 Neiman Marcus stores.

The luxury retailer had long been criticized for accepting only its private-label credit cards, American Express and cash.

"We listened to our customers and heard that they wanted more flexibility in their payment choices," said Karen Katz, president and CEO, Neiman Marcus.
 

New York City -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Panera Bread’s 35 Maryland locations are on EPA's list of top green power purchasers among retailers.
 
The company’s green power purchase of more than 11 million kilowatt hours for its 35 Maryland bakery-cafes is equivalent to avoiding the yearly carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 1,400 passenger vehicles or from more than 800 average American homes’ electricity use.