Consumer Affairs & Relations

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Big 5 Sporting Goods announced that it has appointed Dominic DeMarco to serve on its board of directors, thereby expanding the board to seven members. DeMarco is director, co-chief investment officer and chief compliance officer for Stadium Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm whose affiliated funds have been shareholders of Big 5 since 2006 and taken together are the company's largest current shareholder.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation said it welcomed a proposal unveiled by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., to reform the nation’s corporate tax structure.

New York City -- The U.S. retail industry will perform in line with sluggish U.S. GDP growth through 2012 as persistent unemployment, stock market volatility and economic gloom weigh on consumer confidence and spending, according to a new report by Moody's Investors Service.
 

Deerfield, Ill. -- First Lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday toured a Walgreens store on Chicago’s South Side to view the company’s efforts to fight the childhood obesity epidemic and provide better food options and accessible health care to under-served communities.

The event was part of a mayoral summit hosted by the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation announced that it has asked the Commerce Department to delay implementation of a controversial plan to vastly expand Internet domain names, saying retailers and other businesses need more information before moving forward.

WAYNE, N.J. — The Toys"R"Us Children's Fund announced it will award $1 million in grants to 54 nonprofit organizations supporting children in the state of New Jersey. The grants will be distributed to the selected charities by Dec. 31 through the Fund's statewide giving initiative, which launched in March. According to the company, the grants will help to alleviate economic challenges and sustain organizations that favorably impact children across New Jersey, where both the Fund and Toys"R"Us Inc. are headquartered.

AUSTIN, Texas — Whole Foods announced that in just six weeks, its shoppers donated more than $2 million in stores and online to support the School Garden Grant Program, the first major initiative of the Whole Kids Foundation. In partnership with FoodCorps, the Foundation will fund $2,000 grants for schools in the United States and Canada to support the launch or expansion of school gardens.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it has donated $5 million to the Smithsonian Institution to support the construction of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C.

The NMAAHC was established in 2003 by Congress, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. It will be the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, art, history and culture.

CHICAGO — At an event Tuesday in Chicago, Supervalu announced that it will open a Save-A-Lot store in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, bringing thae total number of Save-A-Lot stores in the Chicagoland area to 14. Supervalu, which said it is opening the store as part of its commitment to helping eliminate food deserts nationally, made the announcement alongside First Lady Michelle Obama and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The Lawndale store will open by the end of November. 

Issaquah, Wash. — Costco Wholesale's donations to a Washington state voter initiative that would legalize liquor sales by private retailers have broken state records, according to published reports.