Consumer Affairs & Relations

By Martin Walker and Martin Walker, A.T. Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council

The fastest-growing age group worldwide in this century will be people over the age of 60. What must retailers and manufacturers know to adapt to this older consumer group? In the first-ever international survey of consumers over the age of 60, A.T. Kearney interviewed 3,000 people in 23 countries to find out what mature consumers want. The short answer: prices and labels they can read, packaging they can open, and more places to sit down in stores.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores will hold its annual meeting in Rogers, Ark., near its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters on Wednesday, and said the meeting focus will be on reversing the decline in its U.S. Walmart stores’ business.

The retailer is also expected to share information about its upcoming holiday strategies and discuss capital spending plans.

New York City -- Gov. Jerry Brown of California vetoed a bill that would have required comprehensive economic-impact reports before big-box superstores could begin construction.

The bill, the Small and Neighborhood Business Protection Act, would have required supercenters to address more than a dozen possible economic side-effects, including job losses if competitors faltered.

New York City -- The National Retail Federation has announced that President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote address at the NRF’s 101st Annual Convention in New York City.

Clinton, who will speak on "Embracing our Common Humanity,” will deliver his address on Jan 16, 11 a.m. 12 p.m.

CHICAGO — Sue Klug, president of the Southern California division of Supervalu, has been awarded the Bobbie O'Hare Award for outstanding service to the Network of Executive Women.

NEW YORK — Supermarket chain Stop & Shop will work with Foodshare to sponsor events at its stores in Hartford, Conn., to help qualifying residents access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit.

About 70% of Connecticut residents who qualify for SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, actually receive the benefit, Stop & Shop said. This is because of such issues as language barriers, lack of transportation or lack of knowledge of the program.

The departure last week of Target chief marketing officer and spearhead of the retailer’s entry into Canada, Michael Francis, was a significant development in the retail world, but someone forgot to tell the company’s suppliers.

It is still very early in the holiday season and anything could happen from a pricing perspective. However, with that as a caveat, it appears Target and Walmart are in a virtual dead heat when it comes to toy pricing, according to a survey by Citigroup’s senior retail analyst Deb Weinswig.

On March 22, 2011, Canadian retailer tb!s The Bargain Shop named top American retail executive Beryl “Jack” Buley as its new president and CEO.  A week later, on March 29, I sat down with Buley to discuss his new position for our then-upcoming June/July issue.  Eight weeks later, he was dead.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores was ordered to temporarily halt operations at seven stores in the city of Chongqing in southwest China, as the local government investigates accusations that it mislabeled some pork products as organic.

The company, which was ordered to pay $421,000 over the incident, apologized to shoppers for any inconvenience and said it was cooperating with authorities.