Consumer Affairs & Relations

New York -- Monday launched with heavily attended keynote addresses at the National Retail Federation’s 102nd BIG Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
    
Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan shared his views about the state of world politics, joined by moderator and Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren, who also is the outgoing chairman of the NRF.
    

New York -- The National Retail Federation board of directors said Monday it has adopted a resolution directing NRF to “strongly encourage” Congress to enact comprehensive tax reform in 2013, and it set out a list of principles aimed at achieving tax policy that would boost the economy and encourage job growth.

NEW YORK — The National Retail Federation has elected Saks chairman and CEO Stephen I. Sadove to chairman of the NRF board of directors and chairman of its executive committee. Sadove succeeds NRF’s chairman, Terry J. Lundgren, who is chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s.
 

New York -- The National Retail Federation on Monday announced that Saks Inc. chairman and CEO Stephen I. Sadove has been elected chairman of the NRF board of directors and chairman of its executive committee.

Sadove succeeds NRF’s immediate past chairman, Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s.

New York -- The National Retail Federation's 102nd Annual Convention & Expo, also referred to as Retail's BIG Show, opened on Sunday, with more than 27,000 attendees from more than 70 countries around the globe. The event, taking place at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, runs through Jan. 15.

New York -- Two armed men invaded a Nordstrom Rack in Los Angeles on Thursday night and took 14 employees captive, sexually assaulting one, injuring three others and locking the detainees in a storage room for hours, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The hours-long hostage drama ended early Friday with a police SWAT team surging into the shop and rescuing 14 workers. The armed men escaped.

Washington, D.C. -- The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to minus 34.4 in the seven days ended Jan. 6 from minus 31.8 the prior period, the biggest one-week drop since August. Jobless claims increased by 4,000 to 371,000 in the week ended Jan. 5, according to Labor Department figures.

UL has more than doubled its product testing capability by relocating to a new 48,000-sq.-ft. facility in Enfield, CT.

The company, whose ubiquitous UL trademark appears on all manner of products, said the relocation will enable it to more efficiently meet the growing demand for the company’s analytical, physical, performance and compliance testing of consumer products for retailers and manufacturers doing business in the U.S.