Consumer Affairs & Relations

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores and Kroger are said to be among the bidders for assets being sold by Hostess Brands Inc., according to Bloomberg.

The report, which cited a person who asked not to be named because the process is confidential, said there are about two dozen bidders, with some interested in just the cakes or breads businesses, and others in individual Hostess plants or products.
 

Never ones to let a good disaster go to waste, anti-Walmart forces have alerted the media to an event being held outside Walmart’s Washington, DC office.

Walmart has taken a lot of heat since last month when it was learned that a factory in Bangladesh where 112 people died in fire was being used by a Walmart supplier. Even though the facility was not on Walmart’s list of approved facilities, the incident renewed sentiment that Walmart’s quest for low prices causes its suppliers to cut corners.

New York -- Best Buy Co. on Friday said it agreed to extend the deadline to Feb. 28 for founder Richard Schulze to make a bid for the company.

The company said it is in the best interest of shareholders to let Schulze and his partners include results from the holiday season in their due diligence review.

WASHINGTON — An issue related to drawstrings has resulted in Bon-Ton agreeing to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $450,000.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission alleges that the fashion retailer knowingly failed to report to the commission that its children's hooded jackets and sweatshirts were sold with drawstrings through the hood. The penalty agreement has been provisionally accepted by the commission in a 3-0 vote.

New York -- Star Avenue Capital announced that it has acquired a minority ownership position in It’Sugar, Deerfield Beach, Fla., a growing specialty candy and gift chain. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Star Avenue is partnering with It’Sugar CEO and founder Jeff Rubin and existing investor Prentice Consumer Partners to provide the resources and strategic guidance to support the brand’s rapid expansion. The company currently has over 50 retail locations across 13 states and four international markets.

Restoration Hardware doesn’t operate many stores, but it is enjoying tremendous momentum at the ones it does operate.

Former Best Buy chairman Richard Schulze is reportedly close to reaching an agreement to buy the company he founded, according to a Minneapolis Star Tribune report citing a source close to the situation.

Shoppers in many markets have to drive past one of Dollar General’s more than 10,000 stores before they get to their local Walmart, a situation that will intensify in 2013.

Dollar General is opening stores so fast its store count sometimes changes multiple times throughout the day. It surpassed 10,000 units earlier this year and by the end of the company third quarter on November 2, it had opened 479 out of 625 stores planned for 2012. Next year, 635 new units are planned and by the end of next year the company’s store count will be in the vicinity of 11,000 stores.