Consumer Affairs & Relations

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Children will be returning to school in a matter of weeks, and many of them will be joining or returning to some sort of sporting activity. Enter Sports Authority, which is answering the need for sporting goods by opening six news stores on Aug. 13. The six new stores will open in five states nationwide, in the major markets of Miami, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Chicago and Milwaukee, the company reported.

The store locations will be as follows:

• Miami Beach, Fla. at 3401 N. Miami Ave.

YONKERS, N.Y. — Consumer Reports announced that its Index, which measures overall consumer sentiment, fell to its lowest level since December 2009 and registered its sharpest drop in two years, as recent events in Washington about the debt ceiling debate fixed attention on the weak economy.

The outlet mall industry has undergone a major transition during the past decade and has never been better positioned for future success. This is a significant change from 10 years ago when a stale product mix targeted to a transient shopper base had raised serious questions about the viability of the outlet mall.

Chicago -- A Tuesday report by NPD Group said that U.S. restaurant unit counts declined by 2%, which translates to a loss of 9,450 restaurants since last year.

According to the report, most of the total unit declines were independent restaurants. Chain restaurant unit counts remained relatively stable, according to NPD research.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. announced Monday it has named Susan Henderson as senior VP and chief communications officer to replace Karen Rugen, who retired last month.

Henderson previously worked for Chicago-based strategy execution and employment engagement firm Gagen MacDonald; before that, she was VP communications for Harley-Davidson. She has also worked for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. in Chicago, Kohl's Department Stores and the Miller Brewing Co.
 

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart announced that it has expanded check cashing and card cashing services at stores nationwide, including the ability to cash a payroll and eligible government benefits card to the penny.

The expansion includes cashing most types of pre-printed checks up to $5,000 and accepting more forms of ID for check cashing, as well as establishing Express Check Cashing check-out lanes at selected stores during peak hours, the company reported.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid has appointed Susan Henderson as SVP and chief communications officer to replace Karen Rugen, who retired last month, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

Henderson will be responsible for all aspects of corporate communications, including media relations, financial communications, issues management, associate and supplier communications and the company's charity initiatives, reporting to president and CEO John Standley.

CARLISLE, Pa. — Numerous strategies for combatting the epidemic of childhood obesity have emerged lately, but one could argue that among the most effective are those that happen where people get their food.

A slew of retailers are scheduled to report second-quarter earnings in the coming weeks and among the more highly anticipated reports are results from Walmart and Target. 

Walmart is due up first on Aug. 16 followed by Target on Aug. 17.

The nation’s retailers can hope back-to-school shoppers haven’t been paying attention to the steady dose of dire economic news facing the nation the past week, but that’s pretty unlikely considering this is the information age.