Consumer Affairs & Relations

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The charitable arm of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores has elected three new members to its board of directors.

The board, which now will expand to 23 members for 2012-2013, include Rite Aid's SVP and chief communications officer Susan Henderson; GlaxoSmithKline VP channel development and sales Joseph Kucharski; and Pfizer Worldwide Pharmaceuticals VP corporate government customers David Moules.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores said Monday that Dorlisa K. Flur, vice chair-strategy and chief administrative officer, plans to leave the company to pursue other interests, effective May 2.

Flur joined Family Dollar in 2004 as SVP strategy and business development.

New York -- Coach Inc. posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, benefiting from strong sales and improved margins. The company also announced that its board of directors has voted to increase its cash dividend by 33%.

Net income for the third quarter ended on March 31 was a better-than-expected $225 million compared with $186 million a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 16.6% to $1.11 billion, just above analysts’ expectations. Same-store sales in the United States rose 6.7%.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Co. has announced a partnership to open a store inside each of the six Disney properties in California and Florida.

The first will open this summer, at Disneyland California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif. Starbucks will be located in the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Café on Buena Vista Street, which is designed to transport patrons to 1920s Los Angeles. The store’s location plays off the Spanish/Mexican architecture of the period, and Starbucks baristas will wear 1920s-inspired attire.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores confirmed that it is investigating its operations in Mexico for possible violations of the U.S. law that prohibits bribery overseas. The acknowledgement came in response to a lengthy article by The New York Times on Saturday that alleged the giant discounter first learned of allegations of "widespread bribery" by its workers in the country in 2005 and that top executives subsequently covered them up. 

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores confirmed that it is investigating its operations in Mexico for possible violations of the U.S. law that prohibits bribery overseas. The acknowledgement came in response to a lengthy article by The New York Times on Saturday that alleged the giant discounter first learned of allegations of "widespread bribery" by its workers in the country in 2005 and that top executives subsequently covered them up. 

Walmart held another one of its sustainability milestone meetings this week and webcast the event live from the auditorium at its home office. By the time the hour-and-a-half event was over the senior executives who participated had delivered a clear and consistent message around the company’s wide-ranging sustainability efforts.

PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo has appointed Jim Wilkinson to lead the company's global communications team.