Consumer Affairs & Relations

Seattle -- A Tuesday report by the Seattle Times said that Eddie Bauer chief Neil Fiske, who joined the retailer in 2007 and led it through bankruptcy, will leave his post effective March 2.

The company has not given a reason for Fiske’s sudden departure. David Chamberlain, executive chairman, will serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is named. Fiske will remain with the company as a consultant to ensure a smooth transition.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark on Tuesday released an economic impact study of its contribution to the economy of its headquarters state of Rhode Island.

The Pricewaterhouse Coopers-conducted study showed that the company's Rhode Island operations contributed more than $1.2 billion to Rhode Island's GDP in 2010, approximately 12,000 jobs, $831 million in labor income, and $116 million in state and local taxes.

Target was ranked 27th on the 2012 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study behind five notable retailers and in roughly the same position with the same score as the prior year, the market research firm announced on Monday.

Target is looking to get ahead of the curve in major media markets by placing communications executives in such places as Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto in addition to those at the Minneapolis home office, Ad Age reported on Monday.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market announced that two regional presidents, David Lannon and Ken Meyer, have been promoted to executive VPs of operations, joining the executive leadership team. The company's 12 regional presidents will report to them.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — As the Greenpeace's most sustainable U.S. grocer for seafood, Safeway already has a sterling reputation for providing its customers with a wide variety of responsibly-sourced fish. Now, the company is taking that even further by announcing that its Safeway brand skipjack (chunk-light) canned tuna will be responsibly caught using free-school purse-seine methods. The company will transition to the purse-seine method by the end of the year.

Retail aficionados will recognize the headline above as the long-running tagline for Syms, the recently liquidated off-price apparel retailer. While things didn’t work out as founder Sy Syms or his CEO daughter Marcy had planned, Walmart is looking to apply similar logic about educated consumers to the area of nutrition, healthy eating and smart shopping.

By Craig R. Johnson, [email protected]