Consumer Affairs & Relations

NEW YORK -- Target continues to pull ahead of Walmart in the value retail category, according to a recent Harris poll. The company was named the 2011 Harris Poll Equitrend value retail brand of the year. This is the second consecutive year Target has led the way in the value retail category.

Target lead the way with a ranking of 74.1, while Walmart had a ranking of 70.8. The industry average in the value retail category was 67.3.

New York City -- A poll released Thursday by Harris Interactive named Target Corp. as its Value Retail Brand of the Year.

According to the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study, Target has the strongest consumer brand equity among retail brands. Overall, awards are given in each of 46 different categories.

This is the second consecutive year Target has led the way in the Value Retail category, with the gap between runner-up Wal-Mart increasing.  

The complexities of running a retail business combined with low margins prevalent in the mass market leave little room for error when it comes to achieving operating profitability. For any retailer to produce a profit is quite an accomplishment, and in the case of Walmart it is even more impressive when factoring in some of the extracurricular activities that go on in its stores.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Walmart announced that, through the Walmart Foundation, it has donated $319 million in cash and $480 million in in-kind contributions around the globe during the fiscal year ending Jan. 31. According to Walmart, the company's U.S. giving grew by 64%, largely due to donations of produce, meats, poultry and other nutritious food to local food banks from Walmart stores, Sam's Club locations and distribution centers.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market announced that it has relaunched its Design-A-Bag contest, inviting Fresh & Easy customers to design and vote on the grocer's next reusable bag. Customers can submit their original bag designs at www.freshandeasy.com/designabag through May 15. Based on feedback Fresh & Easy has expanded the contest this year to anyone 13 years of age or older in Arizona, California and Nevada.

HOUSTON — Sharps Compliance's TakeAway envelope solution is making its way to Kroger and its family of stores.

Kroger, which operates stores under several banners across 31 states, will offer the the medication disposal envelopes at its pharmacy counters. The goal: To offer a safe and environmentally-responsible means of disposing unused, expired or unwanted noncontrolled prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Kroger joins such retailers as Rite Aid, which recently implemented Sharps Compliance's TakeAway program in its stores.

NEW YORK, NY -- Walmart has endured its fair share of criticism in the press, and now a new study reveals that the world's largest retailer has garnered some negative views in the realm of social media.

Accordin to Amplicate, an online opinion collating resource that claims to account for more than 80 million public opinions of social media users, there has been over 9,985 negative Walmart opinions (http://amplicate.com/hate/walmart) expressed on Twitter, Facebook and Amplicate within the last 3 months.

NEW YORK -- A good reputation -- whether warranted or not -- can do a lot for a company's bottom line. So those companies that found themselves at the top of Forbes' most reputable companies list have much to celebrate.