Corporate Responsibility

The White House recently hosted a daylong Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection at Stanford University. Speakers ranged from President Barack Obama to Apple CEO Tim Cook to Walgreens president Alex Gourlay). Here are a few takeaways.

Retailers Recognize Chip and PIN

Montreal - Dollarama Inc. has named Elisa D. Garcia, executive VP and chief legal officer of Office Depot Inc., as an independent director and member of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Garcia’s appointment expands the corporation’s board of directors to 10 directors, seven of whom are independent.

In a move that could alter political debate and improve the image of the world's largest retailer, Walmart announced that it will raise the minimum wage of its employees to as much as $10 per hour by 2016. The decision has received mixed reaction.

Here's a sampling of the analysis of Walmart's big announcement.

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp announced that David J. Oakes has been named the company’s new CEO, effectively immediately. Oakes has been DDR’s president and CFO since January 2013, and was senior executive VP and CFO for the three years prior. He succeeds Daniel Hurwitz, who stepped down December 31 by mutual agreement.

"After a thorough and robust search process, the board is confident that David is the right person to lead DDR into the future," said chairman Terry Ahern.

Kohl’s is standing behind its stated mission to “give back” to the communities it serves by announcing that it donated nearly $18 million in 2014.

The community grants benefited more than 8,500 nonprofits across the country in 2014 through Kohl’s best-in-class Associates in Action (AiA) volunteer program.

Whole Foods is putting its motto -- whole foods, whole people, whole planet -- to the test with a new initiative to alleviate poverty through microcredit.

The retailer is partnering with its own Whole Planet Foundation on an effort to raise $5 million in 42 days to fund microlending programs worldwide.

Retailers who sell Nestle candy may soon be hearing a lot from their customers about changes in the taste or color of their favorite confections.

That’s because Nestlé has pledged to remove all artificial flavors and colors from its chocolate and sweets in the United States.

London – Leading U.K. supermarket chain Tesco plc is reportedly considering laying off as many as 10,000 employees in response to poor profit performance. According to the Sunday Telegraph, Tesco may lay off up to 6,000 employees from its head office and 43 stores the retailer already announced it will close, and eliminate the rest by streamlining operations.

Jobs eliminated by streamlining would include executive positions. In January, Tesco said it would shutter 43 stores with as many as 2,000 resulting layoffs.
 

Describing cyberspace as the new "wild, wild West," President Barack Obama on Friday said that while everyone expects the government to be the sheriff, the private sector must do more to stop cyberattacks.

He also called for the passage of a single national standard requiring consumers to be notified within 30 days if their financial or personal data is stolen.

Michaels is broadening is involvement with a global charity focused on improving the health of children and families.

Michaels and its subsidiary Aaron Brothers have supported Starlight since 2010. The expanded partnership will increase the company's involvement through a wide range of programs that include corporate contributions, in-store promotions, customer donation programs, associate-driven events and giving, vendor engagement, product donations and more.