Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy’s announcement on Tuesday morning that its CEO Brian Dunn had resigned the company by mutual agreement has been updated with information that a review is being conducted concerning the former chief executive’s personal conduct.

Best Buy initially said that there were no disagreements or specific problems related to the retailer’s operations, financial controls or procedures. But later in the day on Tuesday it said the company was conducting an internal investigation into his “personal conduct.”

Minneapolis -- Best Buy’s announcement on Tuesday morning that its CEO Brian Dunn had resigned the company by mutual agreement has been updated with information that a review is being conducted concerning the former chief executive’s personal conduct.

Best Buy initially said that there were no disagreements or specific problems related to the retailer’s operations, financial controls or procedures. But later in the day on Tuesday it said the company was conducting an internal investigation into his “personal conduct.”

New York -- State and federal authorities in New Jersey broke up a multistate theft ring that stole merchandise from Home Depot Inc. stores by not ringing up all items at self-checkout counters, the Associated Press reported.

The thieves were active in about 70 Home Depot stores, mostly in New Jersey, and also in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

Toronto -- A spokesman for the Canadian Heritage Minister said Thursday that the government will conduct a review of Target’s store opening plans in the country to ensure its books, DVDs, music and other cultural products have enough Canadian content.

The review, which comes as Target is laying the groundwork to open in 2013 the first of 125 to 135 stores in former Zellers locations, falls under a “cultural heritage” provision in Canada’s foreign-takeover law.
 

Atlanta -- InComm, a leading third-party gift card provider, is following the example of American Express and is pulling out of New Jersey, effective June 30, rather than comply with changes in the unclaimed property law.

InComm supplies some 2,500 retail locations throughout New Jersey with cards for such brands as Visa, iTunes, Macy's, Subway, Chili's, and Lord & Taylor. InComm also announced the removal of its Vanilla Visa Gift Card and Vanilla MasterCard Gift Card products from the state.

Members of various community groups are not making it easy for Walmart to build in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. According to reports, several groups including the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) which appealed Walmart's approved building permits, are working to appeal the process. Read more.

By Tony Burton, [email protected]

Tax season is upon us and retailers are aiming to get all of their ducks in a row. Yet, there are a number of complicated tax issues that are difficult for retailers to manage and many will be worrying about audits and penalties after they have filed. During an audit, numerous U.S. retailers discover that inaccurate or outdated geolocational data has led them to take too much or too little tax on customer payments or employee withholdings.

New York -- American Express Co. has become the first company to pull its gift cards from being sold in New Jersey drug stores, supermarkets and convenience stores in response to a controversial new revision in the state's unclaimed property law. (The only way New Jersey residents can now buy AmEx gift cards is directly from the company.)

New York -- Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a Los Angeles community group, as filed an appeal against the building permits granted to Wal-Mart Stores to build a store in the city's Chinatown neighborhood, the Associated Press reported.

The chain obtained necessary permits to build a 33,000-sq-ft. store last week, one day before the City Council was due to vote on a building moratorium for large retail chains in Chinatown, the report said.
 

DALLAS — On orders of the U.S. Department of Defense, The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, will for the first time in its 116-year history, name a civilian to the role of CEO/director.

Until such a person is named, COO Mike Howard will take over as acting CEO/director as the organization’s board of directors seeks a permanent replacement.