Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

NEW YORK  — Republican and Democrat retail executives both have something to look forward to in 2012 as former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are scheduled to speak at major industry events.

Clinton is first up at the National Retail Federation annual convention in New York on Jan.16, while Bush will serve as the keynote speaker at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. April 21 to 24. 

New York City -- Lee Scott, the former CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, sold 100,000 shares in the company on Friday, reducing his direct stake in the company by about 14%, according to a filing released late on Tuesday, Barrons reported.

Scott sold the shares for $57.17 each on average. He still owns about 607,000 shares directly, not including any options he may still have, the report said. Scott had not sold shares since March 2010, when he also sold about $5.7 million worth, according to InsiderScore.com.
 

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation urged the House Judiciary Committee to support legislation that would require Internet retailers to collect sales tax the same as local merchants, saying online sellers have a price advantage that is “stifling” Main Street stores’ ability to compete.

It seemed like such a great idea at the time. On Nov. 17, we reported that mall owner Forest City had hatched this innovative plan to monitor shopping patterns at two of its shopping centers by tracking patrons’ cell phones during the holiday 2011 season, beginning Black Friday.

By Julie S. Lucht, [email protected]

New York City -- Family Dollar hasn’t faced much community opposition during an ambitious decade-long expansion program that has left the company with roughly 7,000 stores in 45 states. However, there is a first time for everything and residents in the North Carolina community of Carrboro are pushing back against the retailer’s efforts to open a new store.

New York City -- Five state leaders in India made clear over the weekend their unwillingness to let foreign retailers set up shop in the country, the Associated Press reported.

Parliament adjourned Monday in an uproar over the issue and Communist Party-controlled trade unions have pledged to strike Thursday, the report said, and some politicians even threatened to burn down foreign stores that open under the new rules.

New York City -- A coalition of retail organizations, including the National Retail Federation, the Food Marketing Institute and the National Association of Convenience Stores, have filed a lawsuit charging that the Federal Reserve failed to comply with a new law requiring it to reduce fees bank charge retailers when shoppers use credit cards.

The law, which went into effect Oct. 1, said that banks could charge a maximum of 21 cents when consumers use a debit card, down from an average of 44 cents per transaction.