Attitudes: Retailers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The retired head of Midwestern supermarket chain Hy-Vee took home the top honor at a recent supermarket industry conference.

The Food Marketing Institute said Monday that it gave its most prestigious honor — the Sidney R. Rabb Award for excellence in serving the consumer, the community and the industry — to retired Hy-Vee chairman and CEO Ric Jurgens at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference.

New York -- The National Retail Federation board of directors said Monday it has adopted a resolution directing NRF to “strongly encourage” Congress to enact comprehensive tax reform in 2013, and it set out a list of principles aimed at achieving tax policy that would boost the economy and encourage job growth.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by Bloomberg showed that consumer sentiment climbed last week and U.S. companies added more workers than projected in December.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 31.8 in the period ended Dec. 30, its highest since April, from minus 32.1 a week earlier, according to the report. Figures from the ADP Research Institute showed a 215,000 increase in employment, the largest since February, while the Labor Department said more Americans filed claims for jobless benefits last week.

It’s common to see BMWs, Mercedes and other luxury makes in Walmart parking lots, but a new study reported on by Ad Age reveals wealthier shoppers prefer Amazon.com

NEW YORK — The Toy Fair has added a new feature to its 110th annual trade show called, “Content Connection.” The new addition to the show is designed to serve the needs of growing number of licensors, brand owners and entertainment executives that annually flock to the largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere.

By Phillip M. Perry

Overcast with clearing skies — That’s the economic forecast from a major research firm as retailers enter a new year. Drizzly conditions will remain at least for the first half of 2013 as consumers hold tight to their pocketbooks. By the summer, though, light should break through the clouds as the resolutions of critical national uncertainties encourage corporate hiring, capital investment and consumer spending.

Evanston, Ill. -- Many consumers who visit a store but then buy online are not driven there by price alone, but rather by a less-than-satisfactory in-store experience, according to results from the annual holiday shopping report by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Retail Industry Leaders Association president Sandy Kennedy has responded to the White House report predicting the massive tax increases consumers could face if policymakers fail to avert the fiscal cliff.

The report was authored by the National Economic Council and the National Council of Economic Advisors.