Retail

Seattle – Starbucks has enacted small increases in the prices of less than one-third of its beverages in select markets. The increases, which average about 1%, affect smaller sizes of brewed coffee, tea, latte and espresso drinks. Larger venti- and grande-sized drinks will not have their prices changed.

Toano, Va. – Boston-based class action law firm Block & Leviton said it is investigating claims that Lumber Liquidators Holdings sold floors to consumers with illegal levels of formaldehyde. Independent testing conducted at two different IAS-certified laboratories has reportedly revealed formaldehyde levels as high 0.17 ppm, three-and-a-half times the government mandated maximum emission level, in Mayflower flooring.

New York – Barnes & Noble is releasing an updated Nook App for Windows 8 with a new user interface, faster performance and features including highlighting, annotations, dictionary lookup, find in books, improved shop and search functionality, and the ability to sideload ePub and PDF files from local drives.

Seattle – Brad Smith, president and CEO of Intuit Inc., has joined the board of directors of Nordstrom. Smith, who has been with Intuit since 2003, was named president and CEO in 2008. Prior to joining Intuit, Smith held sales, marketing and management roles with companies including ADP, PepsiCo, Seven-Up and Advo. He is also a former director of Yahoo.

Jacksonville, Fla. – Stein Mart has named Jay Stein, its interim CEO since September 2011, as permanent CEO. Stein has been chairman of Stein Mart’s board of directors since 1989 and will remain in that position. He also served as CEO from 1990 to 2001.

Annual study tracks cost of building and outftting stores

The cost of building and outfitting stores is on the rise, according to Chain Store Age's 2013 Store Construction and Outfitting Survey.

Washington, D.C. – A sizable majority of American consumers oppose efforts by the government to impose limits on the size of soft drinks and other sugary beverages sold in restaurants, according to results of a new Gallup poll. Sixty-nine percent of 1,015 consumers ages 18 and older said they would vote against a law limiting the size of sugary beverages to 16 oz.

Matthews, N.C. – A lawsuit filed against Family Dollar by Pipefitters Local No. 636 alleging that Family Dollar violated federal securities laws has been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff. Family Dollar had petitioned to have the suit dismissed, but Pipefitters Local No. 636 abandoned its claims before the court made a ruling. Family Dollar said it did not pay any money or make any concessions in relation to the claim being dropped.