Public Relations

Kmart Ditches ‘Plus-Sized’ Labels for ‘Fabulously Sized’
September 12, 2017 at 11:23 am

Kmart’s new apparel ad campaign is all about celebrating — not marginalizing — “plus sized” women, while putting that full-figure label to rest for good. Kmart’s new "I Can” ad push fetes women of all shapes and sizes and marks the expansion of its signature brands (e.g., Joe Boxer, Basic Editions, Jaclyn Smith) to larger sizes…

Wal-Mart to Donate $20M for Hurricane Harvey Relief
September 1, 2017 at 12:32 pm

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has committed up to $20 million to areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas last weekend. "Our Texas family of customers and associates are experiencing devastating impact from this storm," Wal-Mart President and CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement on Wed., Aug. 30. "We are on the ground to…

Best Buy Accused of Price Gouging in Wake of Hurricane Harvey
August 30, 2017 at 9:57 am

Earlier this week, tweets surfaced showing a Best Buy store in Houston selling cases of water for more than $40 each in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Best Buy officials responded to the growing controversy on social media by telling CNBC that it doesn’t actually sell…

Home Depot Helps Texans Affected by Hurricane Harvey
August 28, 2017 at 2:07 pm

The Home Depot Inc. was one of several companies that helped people affected by Hurricane Harvey, the Category 4 hurricane that devasted portions of Texas with catastrophic rains and flooding over the weekend. On Saturday, The Home Depot activated its Disaster Response Command Center at its store support center in Atlanta. There, the company's merchandising,…

Trump Again Goes After Amazon on Taxes
August 18, 2017 at 11:23 am

President Trump renewed his attack on Amazon.com Wednesday, tweeting that the e-commerce giant is "doing great damage to tax-paying retailers" and removing jobs in cities. Trump's blistering tweet was issued hours after The Washington Post — the newspaper owned by Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos — ran an editorial with the headline, "Mr. Trump gives comfort to racists." Total…

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank Quits Trump Panel
August 15, 2017 at 11:37 am

Under Armour founder Kevin Plank became the second CEO to resign from President Donald J. Trump’s advisory jobs panel on Monday after the president was widely criticized for not quickly denouncing groups that marched at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend. Plank’s statement, issued Monday evening, made no mention of the president…

Retail Right Now: July 21
July 21, 2017 at 10:52 am

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Associate Content Editor Taylor Knight reviews the top retail news of the week, including antitrust concerns around the Amazon-Whole Foods deal, Wal-Mart's marketplace ad containing a racial slur and L.L.Bean moving away from its traditional back-to-school catalog.

Wal-Mart Apologizes for Racial Slur on Marketplace Listing
July 18, 2017 at 2:23 pm

Wal-Mart is receiving major backlash for publishing an ad on its website that included a racial slur. Monday’s ad featured a wig cap for sale in which the color was described as "n----r brown." Wal-Mart has since removed the ad and told the Huffington Post that…

Wal-Mart Announces Guaranteed Pay for Military Workers
May 25, 2017 at 10:09 am

Wal-Mart wants to make sure its employees who take time off to serve in the military never have to take a pay cut. The company on Tuesday announced a new pay policy for all full-time and part-time workers who leave for voluntary or involuntary military assignments. Wal-Mart's pledge is to cover the difference in pay…