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Home Depot petitions delivered - see their response June 6, 2011 On Thursday, June 3, American Family Association delivered 474,161 petition signatures to Home Depot chairman Frank Blake. AFA also addressed the board of directors and shareholders during their annual meeting. AFA Vice-president Buddy Smith appealed to Chairman Blake to review Home Depot's extensive support for homosexual activism and direct the company toward neutrality in the culture war. Chairman Blake quickly discounted the petitions by reaffirming Home Depot's commitment to dedicating corporate resources to groups who advocate gay marriage and the advancement of homosexuality and transgenderism.

NEW YORK — The parent of Kmart stores is laying off 700 employees working in Kmart's appliance departments as it changes how the stores sell refrigerators, ovens and other appliances. Kmart spokesman Chris Brathwaite says the move will allow customers to check out appliances at any register rather than going to a dedicated register for appliances. But there also won't be any specialized appliance-only staff people on hand near appliances. Instead, all Kmart staffers are being trained to answer questions about appliances. There will also be a 1-800 number customers can call for help. The moves affect appliance specialists in...

<p>The drop in auto sales was 2.9 percent, the sharpest drop in 15 months. But it was due, in large part, to temporary factors: Buyers received fewer dealer incentives, and dealers ran short on popular fuel-efficient models. The natural disasters in Japan disrupted shipments of cars and component parts to the United States.</p>

Michelle Obama cannot seem to make her mind up if she likes expensive designers or cheap chains. Also known for wearing H&M and Target, the First Lady boarded a helicopter on Friday sporting a 'Impressionist Print Draped Dress' from Gap, retailing at $29.99. Her choice of cheaper chain clothing during times of recession makes endears her to a cash-strapped public. Not one to stick to a genre, she is also often spotted in very expensive attire from designers such as Alexander McQueen and Tracy Feith. Leaving the White House bound for presidential retreat Camp David, the style-queen wore the

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Sales at U.S. retailers decreased 0.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted $387.1 billion, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday, further evidence that the economy has hit a soft patch. This is the first decline in sales since last June. But details of the report were not all weak. While auto sales were down as expected, there was some strength in building materials and miscellaneous stores. See full report. Compared with May 2010, sales are up 7.7%. Sales rose an downwardly revised 0.3% in April, compared with a 0.5% increase originally reported.

Here is an AFA action alert Old Navy selling 'gay' shirts - donates profits to activists Old Navy selling 'gay' shirts - donates profits to activists How would you feel if you knew that 10% of your Old Navy purchase would be donated directly to a homosexual activist organization? http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147507169

You may soon feel the financial sting as soaring cotton costs work their way from the cotton fields, to the textile mill, to the apparel manufacturer, to the retailer, and finally to that new pair of pants or dress you’ve had your eye on...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Sales at U.S. retailers increased for the 10th straight month in April, further evidence that the economy’s moving ahead at a gradual pace, according to the government’s latest data. Retail sales rose 0.5% in April to a seasonally adjusted $389.4 billion, the Commerce Department estimated Thursday. March sales were revised up to show 0.9% growth from an initial estimate of 0.4% growth; February sales were revised higher as well. Compared with April 2010, sales are up 7.6%... Excluding a 0.2% increase in sales of motor vehicles, retail sales rose 0.6% for April. Economists had expected a 0.7%...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Wal-Mart's core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday. "We're seeing core consumers under a lot of pressure," Duke said at an event in New York. "There's no doubt that rising fuel prices are having an impact." Wal-Mart shoppers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, typically shop in bulk at the beginning of the month when their paychecks come in. Lately, they're "running out of money" at a faster clip, he said. Wal-Mart's ready...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is quietly bringing back rifles, shotguns and ammunition to hundreds of U.S. stores as the hurting retail giant seeks to reinvigorate its one-stop shopping appeal and attract more male customers. The world's largest retailer stopped selling hunting rifles and bullets at all but a third of its U.S. stores five years ago, citing diminishing sales. It is now restoring them to hundreds of locations, bringing the total to nearly half of its more than 3,600 U.S. namesake stores, as part of a larger push to restore "heritage categories" of merchandise such as fishing rods and bolts of...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The prices paid by American consumers rose sharply again in March, mainly because of higher gas and grocery costs, according to the latest government data. The consumer price index rose 0.5% last month, the Labor Department reported Friday. The so-called core rate rose a lesser 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected CPI, which tracks inflation at the retail level, to rise by 0.5% overall, or by 0.2% on a core basis.

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is launching a national TV ad campaign Monday highlighting its renewed focus on low prices and its price match policy in a bid to bring back customers who no longer trust it has the lowest prices. The campaign bears the slogan "Low Prices. Every Day. On Everything." "We have lost our customer confidence ... in having the lowest price," said Duncan MacNaughton, chief merchandising officer at Wal-Mart in an interview with The Associated Press. "Our company is determined to create the best one-stop shopping experience and low prices on the right products backed by...

First Carrefour, Now Best Buy Is Closing A Bunch Of Stores In China Gus Lubin Feb. 22, 2011, 8:42 AM There's a dark cloud hanging over the world's biggest consumer growth market. Last week the largest foreign retailer, Carrefour, began winding down franchises across China. Now Best Buy says it will close all nine of its stores in China. Best Buy will focus on developing a local chain it owns, Five Star, which sells cheaper products. Wal-Mart also lowered its outlook for next year. CEO Mike Duke ominously said “Some of the pricing and merchandising issues in Walmart ran deeper...

Shoppers increased retail sales 0.3% last month, the seventh straight gain but the weakest since June. Ex autos, sales also rose 0.6%, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Economists had expected a 0.5% overall gain and a 0.6% ex autos increase. January’s modest gains came amid brutal winter storms in much of the country. Then again, some analysts had expected late December sales to boost shopping last month. December sales were revised down a touch to 0.5% rise. January reflected the third straight month of decelerating gains.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it has dropped plans to build a superstore near the site of an historic 1864 Civil War battlefield in Virginia, bowing to pressure from preservationists. The world's largest retailer had been approved to build on the 52-acre site near Orange, Virginia, but ran into strong opposition from those looking to preserve the site near one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The Battle of the Wilderness, considered one of the war's turning points, marked the first clash between the two sides' top generals -- Ulysses Grant for the Union and Robert E. Lee of...

This isn't good folks. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.5 percent before seasonal adjustment. The big gains here were in energy, up 4.6%. Coming right into the cold months this is not helpful. Not only was gasoline up 9.5% but fuel oil was up 4.9, which in the Northeast is a primary fuel. Natural gas was also up 1.4%. A look inside the data tables confirms - energy...

Top U.S. consumer electronics chain Best Buy's December same-store sales fell 4 percent as it lost bargain-hungry shoppers to rivals that offered bigger discounts. The retailer, which also reaffirmed its 2011 profit outlook, said on Friday that sales at stores open at least 14 months declined 5 percent in its domestic segment and 0.1 percent internationally. Overall sales in the month slipped 1.6 percent to $8.4 billion

What is unclear is the extent to which companies such as Walmart will be asked to assist in detaining persons of interest. The Gazette asked Walmart corporate if DHS was expecting them to detain individuals, if requested by law-enforcement, until officers could arrive at the scene. They were also asked if they had received assurances they would not be held liable if they detained someone based simply on a report by another customer. Multiple requests for information were not returned. There has already been one such case in which a private company was sued for acting on individuals with concerns....

OKLAHOMA CITY -- This month, Arkansas-based retailer Walmart has announced that they are joining the Department of Homeland Security in their fight against terror taking part in their “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign. At the DHS blog, Secretary Janet Napolitano states that “Homeland security starts with hometown security and each of us plays a critical role in keeping our country and communities safe.” According to the site, this program initially started with New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and it was funded, in part, by a $13 million grant via the DHS Transit Security Grant Program.

Based on current advertising, below is a list of companies that avoid, ban, or use the term "Christmas" in their advertising. We will continually update the list, so check back often. Criteria - AFA reviewed up to four areas to determine if a company was "Christmas-friendly" in their advertising: print media (newspaper inserts), broadcast media (radio/television), website and/or personal visits to the store. If a company's ad has references to items associated with Christmas (trees, wreaths, lights, etc.), it was considered as an attempt to reach "Christmas" shoppers. If a company has items associated with Christmas, but did not use...