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Target Closing More Stores This Year Than In Last Two Years Combined

Yesterday, Target announced that it would be closing 11 underperforming stores by Feb. 2015, which only represents a small fraction of the retailer’s 1,800 stores in the U.S. But that brings this year’s total number of Target closures to 19, nearly five times the number of stores shuttered the previous year.

In fact, Target had only closed a total of 9 stores during the two previous years, while also opening more than 40 locations during that same period of time.

“The decision to close a Target store is not made lightly,” a Target rep tells the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “We typically decide to close a store after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of a particular location. In most cases, a store is closed as a result of seeing several years of decreasing profitability.”

The company says that employees at affected stores will be offered jobs at other stores and those who don’t accept the transfer will be giving severance packages.

Here is the complete list of the 11 stores, in 8 states, set to close on Feb. 1:

GEORGIA

8109 Mall Parkway

Lithonia, Ga.

ILLINOIS

1860 N. Richmond Road

McHenry, Ill

1717 E. West Road

Calumet City, Ill.

INDIANA

8448 Center Run Drive

Indianapolis, Ind.

IOWA

2900 S. 25th St.

Clinton, Iowa

KANSAS

301 S. Towne East Mall Drive

Wichita, Kan.

MICHIGAN

2121 N. Monroe St.

Monroe, Mich.

21400 Northwestern Highway

Southfield, Mich.

4135 Wilder Road

Bay City, Mich.

MINNESOTA

1701 18th Ave. N.W.

Austin, Minn.

TEXAS

2620 N. Josey Lane

Carrollton, Texas

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

CNN Shows That Microsoft Surface Makes Great $799 iPad Stand

From NFL sidelines to product placement in various movies and TV shows, Microsoft has been making a huge marketing push to get its Surface tablets in the hands of people you see on TV. But what’s that distinctive-looking Surface stand actually propping up? In the case of CNN, it’s probably an iPad.

Last night, the CNN election center news desk was arrayed with Surface Pro 3 tablets for Anderson Cooper, et al, to follow the latest election news (or, more likely, check out NBA and NHL scores).

But viewers noticed that, when shown from certain angles, some folks at the CNN had a dirty little Apple secret hiding behind that $799 Microsoft tablet — iPads:

CNN commentators using Microsoft @surface tablets as iPad stand. Facepalm. http://t.co/BPxWTf2zhI—

Adam (@adamUCF) November 05, 2014

Even the good people at CNN who have Microsoft surface tablets in their face hide iPad … – http://t.co/Sz6CpzLrEg http://ift.tt/1AiAY3P

— Melbourneer (@_Melbourneer_) November 5, 2014

[via Gizmodo]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Voters In Oregon, Alaska, Washington D.C. Legalize Marijuana

(Brett Levin Photography)

Break out the celebratory brownies: Alaska, Oregon and D.C. are joining the ranks Washington State and Colorado, after residents had their say in last night’s vote and legalized marijuana where they live, in varying degrees.

So what exactly does that mean? In Alaska and Oregon, voters passed measures that will usher in a legal recreational pot industry much like those in Washington State and Colorado, with retail pot shops and legal consumption for adults, reports Reuters.

And on the less free-ranging side, the proposal that passed in D.C. will make marijuana possession legal, but does not allow for retail sales in the district. Still, it could chill things out a bit around town.

All of this has happened even while marijuana remains technically illegal under federal law.

Oregon’s law will take effect in July 2015, with stores opening possibly by the next year. In Alaska,

The Oregon law, which drew 54 percent support in preliminary returns, takes effect in July 2015 and stores could open the following year.

“In 2016 we’re going to push the ball forward in several states until we end prohibition,” Leland Berger, a Portland attorney who helped write the new law, told Reuters.

The Alaska measure still needs official approval, after which a regulatory body has nine months to draw up rules, with stores heading to the state sometime in 2016.

“Marijuana prohibition has been an abject failure, and Alaska voters said enough is enough,” said Chris Rempert, political director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, in a statement.

Voters OK legal marijuana in Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

California Teen Allegedly Sets Christmas-Themed Stuffed Animals On Fire At Walmart

(David Gutowski)

In the past we’ve reported on some very disturbing behavior when it comes to consumers, stuffed animals, and Walmart (remember the humping incident?). The weirdness continued early this morning at a California store when a teen allegedly started a fire with the toys.

CBS Los Angeles reports that a 13-year-old was arrested after allegedly starting an arson fire at a local Walmart around midnight.

Officials with the local police department say surveillance video shows the blaze started when the teen used a lighter from the Christmas aisle to ignite a display of holiday-themed teddy bears.

A customer was able to put out the fire with a nearby fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived at the scene.

Police officials say the teen suspect, who was at the 24-hour store with his family, was arrested in the parking lot.

Although one person was treated at the scene for shortness of breath, fire officials say no injuries occurred as a result of the fire.

The store was evacuated for nearly three hours while fire officials investigated.

Teen Arrested After Allegedly Lighting Stuffed Animals On Fire In Glendora Walmart [CBS Los Angeles]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Man Arrested For Stealing House Moves Back In After Posting Bail

If I get arrested for stealing a car, that boosted vehicle probably isn’t waiting outside the police station for me to drive away in when I make bail. But a man in New York City who was recently arrested for stealing a home from its rightful owner was able to move back into the house he’s been accused of taking.

According to the NY Daily News, the woman who owns the house — which she uses as a second home and which has been in her family for nearly 85 years — realized something was wrong when the water bill for the property increased suddenly.

That’s when she discovered that a man had forged a deed to the house, moved into the building with his two sons and their dogs, and gotten rid of her car and all the furniture.

The police originally told her it was a civil matter, but prosecutors in Queens ultimately decided to indict the faux-homeowner on multiple criminal charges, including grand larceny.

The man was eventually able to post his $25,000 bond and moved right back into the home he’s accused of stealing, and where his sons continued to reside while he was behind bars.

“It’s mind-boggling,” says the rightful homeowner, who hasn’t been able to enter the house since learning of the scam. “I can’t even begin to describe the anguish that I feel.”

While the criminal case is pending, she must now head to a city housing court to seek an eviction order against the man and his sons.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Have Your Windows Vista Needs Covered

Do you need a copy of Windows Vista, a rather poorly-received version of the operating system? We can’t think of any circumstances under which someone would need a copy of Vista, but maybe there is one. If there is, one Walmart store has got them covered.

300_vista

Remember, there have been two versions of Windows since Vista debuted. While there must be some reason why someone out in the world would need a copy (Software testing with different versions of Windows? Collectors?) this isn’t even a good price for an old copy of an outdated and reviled operating system. You can buy a copy for a still inexplicable $185.50 on Amazon right now, for example.

Thanks to Jason for posting this to the Consumerist Facebook page.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

GM Using $25 Gift Cards As Incentive For Consumers To Get Their Recalled Vehicles Fixed

(frankieleon)

General Motors’ social media campaign to coax consumers to fix their recalled vehicles doesn’t appear to be getting the job done. With just about half of the 2.4 million vehicles recalled for an ignition switch defect having been fixed, the car manufacturer has turned to dangling money in front of consumers to get the potentially dangerous cars off the road.

The Los Angeles Times reports GM is now offering $25 gift cards to owners of recalled vehicles as a way to encourage them to visit dealers and have their defective parts replaced or repaired by the end of the year.

Officials with GM say only 1.3 million of the 2.4 million vehicles with defective ignition switches have been repaired since the recall initiative began back in April.

“There are several hundred thousand people who have taken no action whatsoever,” Ryndee Carney, GM’s manager of cross brand communication tells The Times. “They haven’t seen their dealers, even though they have been contacted by us repeatedly.”

The company began sending a letter about the gift card ploy last week to vehicle owners who have received recall notices but haven’t had their cars inspected.

The letters detail how owners can received their choice of $25 gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon, Walmart, Applebee’s, Red Robin, AMC Theatres or Bass Pro Shops.

Consumers qualify for the gift cards by having their vehicles repaired by December 1, then contacting the car company with a corresponding code. GM will then deliver the gift cards by U.S. mail within two to four weeks.

The new attempt to coax owners into repairing their recalled vehicles comes less than a month after GM began urging consumers to make the fixes by tracking them down via social media and home visits.

According to federal safety regulators it’s not unusual for consumers to ignore recall notices. In fact, the average completion rate one and a half years after a recall is announced is just 75%.

While that completion rate might be okay for less serious recalls, ignoring the GM ignition switch defect recall could lead to more fatalities.

So far, the ignition switch issue has been linked to hundreds of accidents and 30 deaths.

GM offering $25 gift cards to owners of recalled autos [The Los Angeles Times]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

California City Votes In The Nation’s First Soda Tax

(SchuminWeb)

Soda will now come with the nation’s first-ever tax on sugary drinks in Berkeley, CA, after the city became our nation’s first to pass such a law last night. More than three-quarters of voters cast their ballots in favor of the measure, which will put a tax of $0.01 per ounce on sugary drinks.

Measure D only needed a majority of “yes” votes to pass, reports USA Today, while a similar measure that needed two-thirds to pass failed across the bay in San Francisco.

Proponents of the tax said it’ll help put the brakes on the nation’s obesity epidemic, by bringing down the amount of sodas, energy drinks and other sweetened beverages people drink.

“Berkeley has a proud history of setting nationwide trends, such as non-smoking sections in restaurants and bars, curb cuts for wheelchairs, curbside recycling and public school food policies,” said Vicki Alexander, co-chair of the group campaigning to pass Measure D, in a statement.

On the other hand, a representative of the opposition campaign funded by soft-drink manufacturers/the American Beverage Association in Berkeley and San Francisco didn’t seem that impressed by the outcome.

“Berkeley is very eclectic. It doesn’t look like Anytown USA,” he said.

Nation’s first soda tax is passed [USA Today]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Las cuentas de Twitter para profesionales de Verdad: los demás al gallinero (caso @Ballantines_ES) #socialmedia #marketing

Hola:

Hace poco he visto el siguiente Tweet de @Ballantines_ES:

No todo vale en comunicación

La verdad es que pensaba escribir largo y tendido sobre el tema, pero creo que no merece la pena malgastar vuestro tiempo y el mío en debatir cuestiones que no tienes discusión. Faltar al respeto nunca puede ser considerado como un ardid para conseguir difusión, va siendo hora de que las empresas busquen Community Managers serios y profesionales para la gestión de sus cuentas y entender que no todo vale. Faltar al respeto nunca, y repito, nunca es admisible para comunicar.

Un saludo

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