National: Sept. 7, 2001
Consumers trying to pay with their Visa debit cards at Wal-Mart after Oct. 13 may be out of luck thanks to the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant’s recent decision not to accept payment by debit cards from Visa International’s Interlink subsidiary; the retailer is protesting Visa’s recent decision to raise its fees from 20 cents per transaction to 45 cents per transaction...Troy, Mich.-based Kmart Corp. announced it has removed “Dare to Compare” signs from its stores; the signs compared prices at the discount retailer to those of its competitors; the decision to remove the signs was made after Minneapolis-based Target Corp. filed a false-advertising and deceptive trade practices suit charging that the signs contained outdates or inaccurate prices...Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores announced plans to construct a new 110,000-square-foot Bon Marche store in Redmond, Wash.; the store, set to open in spring 2002, will include moderate to better apparel, accessories and home merchandise...E! Entertainment’s Style Channel will be running special coverage of New York Fashion Week beginning Sept. 7 and running through Sept. 15, between 8 and 10:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Standard Time; the coverage will include runway footage and backstage interviews with designers; E! will also run special coverage of the week Sept. 10–14 from 6–6:30 p.m., with a wrap-up of the week on Sept. 15 from 6–7 p.m.
