Retail & Consumer Goods

Oakland, Calif. – September 24, 2026 -- The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share on common stock.

Payment date set for November 13, 2026

Shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 29, 2026 will receive the payout on November 13, 2026.

Clorox maintains history of consistent dividend payments

The company cited a long-standing track record of regular dividend distributions and annual increases to shareholders.

Australia – October 29, 2026 -- Rio Tinto has transferred ownership of the Argyle Pink DiamondsTM brand to luxury jewellery group Boodles, completing the transition on 1 October 2026.

Boodles acquires last Argyle pink diamond inventory and brand assets

Under the agreement, Boodles bought the last remaining Argyle pink diamond inventory. It also assumed ownership of a suite of trademarks tied to the brand, plus the associated website and digital marketing assets. The release did not disclose financial terms.

Rio Tinto selects family-owned buyer with 228 years of trading history

Rio Tinto Diamonds General Manager Sales and Marketing Patrick Coppens described Boodles as a family-owned company with 228 years' experience. He said Rio Tinto's priority was to place the brand with an owner that understands its history and can "responsibly steward" it into the future.

Chicago – October 29, 2026 -- Meat snack brand Chomps has signed a national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), committing funds to health and wellness programming that could reach more than 4 million young people a year across 5,500 Clubs.

Chomps will fund nutrition education and support Club staff

As a national partner, Chomps will invest in programming aimed at building lifelong healthy habits. The package also covers nutrition education and resources for Club professionals. Chomps, which describes itself as America's fastest-growing meat snack brand based on SPINS data, did not disclose the size of its financial commitment.

Chomps co-founder and CEO Rashid Ali said that "not every kid has access to the same opportunities," framing the deal as an extension of the company's mission beyond its products.

Essen – October 29, 2026 -- Hieber's Frische Center, Denns BioMarkt and EURONICS won Gold at the 2026 Deutscher Prospekt Award, which drew 130 corporate entries, the German free-newspaper association BVDA said at its annual conference in Essen.

The association presented the awards before about 170 invited guests. The prize honors mainly printed advertising inserts judged on relevance, design, sensible extension into digital channels and sustainability.

Three Gold winners span regional, food and non-food retail

Hieber's Frische Center won Gold in the Regional category. Denns BioMarkt took Gold in Classic Food, and EURONICS won Gold in Classic Non-Food.

TOKYO – October 29, 2026 -- transcosmos has partnered with Tokyo-based Metaverse Creators Inc. to distribute VRChat 3D content to overseas buyers through Geek Jack, its cross-border e-commerce platform for entertainment products.

Avatars, outfits, hairstyles, accessories and other items planned, produced and sold by Metaverse Creators will be added to Geek Jack gradually. Metaverse Creators is led by CEO Kazuo Wakamiya.

Language, payments and marketing barriers drive the deal

Japanese creators' 3D content is drawing growing overseas interest on VR social platforms such as VRChat. Language, payment processing, marketing and sales operations still hinder individual creators seeking to expand internationally.

The partnership pairs Metaverse Creators' 3D production expertise and creator network with Geek Jack's cross-border e-commerce infrastructure.

STOCKHOLM – October 29, 2026 -- Hygiene and health company Essity raised its EcoVadis sustainability score to 90 out of 100 from 88 in 2025 and retained the Platinum medal, the highest tier awarded by the rating provider.

Essity ranks in the top 1% of companies EcoVadis assessed over 12 months

The score places Essity among the top 1% of companies EcoVadis assessed worldwide over the previous 12 months. EcoVadis has assessed more than 175,000 companies across over 180 countries.

The assessment evaluates the quality of a company's sustainability management system. It reviews policies, actions and results across four themes: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. Assessments draw on international sustainability standards and are reviewed by sustainability experts.

New York – October 29, 2026 -- The Farmer's Dog has become the official pet food partner of five college athletic departments for the next three years, building the deals around their live dog mascots. The schools are Georgia, Tennessee, UConn, Tulsa and Washington.

The release did not state financial terms. The partnership extends college sports' name, image and likeness (NIL) era to the mascots: Uga of Georgia, Smokey of Tennessee, Jonathan of UConn, Goldie of Tulsa and Dubs of Washington. The company will supply the dogs with human-grade meals and treats.

Learfield brokers a multi-school package with Altius advising

Learfield assembled the multi-school deal, and Altius Sports Partners is advising The Farmer's Dog on its collegiate strategy. Shawn Hegan, Learfield's Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships, said the pairing "just makes sense" given the fandom already built around each mascot.

CHARLOTTE – October 29, 2026 -- Replay Sports Cards won the Franchise Innovation Award for Most Innovative On-Boarding Program at Franchise Update Media's 2026 STAR Awards, and was the only brand honored in that category.

The Franchise Innovation Awards were presented alongside the STAR Awards at the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference in Atlanta, October 5-8. They recognize how franchise brands welcome, train and prepare new franchisees to open their doors.

Training covers counterfeits, buying and product cycles

Replay's program covers product cycles, condition and counterfeit basics, the buying process, community relations and in-shop experience. Franchisees also join a franchise community where best practices and real-world experience are shared regularly.

Foothill Ranch – October 29, 2026 -- Gatekeeper Systems has launched a rebuilt version of its FaceFirst facial recognition platform, which alerts retail security teams the moment an enrolled known offender enters a store. The system runs ROC's algorithm, ranked #3 globally in NIST testing.

FaceFirst merges separate portal, dashboards and insights panels into one interface

The update replaces the previously separate portal, dashboards and insights panels with a single environment. Gatekeeper says loss prevention and security staff can complete common tasks with fewer clicks. The platform also adds analytics, data governance and audit features, a modern architecture, and faster event-resolution tagging.

New tools target organized retail crime networks and repeat offenders

Four additions drive the commercial pitch:

WASHINGTON – October 29, 2026 -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is pairing criminal prosecutions with new filing rules to pursue importers that conceal hazards, after an $8 million fine in April 2026 and prison terms of 38 and 40 months in June 2025. Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman set out the approach in a keynote at the 19th International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime Conference in Bangkok.

Executives of Gree USA received prison terms over concealed fire hazards

Two Gree USA executives were sentenced in June 2025 for concealing fire hazards in defective dehumidifiers. The products were linked to more than 450 reported fires, over $19 million in property damage and four potentially associated deaths.