The scandal surrounding Paula Deen's use of a racial slur is giving even more retailers indigestion. Sears and Kmart owner Sears Holdings, J.C. Penney and Walgreens on Friday became the latest of the Southern cooking maven's corporate partners to join the stampede away from her brand after she copped to having used the "N-word." Even a tearful interview on the "Today" show earlier this week in which she denied being a racist hasn't been enough to slow the rapid weight loss of a multi-million-dollar food empire stretching from books and TV shows to hams and TV stands. Retailers "don't want anything that can possibly tarnish their brand because they've worked so hard at it," Sam Craig, a marketing professor at NYU, told the Daily News. "There are a number of taboo topics, and if you cross the line on those, you become a liability rather than an asset." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...llion-experts-article-1.1385469#ixzz2XbiyURk1
