Dave Carney, left, and Shelley Vaux, both of Dallas, Texas, look at refrigerators inside a Sears department store at the Town East Mall in Mesquite, Texas. Sears is offering a buyer-protection plan for customers who purchase appliances and then lose their jobs.

BLOOMBERG NEWS / MATT NAGER

Following the lead of automakers and other companies, Sears said it’s starting a buyer-protection program for customers who lose a job after buying a home appliance at the national retail chain. The program runs from Monday through Aug. 1. It covers appliance purchases of more than $399 made on a Sears credit card. Cardholders must have held a full-time job for at least 60 days at the time of the purchase. Under the program, Sears will credit 1/12th of the purchase price to the account for each month the cardholder is out of work. If the person is still out of work for a year after the purchase, he or she will receive a credit for what’s left of the purchase price and still get to keep the appliance without any further payments.

All home appliance brands are included in the deal, such as Kenmore, LG, GE, Samsung and Whirlpool, according to Sears Holdings Corp., which is led by financier Edward Lampert.

The program also includes service agreements, installation, delivery and other items as long as they were bought with the appliance.

Sears has about 3,900 full-line and specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada.

More wine choices on Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines, the biggest passenger carrier at T.F. Green Airport, is now offering new wines with its honey-roasted peanuts. The airline recently began pouring Costal Ridge Chardonnay and Coastal Ridge Merlot produced and bottled by the Bronco Wine Company in Ceres, Calif. Bronco is one of the largest wine companies in California.

The airline previously offered a Cabernet Sauvignon as its red wine selection, but will now offer a Merlot. The new service started last Wednesday. The price of wine will remain at $5 per glass or a Southwest Airlines drink coupon.

7-Eleven discounts franchise fees for vets

Convenience-store chain 7-Eleven has launched a franchise program that offers discounted franchise fees to military veterans.

Qualified veterans who become first-time 7-Eleven franchisees will receive a discount on the initial fee for the first 7-Eleven store they franchise. The discount can range from $1,000 up to approximately $35,000, depending on the store.

The Dallas, Texas-based chain’s president and chief executive officer, Joe DePinto, is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, who served five years as an officer in the Army.

Hyundai offers car buyers discounted gas

Hyundai Motor Co. kicked off a new incentive program offering consumers gasoline at $1.49 a gallon for a year if they buy a car by Aug. 31. Hyundai’s offer, dubbed Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock, would save buyers about $1.20 a gallon of gasoline from current prices, but the value of the offer will fluctuate as gas prices rise and fall, Hyundai expects gas prices to crest above $3 a gallon this summer

Openings/relocations

•Green Ink, in Wickford, has relocated and expanded in renovated space at 89 Brown St., the former home of the Wickford Package Store, which also moved to a new location in town. Green Ink was founded by Bea Givan in 1972.

•Legacy Financial Group LLC, the agency for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance in Rhode Island, is opening a district office at 5835 Post Rd., in East Greenwich and is hiring for up to 12 positions.

•Washington Trust Co. held a vault signing and groundbreaking for its new branch, at the former Barry’s disco, at 1463 Warwick Ave., Warwick.