Consumer Affairs & Relations

WASHINGTON — The Lenovo ThinkPad T430s topped TopTen USA's list for energy-efficiency.

The nonprofit group, appaluded he fact that the laptop uses only 7.4 kilowatt hours of electricity in a year of typical use. The average comparable model uses 28 kWh per year—almost 4 times the energy.  On average, TopTen-listed laptops use about half (48%) the energy of comparable models.

Whirlpool has appointed Diane Dietz, executive VP and chief marketing officer of Safeway, to its board of directors, effective immediately.

"Diane Dietz's history of leadership in the consumer products industry makes her an outstanding addition to our board," said Jeff Fettig, Whirlpool chairman and CEO. "We know her breadth of experience in driving sales and building successful brands will be invaluable to our board of directors and Whirlpool Corporation." 

NEW YORK — Build-A-Bear CEO Maxine Clark has joined the Foot Locker board of directors. 

Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1997.  She has extensive experience in the retail industry, having also served as president of Payless ShoeSource Inc. and for 19 years as an executive of The May Department Stores Company.

New York -- OfficeMax Inc. and Office Depot have formally announced an agreement under which the two companies would combine in an all-stock merger that would transform the office supply sector of retail. The merger, which creates a single company with nearly $18 billion in revenue, was unanimously approved by the board of directors of both chains.

New York -- As shares of his company reached an all-time high, fashion designer and retailer Michael Kors will sell 3 million of his shares as part of a secondary offering of 25 million shares, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing.

Kors' ownership in Michael Kors Holdings Inc. will fall to about 4.8 million shares, or 2.4%, down from 3.9% after the sale.

While I enjoy reading the annual sales predictions and yearly retail real estate outlook columns published each year, they often have a tendency to get bogged down in the details. When forecasting in the medium- to long-term, it’s often best to focus on the big-picture trends — an approach that not only avoids the all-too-common problem of missing the forest for the trees, but provides important insights about where the industry may be headed, not just in six or 12 months, but in six or 12 years.

New York -- Office Depot and OfficeMax are in talks to merge, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

The retailers are discussing as potential stock swap that would result in a single company with nearly $18 billion in revenue, reports said. The combined company would be better positioned to take on Staples, Walmart and other competitors.

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings is bullish on expansion. Reporting impressive results for the fourth quarter, the retailer plans to open approximately 150 net new U.S. stores in 2013, along with 30 net new domestic franchise locations, and 175-200 net new international franchise locations. It also will open 30 net new GNC-Rite Aid store-within-a-store locations.