Finance & Capital Management

The newest tactic to disparage Walmart by an organization called the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) involves race, politics and a convoluted connection to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Eight-year Walmart employee and OUR Walmart member Charmaine Givens-Thomas has posted a petition on the organization’s website invoking the name of the slain civil rights leader. She is seeking 100,000 signatures and a meeting with president Barack Obama to address the injustices to which she contends Walmart subjects its workers.

New York -- Office Depot and OfficeMax announced the completion of their merger late Tuesday and from the looks of third quarter results released the same day the deal should prove beneficial to both companies.

Office Depot said its third quarter same store sales declined 2%, while OfficeMax said its comps dropped 2.8% in the U.S. and 2.2% in Mexico.

The combined company will use the name Office Depot, Inc. and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP.

Boise, Idaho — WinCo Foods has announced that it will open two new discount supermarkets on November 7. The stores are located in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho and in Norco, Calif. and span 75,000 sq. ft. and 65,000 sq. ft. respectively.

San Jose, Calif. — Togo’s Eateries has announced signed development agreements with new and existing franchisees to open nine new restaurants in markets across California. The company will open two restaurants in downtown Los Angeles, two in midtown and downtown Sacramento, and single units in San Jose, Santa Cruz, Riverbank, El Centro and Petaluma.

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch reported weak net and comparable store sales and laid out plans to restructure its Gilly Hicks brand as part of a strategic review in advance of releasing its full results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013.

St. Petersburg, Fla. – HSN, Inc. (HSNi) reported impressive financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Net income soared about 137% to $42.05 million, compared to $17.69 million in the same quarter a year prior.

Seattle – Starbucks says it will develop a comprehensive hiring platform for veterans and active duty spouses in response to record growth and in anticipation of a 500,000-person future global workforce. This multi-year hiring and career development strategy will focus on establishing an internal infrastructure dedicated to matching the transferable skill sets of veterans and military spouses with the specific talent needed across the Starbucks enterprise.

New York – Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity was strong in the retail and consumer industry during the third quarter of 2013. Data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that transaction values on M&A deals in the retail/consumer sector rose 112% compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Kmart will offer lease-to-own financing at stores nationwide this holiday season. The latest addition to Kmart's portfolio of financial services, the lease-to-own program began to rollout at Kmart stores in test markets as of Oct. 15 and will be available in all stores by Nov. 22. Giving customers a no credit-required way to take home the items they need right away, lease-to-own financing will be available year-round for merchandise priced at $150 and over.