Mergers & Acquisitions

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.

Lover.ly, a wedding inspiration and shopping site, has appointed founder of Nordstrom.com Bob Schwartz as the company’s first chairman.

As chairman, Schwartz will work closely with founder and CEO Kellee Khalil and the Lover.ly executive team to help shape the company’s long-term strategic growth, business and partnership development, capital strategy and build out Lover.ly’s brand and product pipelines.

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.

New York -- Winick Realty Group has welcomed the broker team of Alison Cohen and Susan Preisler to its New Jersey branch, in Cranford. Cohen and Preisler have been partners for more than a decade, starting up a retail division at Hirschman Realty before moving to Vanguard Realty.

As a team, they specialize in leasing regional shopping centers, a specialty they plan to continue as part of Winick, working with both landlords and tenants.

Port Washington, Wis. -- Upscale men’s shoemaker Allen Edmonds Corp. has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles based private equity firm. Terms of the transaction weren't immediately disclosed.

Brentwood will take over the company from Minneapolis-based Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, which bought Allen Edmonds in 2006.

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.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens had October sales of $6.37 billion, an increase of 6.1% from $6 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013. Same-store sales improved 5.8%.

Calendar day shifts negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.3%age point, while generic drug introductions in the last 12 months negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.7%age point. Walgreens opened 14 stores during October, including four relocations, and closed two.

Mason, Ohio – Pearle Vision plans to convert four of its stores in Orlando, Fla., from company-owned to licensees. Pearle Vision is currently seeking qualified candidates who are interested in owning and operating a Pearle Vision store to purchase four existing locations for sale in Orlando.