Strategy

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.

New York -- Google is planning to open freestanding retail stores in the United States, with the first flagship locations open in time for the 2013 holiday shopping season, according to a report by online site 9to5Google.

“Google feels right now that many potential customers need to get hands-on experience with its products before they are willing to purchase," the website reported.
 

New York -- Best Buy Co. is making its holiday price-matching guarantee a year-round program. Taking aim against the increasingly popular practice of “showrooming,” the consumer electronics chain will match online prices starting March 3.

Best Buy’s permanent price match has been expanded to cover almost all categories of merchandise. It does not cover phones purchased under contract.

Best Buy will also decrease its merchandise return policy from 30 days to 15 days

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop, which is in the midst of a major turnaround initiative, reported a net loss of $36.5 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 29, compared with a net loss of $9 million during the prior-year quarter.

Total revenue for the quarter was $118.2 million, down 1% from the prior-year quarter.

Roswell, Ga. -- PGA Tour Superstore will open its second store on the West Coast, a 50,000-sq.ft, location in Irvine, Calif., later this year.

"We are excited to be expanding into Southern California, which encompasses one of the nation's most renowned golf areas in the country," said PGA Tour Superstore president and CEO Dick Sullivan.

With the addition of this store, the number of PGA Tour Superstores will increase nationwide to 17.

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.

HUDSON, Ohio — Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores has named Riddianne Kline SVP chief marketing and merchandising officer.

In addition to retaining her current responsibilities overseeing both marketing and advertising for Jo-Ann, Kline will assume responsibility for the merchandising, product development and inventory management groups.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Stater Bros. has promoted Dan Meyer to the position of EVP retail operations. In this position, Meyer will be responsible for the retail operations of all 167 Stater Bros. Supermarkets as well as overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Corporate Training Center.  

The apparent advantage online retailers have over their brick-and-mortar counterparts may soon be gone now that new legislation seeking to enforce the collection of sales tax for all retailers has been introduced.

Brett Biggs, Walmart U.S. CFO, will share his views on the company’s performance during an upcoming Doing Business in Bentonville meeting.

Bigg’s is slated to speak at the event scheduled for 7 a.m., March 13 in Rogers, Ar., and could have some interesting things to say given the timing of the event. Walmart is due to report fourth quarter and full year results next week on February 21 and then on March 7 the company hosts a two day event in Orlando for store managers and suppliers where new initiatives tend to be unveiled.