Strategy

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot Inc. said Tuesday it has approved a poison pill defense to preclude investor Starboard Value LP from waging a takeover of the company.

The activist investor became the office-supply retailer’s largest shareholder last month and has begun pushing for changes.

The poison pill is a shareholder rights plan that would give its investors additional shares if one entity surpasses 15% ownership. Starboard owned 14.8% as of Oct. 12.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s is donating $1 million to disaster relief and rebuilding efforts in communities affected by Hurricane Sandy. Lowe’s will work with its national nonprofit partners to provide both immediate and long-term support to local communities across the Northeast.

San Diego, Calif. -- Warehouse club operator PriceSmart reported Wednesday that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 31 rose to $17.7 million from $12.7 million in the year-ago period.

Total revenue rose to $515.5 million from $447.4 million.

San Francisco -- A filing disclosure on Wednesday revealed that billionaire investor Carl Icahn has built a 10% stake in Netflix, suggesting that dramatic changes in the company could loom.

The filing did not elaborate on the reasons behind Icahn’s purchase of 5.5 million Netflix shares, and Netflix has so far declined comment.

Icahn has earned a reputation for using his ownership to pressure management toward dramatic change or strategic alternatives such as a sale of the company.

Paris -- A Tuesday report by Women’s Wear Daily said that sporting goods retailer IIC-Intersport International Corp. will acquire 100% of The Athlete’s Foot, expanding Intersport’s presence to 63 countries from its current 41.

The opening of the first CityTarget in Chicago was a big deal this summer, but next fall an even bigger development is coming to an area just a few miles further north.

Red Bluff, Calif. -- Walmart's wind turbine at its distribution center in Red Bluff, Calif., is now operational. The wind turbine is Walmart's first onsite industrial-sized wind turbine and will generate approximately 2,200,000 kilowatt-hours of power, providing up to 20% of the distribution center's annual electricity use. U.S. House Representative Wally Herger joined local officials, as well as Walmart and Foundation Windpower executives, to commemorate the pilot project.