Corporate Governance

Office Depot Inc. is regrouping less than a month after a federal judge blocked the chain’s planned acquisition by rival Staples Inc., causing the two companies to abandon the deal.
 
On Tuesday, Office Depot announced its board had approved a $100 million stock buyback program. The retailer also said it is finalizing its comprehensive strategic review, which includes capital structure and return of capital alternatives.
 

A new report from HRC Advisory finds that retailers’ online sales are eroding in-store sales and taking a big bite out of retail profitability. Chain Store Age editor Marianne Wilson spoke with Antony Karabus, CEO, HRC Advisory, about the study and its implications for retailers. 

What did you find most surprising in the study findings?

With a fast-growing $1.5 trillion grocery market, China is the ultimate prize for Wal-Mart, according to an Associated Press report. But the retailer will have to adapt to succeed in what it is a very different marketplace than America.

“If the Arkansas-based company wants to win over foreign consumers, it has to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions that are fast changing,” the report said.

The long-drawn out battle over the merger of Staples and Office Depot has claimed its first victim.

Staples chairman and CEO Ron Sargent will step down after the chain’s annual shareholders meeting on June 14. His exit comes just weeks after a federal judge struck down Staples’ proposed acquisition of rival Office Depot. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/staples-and-office-depot-call-merger-wake-ruling
 

Five Below is expanding at a fast clip this year.

The extreme-value brand for pre-teens and teens will open its first store in Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City, on June 3, 2016.  

A second store Oklahoma, in Edmond, will open on June 24, 2016.

The Philadelphia-based chain is one of the fastest growing retailers in the country. It plans to open approximately 85 new stores in 2016, up from 71 stores in 2015.
 

A company named after the first reptile to develop the feather for flight is opening freestanding stores.
 
Arc’teryx Equipment, a Canadian manufacturer and retailer of high-performance outdoor apparel and equipment, will open a store in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood this July. It will follow that up with a store in Chicago’s Buckhead neighborhood in August, and one at Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall in October, giving it a total of 11 locations.

Nordstrom has opened its second full-line store In Toronto.   The department store retailer opened a three-level, 199,000-sq.-ft. store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre on Oct. 21. It is the company's second location in Toronto, with the first, at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, opening in September.      

Despite all the attention being given to retail customization and personalization, most consumers see their shopping journeys as marred by inconsistency and impersonal service offerings.
 
Although  93% of retail executives say service personalization is a strategic focus, only one-quarter of consumers feel they receive a consistent, personal experience across channels, according to findings from personalization technology provider TimeTrade,