Corporate Governance

MakerBot and Staples announced today that MakerBot  Replicator 3D Printers and MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanners are now available in 50 select Staples retail stores across 18 states. MakerBot is Staples’ exclusive provider in-store of 3D printing hardware, with premium in-store experiences to showcase the entire MakerBot 3D Ecosystem.  This partnership makes Staples the exclusive office supply company to offer MakerBot 3D printing and scanning products in the store.

By: David Kidd,  Peak 10
 
Data privacy and security remain top concerns for retailers. There is good reason for that.  The Target breach compromised approximately 70 million records. The Home Depot breach potentially impacted another 60 million consumers. As I write this article, reports are being made public about a breach involving the office supply retailer Staples. We can no longer deny that cybercrime is a real and growing threat to the retail sector.

New York - It appears that Hudson’s Bay Co. got itself quite a deal when it purchased Saks Fifth Avenue in 2013 for the sum of $2.9 billion, including debt. Saks’s signature  Fifth Avenue flagship has recently been appraised at an whopping $3.65 billion—significantly more than Hudson’s Bay paid for the entire chain.  As much as anything, however, the appraisal reflects the strength of Manhattan’s retail real estate market.

With the recent announcement that it will build a new digital innovation lab in Boston, CVS Health has joined the ranks of retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores and Target Corp,  who have also launched similar facilities.  Not every retailer is in the position to build its own proprietary innovation hot house,  but there are many advantages for those with the resources to do so.  Following are three key reasons that retail innovation labs are a good idea.

New York – Ann Inc., the parent company of Ann Taylor and Loft, has named Katie J. Bayne to its board of directors. Bayne serves as senior VP, global sparkling brands at The Coca-Cola Company.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has appointed Tom Horton, former chairman and CEO of American Airlines, as a new member of the company’s board, effective Nov. 21. Horton became the 16th member of the Board and will also serve as a member of the company’s Audit Committee.

By Laura Klepacki   
 On the site of a former gas station in West Haven,  Connecticut., CVS Health has unveiled its most environmentally progressive and energy efficient store so far.
For starters, the LEED Platinum-certified drug store boasts day lighting, a landscape design that doesn’t require irrigation, super-efficient HVAC units and LED-lit coolers that light up when approached. (Platinum is the highest distinction in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.)

Manchester, N.H. - Velcro Industries plans to open a retail pop-up store in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Styled as the "Holiday HackShop," the Velcro-branded pop-up store will be open Dec. 1 – 19.

New York - More than two-thirds (69%) of 276 finance industry executives expect 2014 Black Friday sales figures to grow at least 2% from their 2013 levels, with more than one-third (37%) expecting growth of 4% or more. Similarly, almost three-quarters of respondents to a survey from global brokerage firm Convergex (71%) say they expect total holiday season sales numbers to grow at least 2%, with 39% of respondents predicting a gain of 4% or more.

By Veena A. Iyer, Nilan Johnson Lewis