Office Depot, LLC

The introduction of Amazon Prime Day on July 15 created a new mid-summer e-commerce event that had a profound impact on back-to-school shopping.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc. met Wall Street expectations with declining profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Costs related to restructuring and the pending acquisition of Office Depot drove net income down 56% to $36 million, from $82 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Net sales fell 5% to $4.94 billion, from $5.22 billion. North American store closures and unfavorable foreign exchange rates pushed sales totals downward. Same-store sales in North America (including online) fell 3%.

Staples says the $6.3 billion deal to buy rival Office Depot is still on track despite the retailer’s deepening sales declines in the second quarter.

Barnes & Noble is tops when it comes to the most powerful “Back-to-School” retail brands, according to a new survey.

New York -- Barnes & Noble claims the top position in a list of the most powerful “Back-to-School” retail brands, according to Tenet Partners’ Top 20 ranking.  

Rounding out the top five: Walmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Amazon and Old Navy.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot is accelerating its previously announced plan to close at least 400 stores as the retailer awaits its acquisition by Staples.

After shuttering a greater than expected 99 stores in the second quarter, Office Depot boosted its 2015 store closing target to 175 locations, with another 60 due to close in 2016. The closings are on top of 153 closings throughout 2014, including 108 stores in the fourth quarter of last year.

The pace of store closings at Office Depot is accelerating and employee retention costs are rising as the retailer maintains that its merger with Staples will close by year end.

Boca Raton, Fla. - Office Depot, Inc. has been recognized for outstanding product quality and service by privately-held home builder David Weekley Homes.

This marks the 10th consecutive year that Office Depot has received the “A,A Partners of Choice” award given this year to 15 of David Weekley Homes’ suppliers.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot Inc. is thanking teachers with an omnichannel back-to-school program.

The “Gear Up for School” promotion offers teachers who are part of the free Office Depot or OfficeMax rewards program a 25% off coupon for qualifying purchases during Teacher Appreciation Days, Aug. 1-4 and Aug. 29 – Sept. 1.

The calendar may only say July, but retailers are already promoting back-to-school.  

Here are four promotional trends the folks at Market Track predict will play out this selling season:

• Retailers/e-retailers creating new mid-year “Black Friday” type events concurrent with Back to School. (e.g., Amazon's Prime Day, Target’s Black Friday in July, etc.)