Office Depot, LLC

The retail and consumer packaged goods industry fared poorly in a recent global ranking of corporate sustainability leaders with the handful of standouts being Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Staples and Campbell Soup Company.

The ranking of 100 companies compiled by Corporate Knights, a media, research and investment advisory company, included only17 U.S. companies and only two retailers. Sweden’s H&M was ranked 64th and Staples was ranked 72nd.

Miller Zell, a retail design and implementation firm headquartered in Atlanta, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Harmon B. “Sandy” Miller founded Miller Zell in 1964 as a printing firm focused on point-of-sale promotions and fulfillment. As the retail landscape changed, Miller Zell evolved to offer comprehensive store design services aimed at improving the customer experience, while controlling implementation costs and creating greater efficiency throughout the production, storage and installation process.
 

As the holiday dust clears and we settle into a new year, it’s only fitting that retailers take a moment to reflect on successes of 2013 and identify opportunities for 2014. How can we be more efficient this year? Can we waste less while producing more? Where can we make simple adjustments that add up to big bottom line savings?

Office Depot has appointed Michael A. Steele as VP of investor relations. Steele, who most recently served as VP of investor relations for OfficeMax, where he had been employed since July 2007, will report to Stephen E. Hare, EVP and CFO.

Steele will develop and execute Office Depot’s investor relations strategy, serving as the primary interface for management with the financial community. He plans to relocate to the Office Depot corporate headquarters in Boca Raton.

The nation’s largest arts and crafts retailer plans to go public this year and the launch of a new ecommerce platform that gives Michaels Stores long overdue online sales capabilities is a key element of its growth strategy.

A 1,500-store market potential and an untapped online opportunity await Michaels Stores in 2014 as the retailer’s private equity owners look to sell a portion of their stake and return the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailer to public ownership.
 

The flurry of activity continued at Office Depot as the company which resulted from the merger of Office Depot and OfficeMax laid groundwork for growth in 2014 by identifying some key leaders.

A little more than one month after Roland Smith was named chairman and CEO of Office Depot and one week after choosing Boca Raton, Fla., as the merged company’s headquarters, Smith announced a slate of senior executive positions that touch every aspect of the company along with several roles that are yet to be filled.

Office Depot plans to expand 3D Systems Cube 3-D printing services to 150 Office Depot stores nationwide as a result of positive customer feedback.