Staples, Inc.

Regardless of the final outcome of its acquisition of Office Depot, Staples just nominated three individuals to its board of directors with unique perspectives on growth.

Curtis Feeny, managing director of Voyager Capital, Deb Henretta, former group president of global e-commerce at Procter & Gamble and John Lundgren, chairman and CEO of Stanley Black & Decker, have been nominated by the Staples board of directors for election at the company’s 2016 annual meeting.

Staples says its reinvention is on track despite a disappointing financial performance in the third quarter.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, Staples reported a profit of $198 million. Same-store sales decreased 2%. On a per-share basis, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said it had profit of 31 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 35 cents per share. The results matched Wall Street expectations. Revenue was $5.59 billion, which fell short of Street forecasts.

Levi Strauss & Co. is turning to the Internet of Things (IoT) as a solution to improve inventory visibility.

Levi’s is partnering with Intel to run a proof-of-concept of the new Intel IoT platform at three of the vertical apparel retailer’s stores. The pilot allows the Levi’s stores to gain visibility into what’s on the shelf or what might be running low. The goal is to make the process of inventory management more effective, maximizing in-stock and on-shelf availability of products.

Staples and Office Depot have agreed to a Federal Trade Commission decision to extend the review period for a possible $6.3 billion merger of the two companies.

The companies announced Monday that the FTC has agreed to issue its decision regarding this transaction by Dec. 8.

Staples Inc. has been a place to get printing done since it opened in the 1980s, but now the retailer is taking printing to a whole new level.
 

Framingham,, Mass. – Staples Inc. has been a place to get printing done since it opened in the 1980s, but now the retailer is taking printing to a whole new level.
 
Starting Sept. 14, Staples, is offering a new online 3D printing platform, which will let small businesses and consumers upload their own 3D designs or select from a curated assortment of models.

Issaquah, Wash. – Costco Wholesale Corp. is finally getting its online photo center partially up and running following a July 2015 data breach at the third-party hosting provider.

Returning users will have to create a new password before re-entering the site.

All photo center products except the mobile app, framed prints and mail order products are once again fully available. Costco expects to have the mobile app and mail order option available by the end of September, and framed prints available by mid-October.

Data security has been a hot topic in the world of retail IT lately. Based on some recent retail data security-related news items, I have compiled a list of two don’ts and one do when it comes to securing your data.

Don’t outsource whole portions of your e-commerce platform