Staples, Inc.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot Inc. is seeing some fiscal benefits from its November 2013 merger with OfficeMax. The retailer shrank its net loss in fourth quarter 2014 to $84 million, from $120 million in the same quarter the prior year.

Net sales climbed 10% to $3.83 billion, from $3.49 billion.

Framingham, Mass. – The office supply retail vertical may be in for more consolidation. According to the Wall Street Journal, Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. are in the “advanced stages” of negotiations to combine the two biggest U.S. office supply chains.

New York -- Activist investor Starboard Value LP, which helped put together the merger of OfficeMax and Office Depot, issued a letter on Tuesday calling for Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. to merge, saying it would lead to greater savings.

As part of its ongoing strategy to drive sustainability innovation, Staples will be giving away $25,000 in new tech products to 10 “eco-focused” schools in Canada in 2015.

Publicly funded schools that are focused on the environment are invited to enter the contest atStaples.ca/PowerEco and share their eco initiatives for a chance to win. The Staples Superpower your School Contest runs through Jan. 31.

Framingham, Mass. – About 1.16 million customer payment cards may have been exposed in a security breach at Staples Inc. earlier this year. In an update on the breach situation, Staples said that criminals deployed malware to some POS systems at 115 of its more than 1,400 U.S. retail stores, providing access to data from purchases made from July 20 through Sept. 16, 2014. 

New York – Activist investor fund Starboard Value has reportedly purchased a 6% stake in Staples Inc. and upped its ownership of Office Depot from 8.6% to 10%. According to the Wall Street Journal, Starboard Value may be positioning itself to pressure the two office supply retailers to merge.  

Woonsokcet, R.I. -- CVS Health will reportedly open a 15,000-sq.-ft. digital innovation lab in Boston during the upcoming winter.   According to BetaBoston, CVS hopes to ultimately have about 100 employees working at the center, both new hires and workers moved from the CVS headquarters in Woonsocket, R.I.  

Designer Cynthia Rowley and Staples today announced an exclusive work and home office collection that incorporates bold and artistic designs into everyday work and home spaces.   Cynthia Rowley Collection featuring visionary designs combined with new product finishes and treatments not typically seen in office accessories will debut at Staples stores nationwide beginning mid-Novermber.