Retail

For the third consecutive year, Office Depot has enlisted the aid of actor, comedian and America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon to help execute an innovate back-to-school program.
 

Seattle – Amazon.com reported a second quarter net loss of $126 million, compared to a net loss of $7 million in the same period last year, as it continues to spend heavily on investments. The loss was nearly double what Wall Street higher expected. Operating expenses rose 24% to $19.36 billion.

Net sales increased 23% to $19.34 billion in the second quarter, compared with $15.70 billion in second quarter 2013. Net sales met Wall Street expectations. A favorable change in foreign exchange rates boosted revenues.

Fashionable new product assortments and innovative customers conveniences supported by clever marketing are being used by Sears and Kmart to entice parents and students this back-to-school season.

Portland, Oregon -- The Green Building Initiative announced a wave of Green Globes certifications for new supermarkets across the nation. The properties include New Seasons Markets in Oregon, and Whole Foods Market, Price Chopper, Aldi’s, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Publix stores across the country.
 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Sam’s Club has purchased an approximately 13-acre parcel to build its new store at Village at the Peaks in Longmont, Colorado. Sam’s Club plans to build a new 136,000-sq.-ft. store to anchor the northernmost location in the project.

The 480,000-sq.-ft. Village at the Peaks is being developed by NewMark Merrill Mountain States and is scheduled to open in late 2015. Other key anchors Whole Foods, Gold’s Gym and a state-of-the-art Regal Cinema.

Protein is the hot nutritional trend these days and Quest Nutrition has found a way to create a first-of-its-kind baked chip with 21 grams of protein per serving.

The company bills its new Quest Protein Chips as the world’s first high-protein snack potato chip and contends the product offers a revolutionary potato chip experience. The chips are actually good for people, according to the company, as opposed to simply being less bad than other snacks high in fat and salt.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc. is reportedly in negotiations with the state of New York to resolve a dispute about the terms of an agreement to sell numerous items to New York state agencies and qualifying non-profits for a penny each. According to the Wall Street Journal, Staples agreed to honor the one-cent prices on 219 items for three years in order to win a state office and school supplies contract.

Target opened its experimental Express format on July 23 in a community near downtown Minneapolis designed to give the retailer an early indication of expansion potential for the 20,000-sq.-ft. concept.
 
The store is the smallest Target has ever opened and is located in an area known as Dinkytown near the campus of the University of Minnesota. Four additional locations are already planned for next year including three in the San Francisco area and one in St. Paul.