Retail

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax announced that V. James Marino has been elected to serve on the company's board of directors.

"We are delighted to welcome Jim to the board of OfficeMax," said Rakesh Gangwal, chairman of OfficeMax.  "He brings significant expertise, insight and years of experience as a successful business leader, and we will benefit from having his perspective on the board."

Former Walmart president and CEO Lee Scott was a keynote speaker earlier this week at the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s 74th annual convention and trade show at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

Promotional materials billed his appearance as an exciting opportunity to hear about the leadership, innovation and business strategies that led Walmart to be such a successful retailer and noted that Scott would also participate in a candid question and answer forum where distributors would have the opportunity to ask some tough questions.

It looks like there are going to be some unhappy folks in Walmart’s supplier community later today. That’s because there are only a few seats remaining for the Emerging Trends in Retail conference that is organized each fall by the Center for Retail Excellence in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

WASHINGTON — It looks like this year's holiday shoppers have a renewed focus on value and will comparison shop by utilizing smartphones, tablets and mobile applications to make purchasing decisions, according to the latest National Retail Federation Survey.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Supervalu reduced it full-year profit forecast Wednesday morning, even though the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter sales and profits as a result of strategies president and CEO Craig Herkert said are yielding results.

PHILADELPHIA — Shoplifting, employee or supplier fraud, organized retail crime and administrative errors cost the retail industry $41.7 billion in the United States in 2011, representing 1.6% in sales, according to the Global Retail Theft Barometer released Tuesday by Checkpoint Systems. Of that, $18.4 billion was attributed to employee theft, $14.9 billion to shoplifters, $6.6 billion to internal error and $1.8 billion to suppliers.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is holding on Oct. 23 its first annual "2011 Halloween Party and Customer Event" at all 7,200 locations nationwide.

Children who slip on a Halloween costume and purchase any item at any CVS/pharmacy location on Oct. 23 during regular store hours will receive one free Halloween gift pack per child, as well as an in-store costume photo shoot, which includes a free 5x7 print, during select times throughout the day.

The Halloween gift pack, available for free with any purchase while supplies last, includes:

WASHINGTON — It looks like this year's holiday shoppers have a renewed focus on value and will comparison shop by utilizing smartphones, tablets and mobile applications to make purchasing decisions, according to the latest National Retail Federation Survey.