Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Toronto - OfficeMax Grand & Toy, an affiliate of Office Depot, Inc., will close all of its 19 Canadian retail stores. OfficeMax Grand & Toy will continue to service its business customers via the company’s e-commerce website, customer service centers and direct sales representatives.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity Corp. reported that net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 dipped to $3.2 million, compared to $5.9 million in the same period last year.

Revenue fell 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, and same-store sales decreased 5.1%. CEO Ed Krell blamed the disappointing results on inclement weather.

Amazon continues to power ahead with record first quarter sales, solid bottom line improvement and intriguing new initiatives to drive future performance.

Sales increased 23% to $19.7 billion during the quarter ended March 31, compared to $16 billion the prior year. The sales figure was comprised of product sales which grew 18.3% to $15.7 billion and service sales which grew 44% to slightly more than $4 billion. The company’s fulfillment costs increased 29% to $2.3 billion.

Phoenix -- Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. said it will grand-open 20 retail locations throughout the U.S. on April 25; stores will open in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

In total, Leslie's plans to open 45 new stores this year, between April and May of 2014.

Seattle – Nordstrom Inc. plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at Winrock Town Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The approximately 33,500-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2015.

The new Nordstrom Rack will be the company's first retail location in New Mexico.

A Walmart initiative begun a year ago to offer an online assortment of products from small women-owned businesses has expanded to the retailer’s stores.

Dublin, Ireland – Discount fast-fashion retailer Primark, the Dublin-based subsidiary of U.K. retail and consumer group Associated British Foods, plans to enter the United States, opening a location in Boston. The 70,000-sq.-ft. store will open at the end of 2015 and be on the site of the former Filene's department store in the city’s downtown area.

Seattle – Starbucks Corp. has filed building permits to open a La Boulange bakery location in Los Angeles. The permits do not specify a time when Starbucks plans to open the new store.

Starbucks purchased the La Boulange chain in 2012 and currently sells La Boulange-branded baked goods in U.S. Starbucks outlets. However, while there are 22 La Boulange stores in San Francisco, this would be the first location outside that market. Starbucks has previously said it wants to expand La Boulange nationally.