eCommerce

AMSTERDAM — Rene Dahan will step down as Royal Ahold's board chairman in October, the Dutch supermarket operator said Wednesday.

Netherlands-based Ahold — which operates the Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle chains and the Peapod online grocery service in the United States through its Ahold USA subsidiary — said that Dahan would step down after serving on the company's board since 2004. The company plans to propose at its shareholder meeting the appointment of Jan Hommen as Dahan's successor.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Big Lots reported income from continuing operations of $120.3 million, or $2.09 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, meeting the company's expectations for net income to be in the range of $1.91 to $2.10 per diluted share.

Net sales for U.S. operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 increased 4.4% to $1.8 billion, compared to $1.6 billion for the same period of fiscal 2011. Comparable-store sales for U.S. stores decreased 3.5% for the quarter. 

I have to admit, the recent announcement of the merger between Office Depot and OfficeMax took me by surprise. It’s not as though it doesn’t make sense — it’s logical both logistically and financially — but, while there had been a few rumblings and rumors, this is a dramatic move that took place with relatively little forewarning.

Columbus, Ohio -- Big Lots reported Wednesday that net income for the fourth quarter rose to $120.3 million, from $114.7 million in the year-ago period. Sales in the U.S. increased 4.4% to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion, and domestic same-store sales dipped 3.5%.

For the full year, income from continuing operations dropped to $177.2 million, from $207.2 million in the prior fiscal year. This year’s results included $3.4 million in charges related to new inventory system implementation.

New York -- Award results released Wednesday by international think-tank Ethisphere Institute listed Whole Foods, OfficeMax and Target among the World’ Most Ethical Companies.

The institute reviewed nominations from companies in more than 100 countries and 36 industries. Selection is based on a review of codes of ethics; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation said it supports legislation that would repeal the employer mandate provision of the health care reform law scheduled to take effect next year.

AUSTIN, Texas — SecureNet announced that it will launch its next generation of Mobile Payments API libraries (version 2.0) early next month, enabling quick and easy integration with mobile and point-of-sale applications for seamless mobile checkout. The company also plans to release an advanced suite of developer integration tools complete with interactive code samples in multiple languages, easy-to-follow quick start guides by acceptance type, a robust self-service development sandbox and specialized support resources.

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — GSI Commerce, an eBay Inc. company, said it has extended its contract with PetSmart to support the retailer’s omnichannel strategy with webstore, fulfillment and customer service solutions. GSI has worked with PetSmart since 2007, and this contract will extend the relationship for three years.