eCommerce

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot announced that Steve Schmidt has been named president international. Schmidt, who previously served as EVP corporate strategy and new business development, will continue to report to Neil Austrian, chairman and CEO of Office Depot.

Schmidt will oversee Office Depot’s multichannel (contract, direct and retail) international business that sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 56 countries outside of the U.S. and Canada.

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us has become the latest retailer to join the trend of starting "Black Friday" on Thanksgiving night. The company announced that, for the first time, it will open its doors at 9 p.m. on Nov. 24. On Nov. 24, customers will also find the company's Thanksgiving-weekend circular, whichis filled with more than $12,500 in savings, including doorbusters, Thursday through Saturday discounts and free gift-with-purchase offers, Toys"R'Us said.

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Children's Place Retail Stores has announced the appointment of Lori Tauber Marcus as SVP chief marketing officer, effective Nov. 16. She will be responsible for brand strategy, e-commerce, CRM, creative services, public relations, social media and visual merchandising. She will report directly to Jane Elfers, president and CEO.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar is expanding into California for the first time with the opening of four new stores in Ontario, Rialto, Riverside and Fontana. The company's aggressive growth plans also include 450 to 500 new stores to be opened in fiscal 2012.  

The Canada served up to Americans when they visit the country’s pavilion at Disney’s Epcot Center in Orlando is one of lumberjacks, lakes and abundant wildlife roaming virgin forests. While those elements exist, according to Jeff Doucette, a resident of Calgary in the Western province of Alberta and founder of the strategic consulting firm Sales Is Not Simple, the Canada portrayed at the Disney resort is far removed from the average Canadian’s daily existence and the marketplace Target will enter in 2013.

Between now and March 2013, when the first Target stores open in Canada, there is a whole lot of heavy lifting to be done at the retailer’s new headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario.

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters Inc.’s third-quarter profit fell 31% amid a decline in same-store sales and as merchandise markdowns continued to weigh on margins.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, Urban Outfitters posted earnings of $50.7 million, down from $73.1 million in the year-ago period.

Gross margin narrowed to 35.4% from 41.1%, partly due to increased merchandise markdowns at Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. Total inventories grew by $78 million.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. reported Monday a loss of $143 million for the quarter ended Oct. 29, compared with a profit of $44 million in the year-ago period. Sagging comps and shrinking margins led to the performance decline.

For the quarter, sales dropped 4.8% to $3.99 billion, reflecting the company’s exit from its catalog and catalog outlet businesses, which it sold off during the quarter. 

As previously reported, same-store sales dipped 1.6%.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings Thursday expressed support for S. 1832, the Marketplace Equity Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Enzi, Alexander and Durbin. The legislation will level the sales tax collection playing field for local businesses by granting the states authority to enforce existing laws and require out-of-state, online-only retailers to collect and remit sales taxes on sales made to state residents.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings announced that its Sears Outlet stores will honor competitor's Black Friday ads through Nov. 30. Customers may bring in a Black Friday ad they find online, and if Sears Outlet has the same item model, brand and color in the store, they will match the price at the time of purchase, even if it is before Black Friday. Full price match details are available at www.searsoutlet.com/holidaypricematch.