Mass Merchant

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced that it will double match every customer's $10 Simply Give donation made Nov. 9 to 10 to help boost support for local food pantries before the holidays. The Double Match Days initiative is being launched as part of the retailer's Taste of the Holidays in-store sampling event as a way to thank customers for their continued commitment to help fight hunger in the Midwest.

New York -- Office Depot has been recognized in Newsweek magazine’s annual Green Rankings as the number one greenest large retailer in the United States for the third consecutive year. Across all industry sectors, Office Depot was ranked as America’s ninth greenest large company.

Here is Newsweek’s ranking of the 15 greenest U.S. retailers:

Appliance and consumer electronics retailer HH Gregg, reported second quarter result on Friday that weren't as bad as expected.

Former OfficeMax executive Ryan Vero has been named SVP and president of grocery, drug and pharmacy at Sears Holdings.

Vero spent 17 years with OfficeMax and last served as the company’s EVP and chief merchandising and marketing officer. In his new role with Sears Holdings, Vero will be responsible for the oversight, leadership and growth, both in-store and online, for the company’s grocery, drug and pharmacy businesses.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Friday it has named Ryan Vero senior VP and president, Grocery, Drug and Pharmacy.

Vero most recently served as the executive VP and chief merchandising/marketing officer for OfficeMax. He spend 17 years with the office supply retailer and was most recently responsible for merchandising, marketing, new channels, and e-commerce business, in addition to global sourcing, private brands, product development and pricing.
 

Seattle -- Nordstrom said it plans to open a Nordstrom Rack in Birmingham, Ala. This will be the retailer's first location in the state.

The approximately 35,000-sq. ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2013 at River Ridge Shopping Center. The center is owned and operated by DDR Corp.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc.appears to be on the upswing, reporting positive same-store sales across all of its divisions for both the third quarter and October. 

Net sales for the third quarter increased 8% to $3.86 billion compared with $3.59 billion for the third quarter last year. The company’s third quarter comparable sales were up 65 compared with a 5% decrease in the third quarter last year.

By Chris Merritt, Ryder

Natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy are devastating. They impact people’s lives and livelihood. In addition, as we’ve learned from recent years, they can result in significant supply chain disruptions. Following the storm, we are seeing three issues impacting retail supply chains – power, fuel, and people.