Mass Merchant

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax Friday announced that Ryan Vero, EVP and chief merchandising officer will be leaving the company effective Dec. 2. The company, which did not specify the reason for Vero's departure, said it has already started its search for a replacement. Michael Lewis, EVP and president of retail, will continue to provide oversight to the marketing and merchandising teams.

Economists may be feeling good after a government report that showed third-quarter GDP grew at 2.5%, but try telling millions of Americans who shop at Walmart stores at 12:01 a.m. on the first of the month that the nation is no longer in a recession.

New York City -- A homeless man was charged with murder Thursday for a baseball bat attack on a 74-year-old Lakewood man in a Southern California Walmart, the Associated Press said.

Richard Lawrence Kalfin was charged with murder with a special allegation that he used a deadly weapon. He faces 57 years to life in prison if convicted and remained jailed on more than $1 million bail.

Indianapolis -- Shopping mall owner Simon Property Group said Friday it has filed a complaint against the State of Indiana in Marion County Circuit Court.

The suit is not for monetary damages but is a move to try and force the state to make Amazon.com collect sales tax in order to erase Amazon’s pricing advantage over brick-and-mortar retailers.
 

Walmart EVP merchandising Duncan Mac Naughton spoke at two events this week in Northwest Arkansas, and he said essentially the same thing on both occasions. Two weeks earlier during a supplier summit event at the retailer’s home office, he said basically the same thing, according to those in attendance. And the comments at the supplier summit were essentially the same as those shared with members of the financial community during a mid-October analysts’ meeting or back in August.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- The Kronos Retail Labor Index edged down to 3.8% in October 2011, following an upwardly revised 4.2% for September, which was the first reading above 4% since October 2008. Even with the small decline in October, the Retail labor Index remains well above the series low of 2.8% in January 2011.

New York City -- Consumer spending slowed in October, sending a note of caution as retailers head into the holiday season. Eleven retailers missed expectations for same-store sales, while three chains beat estimates, according to a preliminary tally by Thomson Reuters. However, while the October results were not as promising as some retailers had hoped, sales for the most part rose and most chains reported results that were only slightly off from analysts’ estimates. Some analysts blamed Wall Street for underestimating how much caution is still out there.

Purchase, N.Y. -- October’s unusual weather patterns — an unseasonably warm first half of the month and a snow storm on the last Saturday of the month — may have pushed some spending into November, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and service sales across all payment forms including cash and check.