Sales & Marketing

Less than a week after Office Depot and Officemax consummated their merger, the combined companies have a new chairman and CEO in former Delhaize America CEO Roland Smith.

In conjunction with the appointment of Smith, who also previously served as CEO of Wendy’s, the two CEOs of Office Depot and OfficeMax who were serving as co-CEOs of the combined company both resigned. Neil Austrian served as CEO of Office Depot and Ravi Saligram served as CEO of OfficeMax prior to the merger.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart will start unveiling its Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving at 6 p.m., which is two hours earlier than last year, and stagger them throughout the night and all Black Friday weekend. The retailer is also offering a special incentive to employees who work on Thanksgiving Day: a 25% discount on an entire purchase this holiday season."

Veteran information technology executive Joe Zucchero has joined the board of advisors at big data solutions provider Profitect.

Profitect said Zucchero’s expertise in IT operations, cross-organizational implementation, and an understanding of the technology needs of the retail industry aligned perfectly with the company’s suite of solutions.

New York -- Thirty-eight percent of shoppers are likely to shop on Thanksgiving Day this year, according to Accenture’s annual Holiday Shopping Survey. Of those shoppers planning to hit the stores on Thanksgiving, 41% said they will be out shopping between 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and 5 a.m. the next morning.

Interactions, a company that organizes event marketing and product demonstrations for retailers and brands, has appointed Jerry Slater as VP of operations.

Slater will lead Elite Marketing Interactions, the company’s in-house group dedicated exclusively to Meijer, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 203 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. In his new role, Slater is responsible for overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations and will be based in the Grand Rapids office.
 

Portland, Ore. -- Bettery announced that it has teamed up with Safeway to give consumers a convenient way to adopt reusable household batteries, not only reducing their environmental footprint but also saving them money.

Bettery Swap Stations – kiosks for purchasing and exchanging rechargeable batteries – are being installed this month at multiple Safeway locations, starting with stores in Portland, Seattle and surrounding communities.

Virtual Piggy has appointed Sébastien Motte to lead business development in the gaming sector.

New York -- In the first 10 months of 2013, e-commerce sales are up 17% from the same period last year, according to the Visa Spending Intentions survey. To-date in 2013, Visa domestic e-commerce transactions exceeded one billion dollars on 211 days, an increase of 19% from 2012.

In other findings: