Sales & Marketing

New York -- Office Depot and OfficeMax announced the completion of their merger late Tuesday and from the looks of third quarter results released the same day the deal should prove beneficial to both companies.

Office Depot said its third quarter same store sales declined 2%, while OfficeMax said its comps dropped 2.8% in the U.S. and 2.2% in Mexico.

The combined company will use the name Office Depot, Inc. and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP.

Brooklyn, NY. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm will open a new store in Huntington Station, N.Y. at the Walt Whitman Shops on Nov. 7. The 9,948-sq.-ft. store is the brand’s first location on Long Island.

“We are excited to continue to grow the West Elm brand with new locations around the world,” said Jim Brett, president of West Elm. “The Walt Whitman store will be a creative, community-driven space with products and services designed to help customers discover their personal style at home.”

Michaels is offering a free, interactive “Just Add Wishes” DIY site to help consumers with holiday needs. From Nov. 11 through Dec. 24, kids can interact with a live elf through streaming video.

After hours, kids can play games and build wish lists that parents can share on Facebook. On Christmas Eve, the site becomes a Santa Tracker, including a Santa locator, behind-the-scenes information from the North Pole control tower and the Santa Cam, where kids get to see Santa at work putting presents under trees and filling stockings.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Kmart will offer lease-to-own financing at stores nationwide this holiday season. The latest addition to Kmart's portfolio of financial services, the lease-to-own program began to rollout at Kmart stores in test markets as of Oct. 15 and will be available in all stores by Nov. 22. Giving customers a no credit-required way to take home the items they need right away, lease-to-own financing will be available year-round for merchandise priced at $150 and over.

Kmart is planning to roll out lease-to-own financing at stores nationwide ahead of the holiday season. The retailer began testing the program in mid-October and plans to make it available in all stores by Nov. 22.

Customers will be able to take home items priced at $150 and more for no credit, including appliances, mattresses, furniture, lawn and garden equipment, consumer electronics, service plans and others. To qualify, customers must be at least 18 years old, earn at least $1,000 per month and supply a social security or tax identification number when applying.

New York -- Increasing smartphone ownership is taking more consumers down the digital shopping route, while many shoppers plan to frequent local small businesses when visiting stores this holiday season. According to the Deloitte Annual Holiday Survey overall smartphone ownership has risen to 61% of respondents from 42% two years ago.

Meijer wraps up its 2013 growth strategy with the opening of a huge supercenter in Danville, Ill., this week. The 190, 000-sq.-ft. store is the last of six new stores the retailer has opened this year in the Midwest, which represents its most aggressive expansion in recent history.

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch reported weak net and comparable store sales and laid out plans to restructure its Gilly Hicks brand as part of a strategic review in advance of releasing its full results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013.