Sales & Marketing

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Sales continued to decline at two of Office Depot’s three divisions during the first quarter with weakness most pronounced in the retail business.

Total company sales declined 3% to $2.9 billion and were negatively affected by the ongoing struggles of the 1,123 unit North American retail division. Profits increased to $41 million or 14 cents a share compared with a prior year loss of $15 million or five cents a share.

Chicago -- A report released Tuesday by ShopperTrak found that consumers are expected to shop and buy more in the week leading up to Mother's Day than they did last year.

According to the report, national retail sales, when compared to the same period last year, will rise 6% in the week leading up to Mother's Day, and foot traffic will increase 3.7%.
 

Burlington, Ontario -- Ikea Canada announced Tuesday that it is one of three pilot countries to bring store information via Android phones or iPhones.

Effective May 2, the Ikea Mobile Shopping Application will enable customers to browse Ikea's product range, check product information and stock availability. The new application also allows the creation of shopping lists that include the product's location for pick up in the store. Customers can also access a store map on their phone to make navigating through the store easier.

New York -- Shoe manufacturer Wolverine Worldwide Inc. announced Tuesday that it has partnered with equity firms Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital to acquire Payless ShoeSource parent Collective Brands Inc. for about $1.3 billion.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Enterprise software application company, SAP, has named Geraldine McBride as president of its North America region. In this role, McBride is responsible for all of SAP's business operations in the United States and Canada. She will report to Robert Enslin, president of sales and part of the SAP Global Managing Board.

York, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Stores said Tuesday that vice chairman/president of merchandising Tony Buccina will retire from the company effective Feb. 15, 2013.

The retailer will launch a search for a new chief merchandising officer during this period.

Additionally, Bon-Ton announced the appointment of Luis Fernandez to the newly created position of executive VP and chief marketing officer, effective May 7.

Fernandez was previously VP, Last Call marketing & customer insight for the Neiman Marcus Group.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Ahead of its annual shareholders' meeting, Sears Holdings has provided first-quarter guidance calling for net income between $155 million and $195 million (between $1.46 and $1.84 per diluted share from continuing operations) versus a net loss from continuing operations of $165 million ($1.53 loss per diluted share from continuing operations), for the first quarter in 2011.  The above range includes approximately $235 million, after tax and minority interest, of gains from the sale of certain U.S. and Canadian stores.

Norwalk, Conn. -- The CFOs of U.S. middle-market retailers are more optimistic about the current state of their own industry and the U.S. economy, although they are significantly more pessimistic about the global economy, according to the latest GE Capital U.S. Mid-Market Survey.

Fifty-one percent of retail CFOs say their industry will grow over the next 12 months — an increase of 25% over the previous wave of this survey, which was conducted in the third quarter of 2011.