article-12101.xml

RETAILER NEWS

Office Depot has embraced the concept of mobile commerce and teamed up with a California company called Where2GetIt to provide the retailer’s customers with a Web- and mobile-based system that helps them quickly find Office Depot stores using a handheld device. The service enables users to enter a zip code, city or state to find a store. Once locations are displayed, a quick click on the phone number connects users to the store.

The nation’s oldest manufacturer of writing instruments, Cross, has a new strategy which includes opening retail stores. The company recently opened a 900-square-foot concept store at a retail development called Natick Collection in Massachusetts that features approximately 1,500 items including writing instruments, office accessories, timepieces, cufflinks, eyewear, leather goods and computer bags. A second location is scheduled to open during October in Las Vegas.

VENDOR NEWS

The private equity movement is still alive in the office product industry as Boise Cascade has sold its paper, packaging and newsprint division to Aldabra 2 Acquisition Corp. Boise Cascade was already owned by a private equity group, Madison Dearborn Partners, which acquired the company in 2004 when it was separated from OfficeMax.