News

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot has been named to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of 2012 Energy Star Leaders for Leadership in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

In the baseline year of 2004, Office Depot facilities emitted 381,689 metric tons of carbon dioxide. By 2011, the carbon footprint of Office Depot’s facilities was 239,319 metric tons -- a reduction of over 140,000 metric tons, or 37 percent over the seven year period.

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney is cutting approximately 350 positions at its headquarters as part of its plan to restructure the company.

DALLAS — Tuesday Morning reported net sales for the fourth quarter ended June 30 of $196.4 million compared with $194.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, an increase of 0.8%. Comparable-store sales for the quarter ended June 30 increased by 0.2% compared with the same period last year, which was comprised of a 2.7% decrease in traffic and a 2.9% increase in ticket.

Boston -- A report released Tuesday by CB Richard Ellis found that, despite concerns about the pace of economic recovery and lukewarm employment growth, the U.S. commercial real estate market showed improvement across all property sectors in the second quarter of 2012.

Retail properties, which have generally lagged other property sectors during the recovery, saw a slight improvement in availability, which fell to 13% during the second quarter.

Paris -- Shoppers worldwide expect a seamless integration across online, social media, mobile and physical stores, according to a new global report released Tuesday by Capgemini.

According to "Digital Shopper Relevancy," which surveyed 16,000 digital shoppers across 16 developing and mature markets, 60% of respondents said they expect the convergence of retail channels by 2014, while more than half of those surveyed said most retailers currently are inconsistent in the way they present themselves across channels.

Los Angeles -- Private equity firm Brentwood Associates has acquired a majority stake in Sundance Holdings Group ("Sundance Catalog").

Sundance Catalog, founded by Robert Redford in 1989 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a multichannel direct marketer and specialty retailer of women's apparel and accessories, jewelry and home furnishings. Selling shareholders, including ACI Capital and Webster Capital, will retain a minority ownership stake, and the business will remain under the leadership of current president and CEO Matey Erdos.

Atlanta -- Stibo Systems announced that Best Buy Canada has selected Stibo Systems to optimize its customer’s online and mobile e-commerce experience.

Best Buy Canada, which operates roughly 225 consumer electronics stores under the brands Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, and Future Shop, will use Stibo Systems’ Step platform to support their multichannel efforts and to streamline item setup and data management for the English-Canadian and French-Canadian versions of www.bestbuy.ca and www.futureshop.ca.
 

New York – A study released Tuesday by Accenture found that, in the grocery arena, store brands continue to steal sales from brand-name products.

According to Accenture’s poll of 500 U.S. consumers, 64% said their grocery carts were at least half full of store-brand products, and 39% said they have increased their purchase of store-brands in recent years as a result of the tough economic times.

Dallas – Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Tuesday that sales for the quarter ended June 30 edged up 0.8% to $196.4 million, compared with $194.8 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store sales rose 0.2%, comprised of a 2.7% decrease in traffic and a 2.9% increase in ticket. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, net sales were $812.8 million compared to $821.1 million for fiscal 2011.

Based upon the results of the fourth quarter, Tuesday Morning said it expects to narrow its Q4 loss from last year’s quarter.

San Diego – Warehouse club operator PriceSmart Inc. reported Tuesday that net income for the third quarter slipped 4% to $15.7 million, compared with $16.3 m million last year.

Revenue rose 18% to $506.8 million from $431.1 million, missing Wall Street’s forecasted $508.2 million. Same-store sales increased 12.9%.