News

Office Depot on Friday announced that Kevin Peters had resigned from his role as president of the retailer’s North American division effective immediately.

Office Depot said Peters was leaving the company after five years to become CEO of an unidentified industrial distribution company.

Nineteen of the nation’s leading retail and CPG companies received perfect scores on the 2013 Corporate Equality Index compiled by the Human Rights Campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign released its 2013 Corporate Equality Index, which gives companies ratings of up to 100% based on their policies regarding LGBT employees and also released a buyer's guide for LGBT consumers. According to the equality advocacy group, a total of 1,848 companies were invited to submit applications, of those 530 actually did so and of those 252 received scores of 100%.

Paris -- A Friday report by Reuters said that Virgin Megastore’s French division will declare insolvent next week, slated to unveil a plan to file for payments suspension on Jan. 7.

The French operation is the latest victim of the slump in CD and DVD sales.
 
Virgin France is owned by private equity firm Butler Capital Partners, and operates 26 Virgin-branded stores in France.

Retailer and supplier consolidation has led to the demise of some conventional trade shows, but that’s not the case with the Sweets & Snacks Expo.

Record attendance is expected at the event scheduled for May 21 through May 23 in Chicago due in part to format changes by event organizer the National Confectioners Association and the strength of merchandise categories represented at the mega event.

San Jose, Calif. -- A Friday report by RetailNext said that its analysis of 8.5 million shopping trips to big-box and specialty retailers in the U.S. during the 2011 and 2012 holiday seasons revealed that:

Walmart SVP Lev Khasis was elevated to the new role of president and CEO of new formats for Walmart International, according Reuters and Bloomberg reports citing a Walmart spokesman.

Khasis joined Walmart in 2011 after working for Russian retailer X5, a company Walmart reportedly had an interest in acquiring. The spokesman said Khasis will focus on developing store concepts that can be deployed across markets.

Tervis, the company best known for its virtually unbreakable, insulated tumblers, has launched a new store design that reflects its updated image. The brand, whose products can be personalized to any interest or occasion, underwent a major rebranding in 2011 and is now translating the image to brick-and-mortar stores.  

An annual holiday e-retail satisfaction report produced by analytic's firm ForeSee showed a slight deterioration in Walmart’s satisfaction score during the holidays.

Amazon.com, LLBean.com and QVC.com were the top three retailers on ForeSee’s Annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction survey while Walmart.com fell in the middle of the pack.