OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot and OfficeMax have identified the top five candidates for the role of CEO in the new company that their proposed merger will form. In a joint press release, the office supply retailers said that after reviewing and vetting more than 100 candidates and interviewing eight, the CEO Selection Committee has narrowed the selection process to five candidates it believes can lead the combined business forward following the merger, with the goal of having a permanent CEO in place by September.

SEATTLE -- Amazon's grocery service might be making its way to New York next year, according to published reports.

Citing analysis from SunTrust analyst Robert Peck, EcommerceBytes.com reported that the Seattle-based online retailer may start offering Amazon Fresh in New York in 2014, based on his finding that the company had expanded into a New Jersey warehouse previously used by C&S Wholesale Grocers.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer is preparing to hire thousands of new team members for its stores in response to company growth and in preparation for the fall and holiday selling seasons. While staffing needs vary from store to store, all Meijer stores have positions available. Broken down by state, Meijer plans 4,400 new hires in Michigan, 1,800 in Indiana, 1,600 in Ohio, 900 in Illinois and 500 in Kentucky.

Plano, Texas -- According to multiple reports on Thursday, J.C. Penney will replace Myron “Mike” Ullman as CEO, and the search pace is being pressured by top investor Bill Ackman.

Penney, which has not commented on the reports, is being pushed to name a new CEO in 30 to 45 days, revealed in a letter Ackman sent to the retailer’s board of directors. Ackman also told board members that former Penney CEO Allen Questrom would return as chairman if the retailer chose a new CEO he liked.

New York City -- Scathing letters continued flying back and forth on Friday, between activist investor Bill Ackman and the J.C. Penney board of directors — each attacking the other’s handling of the CEO search process and timing.

Then, CNBC reported that Perry Capital, a 7% Penney stakeholder, has weighed in as well, and will file a 13-D urging the board to immediately remove Mike Ullman as CEO, and replace his leadership with Allen Questrom as chairman and Footlocker’s Ken Hicks as CEO.

Boston – Retailers trying to successfully attract business from back-to-school shoppers need to understand the different types of customer segments they must target. According to a new report from social media analytics software provider Crimson Hexagon, back-to-school consumers fall into five broad categories based on how they broadcast their goals, choices, experiences, and opinions about back-to-school shopping on social media.

The five types of social back-to-school consumer are: