Tag Archives: Office Depot

Taxes Got You Down? Here's All the Free Stuff You Can Get on April 15

By Matt Brownell

Filed under: , , ,

Cinnabon

For a lot of people, Tax Day isn’t a happy day. Maybe you found out you owe a lot of money to the IRS; maybe you just spent way too long waiting in line at the post office. The good news is that several companies go out of their way to offer great deals and freebies on April 15 to ease the sting of dealing with the IRS. Here are a few:

Freebie Finding Mom flags a few junk-food freebies. Cinnabon is bringing back its popular “Tax Day Bites” promotion, where it offers two free Cinnabon Bites from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Meanwhile, Great American Cookies is offering free birthday cake cookies all day, dubbing them “Cookie Currency Tax Rebates.” And Arby’s is offering free value-size orders of curly fries or small potato cakes all day on April 15 — just print out this coupon.

Sponsored Linksadsonar_placementId=1505951;adsonar_pid=1990767;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=242;adsonar_zh=252;adsonar_jv=’ads.tw.adsonar.com’;

Want to hit the movies after you finish your ordeal at the Post Office? AMC is offering a free small popcorn with this coupon Unlike many of these freebies, this one is actually valid for all of “tax weekend” — it can be used from April 12 through 15. You can print it out or present it on a smartphone.

BeFrugal.com passes along a freebies that’s truly relevant to Tax Day: Up to 5 pounds of free shredding at Office Depot with a coupon. The deal is good through April 16 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. (Just be careful not to shred any important documents, as you’ll need to have them handy in case you get audited.) Another helpful coupon from Office Depot lets you get a free black-and-white copy of your tax return, up to 25 pages; the coupon is good through May 1.

Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.

%Gallery-185430%

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/tax-day-freebies/

OfficeMax and Office Depot Provide Merger Update and Make Key Regulatory Filing

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

OfficeMax and Office Depot Provide Merger Update and Make Key Regulatory Filing

Announce CEO Selection Committee and Launch Integration Planning Process

Share Progress in Key Regulatory Milestones

NAPERVILLE, Ill. & BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– OfficeMax Incorporated (NYS: OMX) and Office Depot, Inc. (NYS: ODP) today provided several key updates to their planned merger, including the announcement of the committee members tasked with overseeing the process to select a CEO for the combined company and selection of the executives who will help to manage the integration planning process.

Office Depot Board Member Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin Donuts, and OfficeMax Board Member Jim Marino, former President and CEO of Alberto Culver Company, will co-chair the selection committee. The other members are Office Depot directors Tom Colligan and Marty Evans; Rakesh Gangwal, Non-executive Chairman of the Board of OfficeMax; and OfficeMax director Francesca Ruiz de Luzuriaga.

The committee will oversee a comprehensive search process that will consider both incumbent CEOs – Neil Austrian, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot and Ravi Saligram, President and CEO of OfficeMax – as well as external candidates. The committee will proceed with the objective of selecting the CEO for the combined company at or prior to the closing of the transaction.

In addition, Office Depot and OfficeMax also today announced the selection of key executives from both companies who will oversee the integration planning process for the combined company.

Messrs. Saligram and Austrian will provide overall sponsorship and stewardship of the integration planning process. Together, they have appointed OfficeMax Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Besanko and Office Depot Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mike Newman to co-chair the integration planning process, with the shared objective of mutually developing an integration plan designed to ensure a smooth and productive transition and capture the projected $400-600 million in annual cost synergies by the third year following the transaction’s close.

“Today’s announcements mark a key milestone in our vision to help shareholders and customers of both companies realize the tremendous value inherent in our proposed combination,” said Austrian. “By bringing together several of our top executives and Board members to focus on the process of integrating our two great …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Inland Real Estate Corporation Announces Addition of Ross Dress for Less® at Rivertree Court in Vern

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Inland Real Estate Corporation Announces Addition of Ross Dress for Less® at Rivertree Court in Vernon Hills, Ill.

OAK BROOK, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYS: IRC) , a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and operates high quality necessity and value based retail centers in select markets in the Central United States, today announced it has executed the final phase of its redevelopment of the Rivertree Court shopping center in the Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills, Ill., with the addition of a new Ross Dress for Less store (Ross). Ross is one of the largest off-price apparel and home fashion chains in the United States and has signed a lease to occupy 26,555 square feet of space at the center.

“We’re pleased to provide Ross Dress for Less with an attractive space for one of its newer stores,” said Scott Carr, chief investment officer of Inland Real Estate Corporation. “Our shopping centers are community staples, presenting strong locations for Ross Dress for Less to enter the market.”

The Company also recently signed leases with Pier 1 Imports for a 10,400-square-foot space and Shoe Carnival for an 11,250-square-foot store at the center.

The addition of these tenants, scheduled to open in late 2013 and early 2014, will complete IRC‘s repositioning of Rivertree Court, located at 701 Milwaukee Ave. in Vernon Hills within a high-traffic retail shopping hub in a growing area of upper-income housing. Tenants at the center include Gordman’s, Office Depot, Old Navy, Michaels, T.J.Maxx, Ulta and Five Guys Burgers & Fries.


About Inland Real Estate Corporation

Inland Real Estate Corporation is a self-administered and self-managed publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates open-air neighborhood, community and power shopping centers and single-tenant retail properties located primarily in the Central United States. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned interests in 157 investment properties, including 44 owned through its unconsolidated joint ventures, with aggregate leasable space of approximately 15 million square feet. Additional information on Inland Real Estate Corporation is available at www.inlandrealestate.com.


<br …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Get ready for the renaissance in M&A

By Bain Insights, Contributor

Warren Buffett and Brazil’s 3G Capital are teaming up to buy Heinz, the global food giant. Royalty Pharma wants to acquire Elan, the Irish drugmaker. US retailers OfficeMax and Office Depot are getting together. Our prediction: these and a flurry of other deals in recent weeks are signs of a coming renaissance in mergers and acquisitions. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Starboard Value Calls for Office Depot to Remake Board

By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Regardless of whether its merger with OfficeMax is completed or not,  Office Depot‘s   major shareholder Starboard Value believes that the board of directors of needs a significant shakeup to be effective.

In a letter filed with the SEC, Starboard’s Jeffrey C. Smith said the office supply retailer needs “a new Board that possesses the appropriate skill sets to oversee a turnaround of Office Depot.” Starboard, which owns 14.8% of Office Depot‘s stock, offered up a slate of eight candidates for the board, including former chairman and CEO of Chrysler and Home Depot Robert Nardelli, and the current president and CEO of Republic Airways‘ Frontier Airlines subsidiary David Siegel

Considering the current operating performance, Starboard is looking for immediate change in the makeup of the board, which will benefit the melding of the two corporate cultures should the merger be approved.

If the current board doesn’t make the changes requested, Starboard says the annual shareholder meeting should be scheduled before the merger is completed, so the shareholders can decide who they want to lead the company.

The article Starboard Value Calls for Office Depot to Remake Board originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

<p style="clear: both;padding: 8px …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Office Depot Recognized as One of America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Office Depot Recognized as One of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises

Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Honors Office Depot for Eleventh Year

BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Office Depot (NYS: ODP) , a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced that the Company was named to the 2012 list of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises by Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The award is the only national recognition honoring corporations for world-class programs that level the playing field for women’s business enterprises (WBEs) to compete for corporate business. This marks the eleventh year that Office Depot has been included on the selective list.

“We are honored to be recognized by WBENC for the dedication Office Depot has demonstrated to supporting the success, growth and advancement of women-owned businesses,” said Michael Allison, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Office Depot. “We are committed to actively conducting business with WBENC-certified women’s business enterprises, and encourage breaking down barriers and uncovering new growth opportunities for women business owners.”

In its inclusion on WBENC‘s list, Office Depot was specifically lauded for the Company’s Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) Catalog. Office Depot created the first and only annual HUB Catalog for the office supplies industry in 2009, which features the Company’s complete assortment of products sold by HUB vendors. Today, the catalog contains over 1,600 products offered by certified HUBs. This initiative not only fuels growth in sales, inventory turnover, and market expansion for these enterprises, it also provides a simple, straightforward mechanism to help business customers meet their diversity purchasing goals.

“Thanks to the extraordinary leadership of our top corporations, women’s businesses are generating strategies and solutions for meeting the fast-changing needs of today’s marketplace. Together they are driving the innovation that fuels a stronger economy and creates jobs,” said Pamela Prince-Eason, President and CEO of WBENC.

Since becoming a corporate member of WBENC in 2000, Office Depot has participated in numerous WBENC networking events and initiatives, including co-chairing WBENC‘s 2012 National Conference & Business Fair which took place in Orlando, Fla.

About WBENC

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) is the leading advocate for, and authority on, Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs) as suppliers and vendors to the nation’s corporations. Founded …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Up 78% Since June, Is Support.com's Rally Supportable?

By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

It’s been a bit more than a month now since my fellow Fool Seth Jayson related how online tech support company Support.com trounced Wall Street‘s expectations in its Q4 earnings report. Since then, we’ve been waiting for full specifics on just how good a quarter Support had, in the form of its Form 10-K filing with the SEC.

While waiting, I had the opportunity to talk with CEO Josh Pickus to get some details on how business is going. Now the 10-K has arrived, giving us the rest of the story. So here’s the rundown:

Facts and figures
On the surface, Support.com looks chancy. GAAP profits ran negative last year. However, things are starting to improve.

The company has notched back-to-back GAAP-profitable quarters. It’s expected to turn full-year profitable this year. With free cash flow firmly positive for the year ($1.5 million) and revenues on a tear (total revenues up 34%, services revenues up 55%), while cost of services rose only 22%, Support is on track to achieve this goal in 2013. Longer term, analysts have the company pegged for 20% annual earnings growth.

Support’s income statement strength is mirrored on its balance sheet, which shows $56.4 million in cash, equivalents, and short term investments, against negligible long-term debt. Pickus points out that his firm needs to keep a cash cushion of about $20 million to fund operations and assure customers of its financial strength, but that still leaves a lot of dry powder with which to fuel explosive growth.

Future facts
With so much cash lying around, investors might worry that Support could be tempted to blow its reserves on ill-considered acquisitions. Not to worry. It’s only made four acquisitions of any size in the past six years, and Pickus confirms he’s not interested in buying just for the sake of buying. New subsidiaries must bring both valuable technology and vibrant businesses complete with new customers and revenue streams.

Meanwhile, Support seems content with the business it’s got. As Pickus explains, there’s little risk of key customers Office Depot and OfficeMax leaving the fold after their merger. They, like key rival Staples , all use Support.com to provide tech support to their customers. And as a rule, Pickus says, the profit margins they earn on this revenue are superior to what their core retail business provides — and the revenues are growing faster as well.

With overall growth in the retail industry averaging 12%, and Support pegged for 20%, this seems true for Support as well as for its customers.


The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool’s special report. Uncovering these top picks is …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) Awards Managed Print Solutions Contract to Office Depot

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) Awards Managed Print Solutions Contract to Office Depot

Agreement Enables Office Depot To Provide On-Demand Print Services To Thousands Of Government Agencies Throughout The Country

BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Office Depot® (NYS: ODP) , a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced it has been awarded a joint contract for Managed Print Solutions by The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN). The new agreement with Office Depot provides copy and print services at significant discounts to eligible public agency customers.

TCPN customers looking for cost savings across an entire fleet of copiers, printers and multi-function devices can rely on Office Depot as a vendor neutral consultant. With in- depth assessments and the broadest range of multi-vendor equipment options, Office Depot will deliver significant cost savings and productivity gains. For TCPN members with internal print shops, Office Depot can eliminate the need for ongoing expenditures in expensive printing equipment with a comprehensive suite of document outsourcing options.

Office Depot is proud to once again have the opportunity to partner with TCPN to provide government customers with unprecedented value and service through our customized Managed Print Solutions,” said Mike Harvey, Vice President, Managed Print Services at Office Depot. “Office Depot has enjoyed a great relationship with TCPN spanning many years, and through our broad range of solutions, members can now optimize printing at a pace and cost that makes sense for them.”

Since 1997, Office Depot has served as a provider of office and school supplies and services for TCPN‘s public and non-profit agencies. The continuation of this partnership provides significant savings to customers, ultimately saving taxpayers’ dollars.

Office Depot continues to offer great solutions that enable our members to control their operating expenses and increase productivity,” said Tray Moses, Director of Operations and Business Development for TCPN. “Through this new contract, public agencies across the country will be able to save significant money each year on printing services.”

To learn more about the products and services available on the TCPN contract, visit business.officedepot.com.

About Office Depot

Office Depot provides office supplies and services through 1,629 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs, and global e-commerce operations. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Office Depot Wins Two Silver Stevie® Awards for Sales &amp; Customer ServiceSM

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Office Depot Wins Two Silver Stevie ® Awards for Sales & Customer Service SM

eCommerce and Telesales Teams Recognized for Exemplary Customer Service

BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Office Depot, Inc. (NYS: ODP) , a leading global provider of office supplies and services, today announced that it has won two Silver Stevie® Awards in the seventh annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The international competition recognizes excellence in disciplines that are crucial to business success, and honors the accomplishments of sales, customer service, and call/contact center professionals worldwide.

Office Depot was honored with Silver Stevie Awards for eCommerce Customer Service, which recognized Office Depot‘s expanded chat services for web customers and the Telesales Team of the Year.

“At Office Depot, we are committed to delivering superior customer service, no matter the channel,” said Tim McGrath, Vice President of Customer Service for Office Depot. “We are proud to once again be recognized by the Stevie® Awards and congratulate our eCommerce and Telesales Customer Service teams for a job well done.”

More than 1,100 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year’s competition, an increase of 10 percent over 2012. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 120 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.

“From our perspective this was the most successful Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service yet,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “Not just because of the increase in the number and variety of entries, but in the extraordinary quality of the entries. All of this year’s Stevie Award winners are truly deserving.”

The awards were presented to honorees during a gala banquet on Monday, February 25 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. More than 300 nominated customer service and sales executives from the U.S. and several other countries attended.

Office Depot also won Stevie® Awards in 2012, 2009 and 2004.

Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Stevie winners in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/sales.

About Office Depot

Office Depot provides office supplies and services through 1,629 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs, and global …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Office Depot Receives Climate Leadership Award from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Office Depot Receives Climate Leadership Award from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Company Recognized for Achieving 29 Percent Carbon Footprint Reduction in the U.S., Aggressively Beating its 20 Percent Reduction Goal One Year Ahead of Schedule

BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Office Depot, Inc. (NYS: ODP) , a leading global provider of office supplies and services, today announced that it has been recognized with a Climate Leadership Goal Achievement Award for Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA‘s) Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO), the Center for Climate & Energy Solutions (C2ES), and The Climate Registry (The Registry).

Shela Fletcher, Senior Manager of Environmental Strategy, Office Depot, and Dan Depace, Senior Director of Real Estate Finance, Office Depot, Accept the Goal Achievement Award at the Climate Leadership Conference from Elizabeth Craig, Director, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, U.S. EPA. (Photo: Business Wire)

The awards were presented during the Climate Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. on February 28, to recognize and encourage exemplary corporate, organizational, and individual leadership in reducing carbon pollution and addressing climate change.

“I commend Office Depot for its exemplary commitment and dedication to tackling the challenge of climate change,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA‘s Office of Air and Radiation. “Office Depot and all our Climate Leadership Award winners are reducing harmful carbon pollution, increasing efficiency and cutting waste at the same time.”

The Goal Achievement Award recognizes organizations that publicly report and verify Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories and achieve aggressive reduction goals. In 2010, in collaboration with EPA‘s former Climate Leaders program, Office Depot adopted a goal of reducing U.S. GHG emissions by 20 percent by 2012, with 2007 as a baseline year. By the end of 2011, Office Depot had achieved a 29 percent reduction in the U.S. versus its baseline year.

Office Depot recognizes that taking action on climate change is good for business and good for the environment,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Senior Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot. “We’ve made a series of fiscally sound investments in energy efficiency that have far exceeded our investment performance requirements, delivered rapid ROI, and reduced our carbon footprint substantially. By achieving our carbon reduction goal, we’ve …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Staples Turnaround Is Underway: Take Notice or Be Clipped

By Sean Williams, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Yesterday was quarterly earnings time again for office supply superstore Staples , which often means only one thing for shareholders — duck and cover.

Staples didn’t disappoint short-sellers, with revenue coming in about $140 million below estimates, at $6.57 billion, despite adjusted EPS of $0.46 slightly surpassing Wall Street‘s estimates. The more damaging blow came from management’s 2013 guidance that called for $23.9 billion in revenue, and EPS in the range of $1.30-$1.35. Current Wall Street estimates prior to this report had been forecasting revenue of $24.3 billion on $1.44 in EPS. That’s right folks — another earnings shortfall from Staples.

Meet the new Staples
Yet, I couldn’t be happier, because a turnaround at Staples is fully under way, and the company’s bottom line has hardly blinked because of it. Short-sellers can focus on these weak results if they’d like to, but they’re likely to be “stapled” if they don’t take notice of the catalysts that could drive Staples higher.

To begin with, Staples is proactively cutting costs by closing larger underperforming European and U.S. locations and turning its focus to smaller, mobile-focused stores and applications. Its plan is modeled very similarly to Best Buy , which is itself closing 50 of its bigger stores in favor of opening 100 smaller mobile-focused locations. Although margins on electronics are going to be smaller than office supply products, the simple fact that Staples can draw customers into its stores could create secondary sales.

In addition, Staples, between its stores and direct-to-marketing services, will be carrying a full line of Apple accessories by the end of this month. Staples has carried Apple accessories in its international markets for a while, but this marks the company’s first U.S. deal with Apple. It’s notable because the majority of Staples’ exposure is still in the U.S., giving the company a huge potential to drive traffic. Most Staples stores aren’t located near malls, which gives the consumer looking for a convenient Apple products solution all the more reason to head to their local Staples.

Another key point worth noting is the expected benefit Staples should experience from the pending purchase of OfficeMax by Office Depot . You might think it counterintuitive to assume that a merger of the No. 2 and No. 3 in the office supply sector would make things more difficult for Staples, when, in reality it’ll be just the boon it needs to steal market share and grow domestic sales. The Office Depot/OfficeMax merger is likely to result in store closures and merger-related hiccups that will leave Staples in prime position to pick up new customers.

Investors would be foolish (with a small ‘f’) to ignore Staples’ shareholder incentives, as well. In spite of accounting for store closures and paying down its debt, Staples still delivered $870 million in free cash in 2012, of which $449 million went for share repurchases, and $294 million was returned to shareholders through dividends. In 2013, Staples …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Office Depot and REAL Change Productions Announce Star-Studded Telecast to Celebrate Teachers Who Ch

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Office Depot and REAL Change Productions Announce Star-Studded Telecast to Celebrate Teachers Who Change Lives

Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Miley Cyrus, Jason Mraz and Others Kick Start the REAL Change Telecast to Raise Funds for Teachers

BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– With so many teachers using their own paycheck to equip their classrooms, Office Depot (NYS: ODP) , a leading global provider of office supplies and services, is partnering with REAL Change Productions to recognize teachers for their positive influence on today’s youth, as well as raise awareness for a donation program benefiting classrooms throughout the country.

To officially kick off the partnership, Office Depot is the founding sponsor of the 2013 REAL Change Artists For Education TV special, which will air April 23 on CBS as well as other syndicated networks (check local listings). Alongside Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Miley Cyrus, Jason Mraz, and others, Office Depot will shine the spotlight on teachers while rallying the nation to help give back.

The telecast will include visits to the artists’ hometown schools to acknowledge their most inspiring teacher, and Pitbull will celebrate his teacher that made a difference with a special performance at his former high school in Miami.

Starting today, teachers can visit www.officedepot.com/realchange to register for the program, which will then make their classrooms eligible to receive direct donations. Parents, students and friends can then visit www.officedepot.com/realchange to make a general donation or search for a specific teacher or school to make a donation that will benefit the specific classroom.

All funds donated will be distributed through AdoptAClassroom.org, an organization that connects donors with teachers to be classroom champions.

“We applaud Office Depot for their support and partnership in the REAL Change program. Their contributions will significantly impact classrooms across the country by bringing supplies to teachers and students with limited resources,” said Liam Murphy, Founder and CEO of REAL Change.”

Understanding the value of education, Office Depot strives to help teachers, parents and students through various give-back programs throughout the school year, including the Star Teacher Program, Office Depot‘s Teacher Appreciation Week, and the Office Depot Foundation’s National Backpack Program, which has distributed nearly 3 million backpacks filled with essential school supplies to deserving students throughout the country since its inception in 2001.

“At Office Depot, we recognize that teachers not only …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Staples Earnings: An Early Look

By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Earnings season is winding down, with most companies already having reported their quarterly results. But there are still some companies left to report, and Staples is about to release its quarterly earnings report. The key to making smart investment decisions with stocks releasing their quarter reports is to anticipate how they’ll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you’ll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

As the leading dedicated office-supply retailer, Staples has been fighting a big battle with online sellers to sustain its business. But a recent merger in the industry could have huge implications for the company looking forward. Let’s take an early look at what’s been happening with Staples over the past quarter and what we’re likely to see in its quarterly report on Wednesday.

Stats on Staples

Analyst EPS Estimate

$0.45

Change From Year-Ago EPS

9.8%

Revenue Estimate

$6.72 billion

Change From Year-Ago Revenue

4%

Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters

2

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Will Staples get more business done this quarter?
Analysts haven’t budged on their calls for Staples’ profits over the past few months, with estimates showing their expectations for solid sales gains for the quarter but declining sales throughout fiscal 2014. The stock has jumped almost 15% since early December, though, due in large part to the recent consolidation in the industry.

For a long time, retail analysts have looked at office-supply stores as the next big-box victim of online cannibalization. Amazon.com has pushed its AmazonSupply website as an alternative to traditional retailers, promising free two-day shipping on orders over $50 and leveraging its strong reputation in retail toward businesses. Yet Staples stands out from its competitors for a couple of important reasons, including its own extensive online sales and its impressive distribution network. Combined with store-brand office supplies that help the company maintain higher margins, Staples has a competitive advantage over its big-box rivals in the space.

That may be a big part of why OfficeMax and Office Depot finally decided to tie the knot last month. The two rivals estimate that synergies from the merger could reduce costs by $400 million to $700 million and lead to a more efficient combined operation. Yet Staples also soared on news from the merger, likely in hopes that coming store closures at OfficeMax and Office Depot will help it gain share in the markets where the newly merged company chooses to reduce its exposure.

In its quarterly report, look for how Staples’ management discusses its response to the coming merger. With some speculation about a possible buyout bid for Staples, how the company positions itself going forward could make a big difference in whether its recent share-price rise lasts.

<div …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Amazon Rock Solid, Netflix Still Struggling With Customer Satisfaction

By Louis Columbus, Contributor

The latest results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index for retail and e-commerce show Amazon with a solid lead in customer satisfaction in both Internet retailing and across the entire department, discount and specialty retailer chain categories.  Their score of 85 on the ACSI Index puts them ahead of Nordstrom (84), Target (81) and Kohl’s (81) in addition to exceeding the Department and Discount Category Score (77).  Amazon also stayed above the entire Specialty Retail Scores Index (78), surpassing Office Depot (84), Costco (83) and others as well.  You can find the results of the February 2013 and Historical ACSI Benchmarks here. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Office Depot, OfficeMax CEOs to stay in place pending merger (Feb 22)

Office Depot store in Encinitas, California

(Reuters) – Office Depot Inc , which will merge with rival OfficeMax Inc , said the chief executives of both companies would remain in their positions pending the appointment of a CEO of the merged company. The office supplies retailers will establish a selection committee consisting of an equal number of independent directors to identify a CEO, Office Depot said in a regulatory filing on Friday. (http://link.reuters. …

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Yahoo Business

Office Depot To Buy OfficeMax? And Then There Were Two.

By Robert Passikoff, Contributor Looks as if Office Depot is going to buy OfficeMax. That purchase would combine the #2 and #3 office supply retailers, leaving only the new entity and Staples (currently #1), in an industry that has been pretty much undifferentiated and, in the industry’s terminology, “overstored.” …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Office Depot to buy OfficeMax in $1.2 billion all-stock deal

Office Depot store in Encinitas, California

(Reuters) – Office Depot Inc said on Wednesday that it had reached a deal to buy smaller rival OfficeMax Inc for $1.17 billion in stock to get more clout with suppliers and better compete against Staples Inc and Amazon.com Inc. Office Depot will issue 2.69 new shares of common stock for each outstanding common share of OfficeMax. At Tuesday's closing prices, the deal is valued at $13.50 per share, or $1.17 billion, based on 86.7 million shares outstanding as of October 26. …

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Yahoo Business