Staples

Staples Advantage, the B-to-B division of Staples Inc., launched a new program in March designed to better serve the needs of the office supply retailer's business customers. Print-to-Store enables customers to order print jobs through staplesadvantage.com and pick up the finished product at their closest Staples store. The program caters to the omnichannel shopping behaviors of Staples' B-to-B customers.

Is she still alive? That's the question I got asked by one of the resident millennials as I sat at my desk reading a Staples’ press release announcing the chain had reached a deal to sell a line of home office products under the Martha Stewart brand. The deal marks the second time Ms. Stewart and Staples have worked together. The chain began selling Ms. Stewart's branded office supplies, such as sticky notes, journals and rubber bands, in its stores and on its website in 2012.

Staples is trying to increase its appeal to women by embarking on a new initiative with the city of Boston. The retailer has pledged to work with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh to make Boston the best city in the country for working women by signing on to "100 percent Talent: The Boston Women's Compact," an effort to end the gender-based wage gap and advance women in the workforce. "Staples values all of its female associates and understands the important role gender equality plays in fostering an inclusive workplace," said Regis Mulot, Staples’ executive vice president of human resources.

To win, retailers have to accept that the online channel has transformed offline retail. By collecting valuable data from customers across multiple channels, retailers are given numerous opportunities to drive purchasing decisions wherever the customer prefers shopping. To obtain and use big data, retailers need to do the following:

Streamlining the path to purchase and checkout process has been one of the key ways that e-tailers have been able to improve their customers’ online shopping experiences and drive conversions. Mobile consumers have come to expect the fastest, most seamless checkout experiences possible. They don't want to type their credit card numbers or shipping addresses into a small screen every time they shop a new site. They also never want to worry about the security of their data, which high-profile breaches at major retailers routinely call into question. New alternate payment options promise to accelerate this process, and merchants should take a hard look at implementing them for several reasons.

Retail Online Integration's fifth annual list of the leading women executives in omnichannel retail features some of the brightest minds in the industry. This year's nominees were chosen for being in a top-level position within an omnichannel retail organization, along with several other criteria, including their scope of responsibility, achievements within their own companies, and their involvement within the retail industry. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the career paths of some of today's leading retail experts, as well as find out what they believe will be the top tip for omnichannel retail success in 2015.

In a rare instance of corporate criticism of a president, Staples on Wednesday said that President Barack Obama "appears not to have all the facts" when he criticized the company's policy of limiting worker hours. BuzzFeed reported earlier this week that Staples had toughened up enforcement of a rule limiting part-time employees to 25 hours. The story reported that the company's stance was seen by many workers as an effort to avoid paying benefits. Under the Affordable Care Act, companies with more than 50 employees must pay for health insurance for people who work 30 hours a week or more.

In 2015, an Affordable Care Act provision requiring large employers to offer health insurance to staff working more than 30 hours a week kicked into effect. Now, some part-time staff at Staples say management has become extra vigilant about limiting their hours.                  

Staples announced Wednesday that it will acquire Office Depot for $6.3 billion, a move that merges the two largest chain stores selling office supplies. The deal comes as the retailers are seeing massive upheaval in their industry. Demand for paper-based office supplies is dwindling as more business functions move online, and a diverse array of competitors, including Amazon.com and Wal-Mart, are competing to sell these kinds of goods. Together, the brands would have about $39 billion in annual sales and about 4,000 stores. Staples CEO Ron Sargent said that a merger would help the brands compete more effectively.

Office-supply chains Staples and Office Depot are in advanced talks to merge, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The price and structure of the proposed deal couldn't be learned and there's no guarantee a deal will be reached, the newspaper reported. Staples has a market value of about $11 billion, while Office Depot has a market value of about $4.1 billion. Last month, activist investor Starboard Value LP called for the two companies to merge, saying a combined entity would lead to greater savings.