Office Depot

If Teen Vogue's Back to School Saturday wasn't proof of how successful a multichannel, multitactic back-to-school campaign can be, I don't know what was. That campaign integrated original Teen Vogue content with offers from leading brands and retailers, and brought it all together with a live, teen-focused event. Videos circulated online for months after the August extravaganza.

With the multitude of ways that customers can offer retailers their feedback today, from on-site product reviews to social media platforms to surveys and more, it's created an opportunity for brands to listen to what their customers are saying and then act upon it. Unfortunately, not many brands are capitalizing on this opportunity. Office Depot is one that is.

Google is finally opening up its Google Shopping Express service to the public today, with the same day delivery service being made available as a test to select users in San Francisco and the Peninsula from San Mateo to San Jose. Participating retailers include, as we've previously reported: Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle, Toys"R"Us/Babies"R"Us, Office Depot, San Francisco's Blue Bottle Coffee, Raley's Nob Hill Foods, and Palo Alto Toy & Sport.

Kevin Peters, president of North American operations for Office Depot, has left the company for a CEO position at an industrial distribution company, the retailer announced Friday. The office supplies retail giant announced that the separation was effective immediately and Neil Austrian, chairman and CEO, will oversee the company's North American business.

Only two retailers — Office Depot and Staples — made it into the top 10 U.S. companies on the 2012 Newsweek Green Rankings, while Marks & Spencer is the sole retailer to make it onto the top 10 global list. For the fourth year in a row, Newsweek's Green Rankings assessed the environmental performance of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States and around the world, comparing their environmental footprint, corporate management and transparency. To conduct the study, Newsweek partnered with two leading environmental research organizations — Trucost and Sustainalytics.

Now is the time to begin planning your email marketing strategy for the holidays. Anything you do now to improve your email performance will pay benefits for the rest of the year and position you for success during the holidays. Consider the following tips to help you get started: 

To help brands protect against the chaos that ensues as a result of a data security breach — not to mention the potential lost revenue — Tim Toews, a web security consultant and former chief information officer at Office Depot, offered a 10-step plan to help retailers maintain control of their business space (i.e., their network) and keep hackers out. Toews presented his plan during a session he led this week at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.

Office Depot announced that it's finalized an agreement with the U.S. Army Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program. The unique program will provide Office Depot with a source of highly qualified applicants for potential employment following their service in the military. It also serves as an additional recruiting incentive that increases the Army's ability to man the force.

Office Depot has joined Supplier Connection, a group of 15 large businesses committed to driving small business growth by simplifying access to their global supply chains. Supplier Connection streamlines the application process for small businesses seeking to become suppliers to the group. Through the web-based portal, small businesses have the opportunity to present their goods and services to many large enterprises with the goal of winning contracts, expanding business and creating jobs. In addition to its one-stop registration capabilities, the website enables small suppliers to learn from, collaborate with, and sell to each other.

Office Depot will open 13 newly remodeled locations in the Houston area on March 28. The updated stores feature more colorful signage and easy-to-navigate floor plans. The stores were redesigned based on customer feedback and shopping patterns. Office Depot operates 1,677 stores in 60 countries, 46 of which are located in the Houston area.