OfficeMax Incorporated

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OfficeMax reported that it swung to a loss of $3.02 million in the quarter ended June 25, compared with net income of $11.8 million in the year-ago period. Total sales dipped 0.3 percent to $1.648 billion from $1.653 billion, but beat Wall Street expectations of $1.63 billion. 

It’s no secret that U.S. retail sales collapsed in 2008 and 2009 because of the recession. But several of the largest retailers consistently performed poorly between 2005 and 2010 for reasons that go beyond the recession.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax is following Toys"R"Us' lead and adding e-readers to its product offerings. The retailer announced that it will sell Barnes & Noble Nook and Nook Color e-readers at all OfficeMax stores and OfficeMax.com starting July 30. "OfficeMax is very pleased to offer our customers access to Barnes & Noble's NOOK brand of eReading products," said Ryan Vero, EVP and chief merchandising officer for OfficeMax. "Innovative features that deliver a rich reading experience, as well as access to a vast selection of sought-after books, periodicals and more, have made NOOK a popular choice among avid readers of

Naperville Ill. -- OfficeMax announced Thursday that Steve Parsons has been named executive VP and chief human resources officer for the office supply chain, effective July 25. Parsons will report to Ravi Saligram, president and CEO, and will be responsible for all aspects of global human resources for the company, including talent management, compensation and benefits, training, leadership development, recruitment, diversity, and internal and corporate communications. Most recently, Parsons was senior VP human resources at Rite Aid Corp.

OfficeMax announced that Michael J. Lewis will assume the role of executive vice president and president of retail, effective May 2.  In this position, Lewis will report directly to Ravi Saligram, president and CEO of OfficeMax, and will have full responsibility for the retail P&L and all aspects of the retail business, including merchandising, store operations and real estate. 

Office Depot admits it hasn't been taking care of business when it comes to its retail store customers. The big-box retail concept offering thousands of office supply products was no longer working. "Our model was broken," said Kevin Peters, head of the retail division for Boca Raton, Fla.-based Office Depot.

The cross-channel retail industry is at a crossroads. For starters, due to the economic downturn, the past couple of years have been difficult for the retail sector. But that's changing. Retailers are starting to see signs of life and are breathing a sigh of relief. At press time, for example, it was announced that February retail sales increased 0.6 percent over January and 4.2 percent year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Website and mobile site experiences that are fast, reliable and consistent can play a huge role in driving online conversions and revenues, particularly during heavy sales periods like the holidays.

It's time to outfit the kiddies to go back to school and OfficeMax is partnering with Payless for a second year with a cross-promotion offering two of the essentials: school supplies and shoes.