Check out a brewing tussle at Office Depot

The office-products retailer is fighting back one shareholder’s attempt to nominate two directors to replace both its current and former CEO on the board.

Shareholder Woodbridge Group said it planned to nominate an ex-president of Office Depot and and a former president of rival Staples as board members in hopes of revitalizing the retailer, which has been bruised by the economic slowdown that has led small business customers to cut back.

It’s yet one more hurdle for Office Depot, which disclosed last month that it faces a regulatory probe into allegations that it made phone calls to analysts last year warning that weak economic conditions were hurting sales.

The retailer is urging its shareholders to vote down the dissident board nominees. Stay tuned.

Also in the basket:

US Treasury Secretary sees economy in ’sharp decline’

Reebok to pay $1 million fine over lead jewelry

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out Walgreens’ push into health services

The drug store chain took a big step toward expanding beyond its retail business by announcing it planned to buy two health-care companies, publicly traded I-trax and privately held Whole Health Management.

The retailer has created a health and wellness division to manage health centers and pharmacies at worksites. Walgreen already operates consumer clinics in some of its stores, but now it sees a big opportunity to help companies lower their health costs.

“The story here is growth,” CEO Jeffrey Rein said.

Also in the basket:

Mattress maker Tempur-Pedic forecasts profit drop

Hard times for consumers threaten food companies

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out new offerings for men from DKNY.

Fashion House Donna Karan International reached a licensing deal with Liz Claiborne to create a new line of men’s sportswear for the United States and Canada.

The collection, to include knits, trousers, blazers and coats, will be targeted to the “better” segment, with articles priced from $59.50 to $595. It will be available in department stores in fall of this year.

The move will help the fashion house named for Karan (pictured) reach a wider audience as other designers such as Vera Wang have partnered with retailers on clothing lines.

Also in the basket:

Nike finds problems at China factories

AnnTaylor reports quarterly loss

(Photo: Reuters)

There are no brick-and-mortar stores to walk in, but Montgomery Ward is back–as an online and catalog retailer.

Revived in 2004 as a direct marketer, Montgomery Ward sells more than 50,000 items on its Web site and through catalogs. It is counting on its name recognition in the department store business to lure consumers who want to buy apparel, jewelry and home furnishings.

Founded as the world’s first mail-order business in 1872, Montgomery Ward operated more than 500 U.S. stores in its heydey before competition and declining sales forced it into bankruptcy in 1997. The last of its retail stores closed in 2001.

Direct Marketing Services Inc, a catalog marketer headed by David Milgrom, bought the Wards trademarks in 2004 and gave the brand new life on the Web.

Now, the company is looking to spread the word with marketing gimmicks such as a current “Tell a Friend About Wards and Win” promotion. This month, customers can register at www.wards.com/friend to get a chance to win a $100 gift card.

“Customers are happy to see that Montgomery Ward is back,” Milgrom said.

(Logo: Montgomery Ward)

Check Out rising February sales at McDonald’s

U.S. shoppers may be eating out less, but they are still finding time to grab coffee and sandwiches at McDonald’s.

The world’s biggest fast-food chain said sales at stores open at least 13 months gained 11.7 globally in February, and its shares rose on the news.

Europe, where sales rose 15.4 percent, led McDonald’s growth in the month. The Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region had same-store sales growth of 10.9 percent.

Sales rose 8.3 percent in the United States, better than many analysts expected amid the slowing economic environment. Investors had become cautious when McDonald’s reported flat U.S. same-stores sales in December andblamed severe winter weather for the disappointing result.

McDonald’s said February’s extra leap year day boosted sales by about 4 percentage points.

Also in the basket:

Adidas shares up on talk of Nike interest

U.S. wholesale inventories rose in January

(Photo: Reuters)

Wal-Mart is going green — and the retailing behemoth says its new metro Atlanta outlet shows how it will build stores that are more friendly to communities and the environment.
 
    Built at the site of a vacant mall in an area targeted for urban renewal, Wal-Mart says the new store will bring more than just money, a.k.a. greenbacks, to the neighborhood.
    
    The new outlet has water and energy-saving features that include low-flow toilets and refrigerated food displays with motion sensors that turn LED lights on when customers approach and off when they leave. 
 
    Executives say the store, which is shaded by green awnings, is the first to feature an al fresco dining area. Trees pepper the property, which has access to a football stadium. 
    
    Wal-Mart in the past has been criticized for gobbling up unused land for its so-called “big box” stores and for other practices that have exacted a toll on the environment. For instance, U.S. environmental regulators penalized the company in 2004 for violations of the Clean Water Act.
    
    Arkansas-based Wal-Mart unveiled its plan to cut environmental waste and reduce greenhouse gases a few years ago, and this year said it would build more energy-efficient stores. The company has said its future goal is for stores to use only renewable energy and to create zero waste.
    
    “I really believe our business now looks through green-colored glasses,” said Michael Mills, a regional director of corporate affairs for Wal-Mart. “Sustainability drives everything that we do.” 
    
    Executives said the new store’s softer, less warehouse-like feel is intended to be friendlier to shoppers.
    
    For instance, small kitchen appliances are displayed on lower counters (shown in picture) as opposed to being stacked on high shelves.
    
    The location is also one of eight U.S. Wal-Marts that have mini-room displays featuring Canopy furniture, a new private label product line that also includes bedding, bath accessories and dinnerware.  
 

(Photo: Wal-Mart)

Check out retailers’ best performance since November

Led by spending at Wal-Mart and other discounters by consumers looking to save, U.S. retailers turned in a 2 percent overall same-store sales gain for February. It was the best monthly performance since November, said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics.

The world’s largest retailer posted a 2.6 percent gain in February same-store sales, ahead of expectations.

The teen clothing retailers also saw strength. Aeropostale sales rose 7 percent.

Still, investors might not want to celebrate yet. Department stores and apparel retailers struggled as consumers tightened their wallets. Even the high-end sector is not immune, as Nordstrom sales fell 5.8 percent.

Will Spring bring better sales? We can at least hope.

Also in the basket:

Home foreclosures reach record highs

January pending home sales unchanged

(Photo: Reuters)

Retailer Kohl’s, which has partnered with romance writer Danielle Steel, skateboarding mogul Tony Hawk and bridal designer Vera Wang, has added pop star Avril Lavigne to its roster of celebrities peddling branded goods exclusively at the mid-price department store.

Lavigne’s apparel and jewelry collection, called Abbey Dawn, will debut at Kohl’s in July, just in time for the back-to-school season.

The brand gives feminine touches to rock ‘n’ roll styles and will include items priced from $24 to $48.

“Abbey Dawn will aspire to be a unique and accessible reflection of my ever-changing style,” the Canadian crooner said in a statement.

The Lavigne fashions join a growing list of name brands launched at Kohl’s in recent years, including perfume by Steel, clothing by Hawk and Simply Vera apparel and accessories by Wang.

The baby business is proving to be a growing business for Newell Rubbermaid, which announced this week that it will acquire Aprica, a Japanese maker of car seats and strollers, to expand in Asia.

To drive that global growth, Newell is drawing on consumer research to drive product production. Its leading baby products division, Graco, called on a child development specialist to help make a product that allows parents to soothe their newborns without holding them.

The result was Sweetpeace, a swing (pictured) equipped with features that seek to replicate scents and sounds infants experience in the womb.

The swing has various recline and seating positions to make a baby feel comfortable, and is equipped to play nature sounds such as ocean waves. It has an MP3 plug-in connection so that parents can play their own music.

“The product was intentionally designed to try to recreate some soothing motions moms make when they are trying to calm their infant,” said Jennifer Rosinia, the consultant who helped develop it.

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 300 companies that make or import infant products, says the U.S. market for child products is valued at about $8.9 billion, up from $6 billion in 2000. The group says industry growth is being fueled by rising numbers of older and more affluent parents, increased spending by grandparents and a boost in the ranks of stay-at-home moms.

At about $169, Sweetpeace is positioned at the higher end of the swing market but Graco says sales have gone beyond expectations since it became available last month.

“It’s the first of many more products to come,” said Lindsay Lebresco of Graco.

Photo: Graco

Circuit City is opening two stores in Texas and Oregon on Thursday in a smaller format that is a key part of its turn-around plan.

The store, called ‘The City,’ is smaller and carries products in high-demand electronics categories. Including the latest openings, Circuit City has 16 of the newer stores up and running, and plans to open 50 to 60 in the fiscal year that begins next month.

The City stores are 20,000 square feet, compared with up to 33,000 square feet for a regular Circuit City. They are staffed with younger workers equipped with headsets and tablet-size PCs to assist customers.

Shelves (shown at right) rest on wheels so that product assortments can be re-arranged easily. Stools are plentiful so that guests can sit down and interact with computers and other products.

The Richmond, Virginia retailer says early sales and customer feedback have been positive. Circuit City has posted losses for the past year as store-level changes disrupted operations and competition intensified with rival Best Buy.

“Our brand needed refreshing,” Circuit City CEO Philip Schoonover told a recent media briefing. “The way Circuit City can be different and better with that format is we can be superconvenient.”

(Photo: Circuit City)