Showing posts with label CSN Stores. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CSN Stores. Show all posts

Thursday, August 19

Office Depot

Office Depot,
Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) is a supplier of office products and services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, mailing and shipping. An S&P 500 company, Office Depot generates revenues of over US $14 billion annually and has 42,000 employees worldwide. It is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

History

Office Depot was founded by three partners: Stephen Dougherty, Pat Sher, and Jack Kopkin in 1986.They envisioned a warehouse-style store for office products where customers could purchase items in bulk for discounted prices. This concept lead to starting Office Depot, and the company opened its first store in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida in 1986.The company saw steady growth throughout the years, and opened the 1000th Office Depot North American retail store in Countryside, IL in 2005.

Other events and milestones
1988 – Initial public offering of stock.
1991 – Expands to the West Coast of the United States by merging with Office Club.
1992 - Increases operations in North America by acquiring The Great Canadian Office Supplies Warehouse Chain.
1993 - Enters contract stationer business by acquiring Wilson Stationery & Printing Company and Eastman Office Products Corporation.
1994 – Begins international expansion by signing joint venture agreement with Grupo Gigante in Mexico and licensing agreements with Israel, Colombia and Poland.
1995 – Opens 500th store in North America as well as stores in Mexico and Poland; signs joint venture agreement to open stores in France and licensing agreement to open store in Thailand; establishes Business Services Division (now Business Solutions Division).
1996 – Launches B-to-B e-commerce Web site.
1997 – Furthers international footprint by venturing into Hungary; operates 45 locations outside the United States.

1998 – Launches www.officedepot.com; merges with Viking Office Products, the leading direct marketer of office products in Europe and Australia.
1999 – Launches first international Office Depot Web site, www.viking-direct.co.uk; listed on Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
2000 - Enters European contract stationer market with launch of the European Business Services Division.
2001 – Acquires 4sure.com.
2002 - Begins Viking Direct catalog/direct mail operations in Switzerland, Spain and Portugal; expands into Central America with new retail stores in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica through a joint licensing agreement.
2003 – Doubles European business with acquisition of Guilbert, S.A.; becomes the first office supply superstore to offer fully-functional and comprehensive Spanish website.
2004 - Introduces “Green Book” catalog of environmentally-preferable products, as well as the first free, nationwide in-store electronics recycling program and free, in-store cell phone and rechargeable battery recycling program in all stores in the U.S. and Canada.
2005 – Names Steve Odland Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; relaunches “Taking Care of Business” tagline.
2006 - Celebrates its 20th anniversary; acquires Best Office Co., Ltd., Allied Office Products, Papirius s.r.o., and AsiaEc.
2007 – Joins US Green Building Council; opens first store in Puerto Rico and new Global Sourcing Office in Shenzhen, China.
2008 – Introduces “Office Depot Green” product line; unveils first "Green" store in Austin, TX and received LEED Gold Certification from USGBC; announces alliance with Netbizz Office Supplies in Singapore, AGE in Sweden, and bigboXX.com in Hong Kong.
2009 – Signs franchise agreement with M.H. Alshaya Co.; opens first store in Kuwait.

Online
The domain officedepot.com attracted at least 37 million visitors annually according to a 2008 Compete.com survey.

Store Layout

Beginning in 2004, then CEO Bruce Nelson introduced its new retail format dubbed M2. Some of the aspects include:
Products are grouped in highly visible, strategically located "pods"
Core supplies are housed in the outer perimeter of the store
Low sightlines throughout the store designed for optimal visibility
Clear signage that allows for easy purchase
Furniture and technology at the center of the store
Design, Print & Ship services in every store

Private label brands

In addition to selling many name brands, Office Depot sells products under several store brands, including:
Ativa
Ativa Mobil-IT
Ativa iSeries
Café Delray
Foray
i.e.
Office Depot
Office Depot Green
RealSpace
RealSpace Pro
TUG

Customer Incentive Programs

Office Depot Worklife Rewards
On June 1, 2006, Office Depot launched the Worklife Rewards program, which combined several benefits of the former “Advantage Reward” and Star Teacher programs. The Worklife Rewards program issues members a return of 10% on all ink, toner, paper and Copy & Print services, and 1% of all other qualifying purchases (excluding laptops, desktops, monitors, and TVs). Other customer benefits include:
No limit to the amount of rewards members can earn. Rewards are paid in the form of an Office Depot Reward Card when you earn a minimum of $10.
Reward balances that carry over to the next quarter. If Worklife Rewards members do not earn the required $10 in rewards during a calendar quarter, reward balances will carry over quarter to quarter during the calendar year.
Online account management.
Savings on travel, retail and service purchases through the “My Worklife Partners” program at [www.myworkliferewards.com].
Exclusive coupons as well as in-store savings on select items.

Star Teacher Program
The Star Teacher Program is specifically for educators and school administrators, and incorporates the benefits of the Office Depot Worklife Rewards Program. In addition to Worklife Rewards benefits, the Star Teacher program also carries a 15% discount on copy center purchases. Office Depot holds many events for teachers at its stores, including bi-annual Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts that offer free breakfast, giveaways and discounts for teachers.

5% Back To Schools Program
The 5% Back To Schools Program contributes a portion of a purchase to a local school as a store credit that the school may use to purchase Office Depot merchandise. Schools must register with the program to receive the store credit. Purchases of basic school supplies qualify for the program, some exclusions apply.

Ink and Toner Recycling
Office Depot’s Ink and Toner Recycling program encourages customers to recycle their used ink cartridges. Members of the Office Depot Worklife Rewards or Star Teacher programs can bring in empty cartridges for recycling to an Office Depot store. Customers receive $3 back in rewards (paid in the form of an Office Depot Reward card) for each cartridge recycled, up to 20 a month.

Environmental Programs

Office Depot has structured its environmental strategy around three concepts: Buying Green, Being Green and Selling Green. Initiatives supporting this strategy include:

Green
By investing more than $20 million in energy efficiency initiatives in 2005, Office Depot reduced its electricity and absolute carbon-dioxide emissions from North American facilities by over 10% in 2006.
In 2004, Office Depot Office Depot cut all global contracts with Asia Pulp & Paper because of APP’s forestry practices.

Being Green
In 2008, Office Depot created a dedicated brand of green office products: Office Depot Green™[16], and built the world’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified retail store prototype in Austin, TX. The store obtained LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
Also in 2008, Office Depot won the BSI British Standards award for Innovation. These awards are open to any UK organization certified to ISO 14001, which is the world’s only international environmental management system standard.
In Europe, Office Depot’s UK Headquarters is a green building, having achieved a BREEAM “Very Good” Rating.

Selling Green
Office Depot offers more than 6,500 products with environmental attributes and certifications.
Office Depot offers numerous green solutions for its customers, including The Green Book™, Greener Office website, Ink and Toner Cartridge Recycling Program and a Tech Recycling Service.

Sponsorships

In 2005, Office Depot became the “Official Office Products Partner of NASCAR.,” a title the company continues to hold. Also in 2005, Office Depot signed on as the primary sponsor of the #99 Office Depot Ford, owned by Roush Fenway Racing and driven by Carl Edwards.
In 2008, Office Depot announced that it would become co-primary sponsor for Tony Stewart and the No. 14 Chevrolet at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009.

Activities per country

Stores owned by and operated under the Office Depot name 
United States
Israel
Canada
France
Japan
Hungary
Puerto Rico
Sweden
South Korea
Stores operating with the Office Depot name under joint venture / license agreements 
Mexico (with Soriana's joint venture)
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Panama
Thailand 
(source:wikipedia)
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Wednesday, August 18

Big-box store

Big-box store,
A big-box store (also supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. Examples include large department stores such as Wal-Mart and Target.

Characteristics

Typical characteristics include the following:
Large, free-standing, rectangular, generally single-floor structure built on a concrete slab. The flat roof and ceiling trusses are generally made of steel, the walls are concrete block clad in metal or masonry siding.
Floor space several times greater than traditional retailers in the sector, providing for a large amount of merchandise; in North America, generally more than 50,000 square feet (4650 m²), sometimes approaching 200,000 square feet (18,600 m²), though varying by sector and market. In countries where space is at a premium, such as the United Kingdom, the relevant numbers are smaller and stores are more likely to have two or more floors.
Types

Generally, big-box stores can be broken down into two categories: general merchandise (examples include Wal-Mart and Target), and specialty stores (such as Menards, Barnes and Noble, or Best Buy) which specialize in goods within a specific range, such as hardware, books, or electronics. In recent years, many traditional retailers—such as Tesco and Praktiker—have opened stores in the big-box-store format in an effort to compete with big-box chains, which are expanding internationally as their home markets reach maturity.
Criticism

Labor
Labor unions oppose big-box development because the employees of such stores are usually not unionized. Unions are especially concerned about the grocery market because stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Kmart now sell groceries. Unions and cities are attempting to use land use ordinances to restrict these businesses.

Urban planning
Some cities and towns are worried about the economic impact of big-box retailers on existing downtown merchants or the sprawl-inducing impacts on character of such developments, as these stores are often associated with heavy traffic in the areas around the store locations. Some communities have adopted a higher level of architectural treatment and regulations to ensure that the superstores relate better to their environs and neighbors. Many already have regulations addressing signage and landscaping.
There are also concerns surrounding traffic and roads. The increased traffic leads to more air pollution in an area and higher taxes in order to maintain the roads.

Big box stores in various countries

Australia


Interior of Mitre 10 MEGA, a big box hardware store in Australia
The first company in Australia to use the big-box model is Bunnings Warehouse. Mitre 10 Australia adopted the model with the "Mitre 10 Mega" stores first opening at Beenleigh, Queensland in 2004. Ikea began operating in Australia in 1975

Canada
Apart from major American big-box stores such as Wal-Mart Canada, Home Depot and Lowe's, there are many retail chains operating exclusively in Canada. These include stores such as (combined with slashes by the owner) Zellers/Home Outfitters/The Bay, Loblaws/Real Canadian Superstore, Rona, Winners/Homesense, Sport Chek, Canadian Tire/Mark's Work Wearhouse, Shoppers Drug Mart, and many others.
The indigenous Loblaw Companies Limited has expanded and multiplied its Real Canadian Superstore (and Maxi & Cie in Quebec) branded outlets to try to fill any genuine big-box market and fend off the damaging competition that a large Wal-Mart penetration would inflict on Canadian-based retailers.
In the early 21st century, commercial developers in Canada chose to build big box stores (often grouped together in so-called "power centres") in lieu of traditional shopping malls. Examples include Deerfoot Meadows (Calgary), Stonegate (Saskatoon), South Edmonton Common (Edmonton), and Heartland Town Centre (Mississauga).
There are currently more than 300 power centres, which usually contain multiple big-box stores, located throughout Canada.

France
Many configurations exist: the hypermarket that sells many kinds of goods under one roof (like French chains Carrefour, Auchan, and E.Leclerc), most of them are integrated within a shopping mall; the supermarket that is a smaller version of a hypermarket; the market located in city centers; department stores which first appeared in Paris, then some opened in other parts of the world; the superstore that mainly sells goods in a particular domain (automotive, electronics, home furniture, etc.); and warehouse stores.

Hong Kong


A superstore in Hong Kong.
To contend against Carrefour, PARKnSHOP opened the first superstore in 1996. The concept of a wet market was applied to this store. The store emphasizes one-stop shopping. Today, PARKnSHOP has more than 50 superstores and megastores, making it the largest superstore network in Hong Kong. The first Wellcome superstore was opened in 2000 and Wellcome has only 17 superstores. CRC also has four superstores.
However, as Hong Kong is very densely populated, the sizes of superstores are smaller than in other countries. Some superstores are running at a loss (such as Chelsea Heights) and therefore stopped selling fresh fish. Also, the superstores are often crowded and some PARKnSHOP superstores and megastores include Fortress World, which belongs to the same corporation, Hutchison Whampoa.

India
India is currently going through a retail revolution with the introduction of Big Bazaar in 2001.

Ireland
In Ireland, large merchandise stores in the style of U.S. superstores were not a part of the retail sector until recent decades.[citation needed] Dunnes Stores have traditionally had a supermarket-plus-household-and-clothes model and now have some large stores as well as Tesco Ireland who now run upwards of 19 hypermarkets across the country.

New Zealand
The big-box phenomenon hit New Zealand in the late 1980s, with the introduction of Kmart Australia, and later the "Warehouse" superstore, a local company. Mitre 10 New Zealand opened their first Mega in 2004 at Hastings, New Zealand six months before the Australian Mega store, it opened to great success with 20 more stores opening in the year two years. Australian-owned Bunnings Warehouse opened its first store in New Zealand in 2006.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, large warehouse style general merchandise stores along the lines of U.S. superstores are not a traditional part of the retail sector but in recent times shopping styles have changed. Some large-scale retailers are developing, e.g., Tesco Extra stores, and the largest branches of Asda, but these are supermarkets which have evolved into hypermarkets selling a broader range of non-food goods. The term superstore is not much used in the UK. When it is used, it may refer to a supermarket that is larger than a convenience store but smaller than a hypermarket, but such establishments are nearly always referred to as "supermarkets" in practice, or simply as the name of the chain in question. It is also sometimes used by non-food retailers for stores which are larger than their normal store, in which case the meaning varies from company to company, but usually bears no resemblance to the U.S. definition. It is mainly used by downmarket retailers and confers little prestige.
As in the U.S., the term anchor store is used to denote a larger-than-normal branch of a chain store which is considered to draw a particularly large volume of custom to a shopping centre or retail park. Across Britain, large-scale shopping malls on the edges of towns and cities, containing "hypermarket" anchor stores (e.g., large ASDA or Dunnes Stores) are increasingly popular, especially since the 1980s.
[edit]United States
In the United States, a superstore is usually a type of department store, equivalent to the European term hypermarket. However sometimes it refers to specialist category killer retailers.
Usually associated with large chains such as Target and Wal-Mart, a superstore sells a wide range of products, from toys and electronics to clothing and groceries and even furniture, sporting goods and automotive supplies. These types of stores advertise "one stop shopping", where customers can stop just once at their store and buy everything they need or want. Most superstores are located on a single level, as opposed to many department stores which are often multi-leveled.


Non-traditional exterior of a SuperTarget, Jacksonville, Florida.
Meijer is generally credited with pioneering the superstore concept in the United States. The first Meijer Superstore opened in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1962 (In contrast, Wal-Mart didn't open its first Supercenter until 1988).
Superstores should not be confused with warehouse club stores, such as Sam's Club, Costco, and BJ's Wholesale Club. While many superstores are as large as some warehouse stores, superstores do not require the customer to purchase large quantities of items. The superstores provide the bulk breaking that warehouse stores lack.
The term "superstore" is also used for some large specialist retailers, such as Menards which fills the gap of building supplies in other superstores by supplying just those items in their stores. Another example is Best Buy which stocks mostly high technology/electronics items, with occasional house appliances.

(source:wikipedia)
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CSN Stores

CSN Stores,
CSN Stores is an e-commerce company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been growing rapidly since its inception in 2002 with over 200 online stores. Each online store focuses on a wide-ranging product selection that spans various price points and styles. CSN's tagline is "Shop Easy".


History

CSN Stores began in August 2002 with just two employees, entrepreneurs Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, and one online store - RacksandStands.com. In year two, CSN added three more Web-based stores. In year three, CSN added nine more stores. From that point onward, CSN Stores accelerated its growth to become what is now one of the top three home and office goods e-tailers in the United States, according to Internet Retailer magazine. The company currently operates niche online stores in furniture, home decor, home improvement, housewares, luggage, footwear, pet goods and other categories under the overall CSN Stores umbrella.
Awards & Accolades

2010
Ranked No. 61 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine
2009
Ranked No. 63 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine
2008
Named to the 2009 Hot 100 by Internet Retailer magazine
Ranked No. 492 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the United States by Inc. magazine
Ranked No. 69 of 500 on the Internet Retailer 500 by Internet Retailer magazine
Ranked No. 4 in Top 60 Pacesetters for the fastest-growing private companies in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal
2007
Ranked No. 147 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the United States by Inc. magazine

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