Office Depot, Inc. announced it is pivoting the company from a traditional office products retailer to a broader business services and technology products platform. As the first step in this new strategic direction, the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CompuCom Systems, Inc. ("CompuCom"), a market-leading provider of award-winning IT services, products and solutions that enable the digital workplace for enterprise, small and midsize businesses. The company also provided a preliminary estimate of third-quarter financial results and a lowered outlook for Office Depot's stand-alone business for 2017. "Technology is the office supply of the future," said Gerry Smith, chief executive officer of Office Depot. "Today marks a significant milestone as we move to provide a unique business services platform for our current and future customers. Acquiring CompuCom is the first step in this new strategic direction. The combination of CompuCom's enterprise IT services with our millions of customers and approximately 1,400 distribution points gives us the credibility and scale to build a sustainable platform and stand apart from the competition. The company will create value for shareholders from a diversified revenue base with a clear opportunity to grow higher value services and business-to-business revenues." Click Read More below for additional detail.

Overstock.com Inc. is calling on Congress to pass legislation to simplify, or clarify, online sales tax collection in the wake of Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that enables states and local governments to force online retailers to collect sales taxes, even if they don’t have a physical presence, or nexus, in the state. “The U.S. Supreme Court has reshaped the interstate commerce landscape in a move that could impact small business innovation on the internet, which has been a driving force behind our nation’s economy for the last 15 years,” says Jonathan Johnson, an executive and board member at Overstock, No. 32 in the newly released Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000, “The framers of the Constitution intended Congress to regulate interstate commerce by thoughtful legislation. To lessen the potential impact of today’s ruling on internet innovation, Congress can, and should, pass sound legislation allowing states to accomplish their aims while still permitting small internet business to thrive.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $15.75 billion for the retail month of August, the four weeks ended August 29, 2021, an increase of 16.2 percent from $13.56 billion last year. For the 16-week fourth quarter ended August 29, 2021, the Company reported net sales of $61.4 billion, an increase of 17.4 percent compared to net sales of $52.3 billion during the similar period last year. For the 52-week fiscal year ended August 29, 2021, the Company reported net sales of $192.1 billion, an increase of 17.7 percent from the $163.2 billion during the similar period last year.