OfficeMax, Office Depot in merger talks - it's been a long time coming 
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that OfficeMax Inc. and Office Depot Inc. are talking about combining their companies. Office Depot has 1,675 stores worldwide and OfficeMax has about 900 stores in the U.S. and Mexico. According to sources an announcement could come as soon as next week. This isn't the first time these talks have taken place. However in this economic climate the merger makes a lot of sense. It will mean consolidation of jobs with two Loss Prevention departments becoming one. (Source wcnc.com)

7-Eleven Named Top 10 Most Innovative Company in Retail 
Technology magazine Fast Company named 7-Eleven Inc. as one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies". Ranked third on the list, 7-Eleven was chosen for its ability to "localize and compartmentalize its stores. The brand's partnership with Amazon allows users to have small packages delivered to stores rather than their homes. In 2012, that partnership expanded to five areas globally: New York, Seattle, [Washington], D.C., Silicon Valley and London," wrote the magazine’s staff. (Source csnews.com)

Lowe’s Foundation awards money to schools for OSHA Career Safe Program. 
Lowe’s has awarded $60,000 in vouchers to 60 schools for students to complete OSHA safety class mastering the fundamentals of workplace safety. The Chairman of the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundations is hoping the project will assist in building a safer workplace environment for customers and employees. (Source logandaily.com)

Future retail stores will focus on experiences before products 
“Stores will become more theatrical, more immersive, and more of a life experience rather than simply a place to get something. As much as they are selling products they will be selling a good time, a lifestyle. Inventory could conceivably not even exist in the ‘store’ environment at all, but be shipped directly to your home from a distribution center.” (Source bazaarvoice.com)

The Hidden Empire - Amazon - Long term bold vision = #1 Anything #2 Anywhere 3# Anytime  For the true retail executive here is the Amazon story in 84 easy to follow slides on slideshare. Easy to read, easy to follow, easy how they got there, and obviously easy for them to tell us how they're going to remain there if not exceed even more. And maybe according to some predictions, even overtake Wal-Mart. Guess that's why they don't sell the Kindle anymore. Great story if you have 15 minutes. Just amazing to see how easy they make it look. With all of the growth and their future, any LP job that comes up with them you should without question pursue it with all vigor. Just study this before you do. (Source slideshare.net)

Burger King apologizes after Twitter hacking 
Somebody hacked Burger King's Twitter account on Monday, posting obscene messages and changing its profile picture to a McDonald's logo. The tweets stopped after a little more than an hour, and Burger King said it had reached out to Twitter to suspend the account. (Source msn.com)

Job fulfillment, not pay, retains Generation Y talent, says iOpener Institute Report  With increasing recognition of the need to attract, foster and retain Millennial, or Generation Y, talent in the retail industry, it is important to understand what motivates the up-and-coming senior management class of the future. Analyzed responses from over 18,000 professionals, has shown the digital generation – Generation Y – values job fulfillment over financial reward. (Source theretailbulletin.com)

Amazon Marketplace under fire for selling counterfeit products.  James Lee of the Consumer Fraud Center in Santa Monica believes customers purchased between $110 and $140 million in counterfeit products this past holiday season. Amazon Martketplace has come under fire by the hair care product company InStyle who claims the Amazon Marketplace sold 20,000 counterfeit hair straightening irons labeled as their product. Uggs boots are the #1 knock off item in apparel. (Source cbslocal.com)


One of the "most prolific cyber-espionage groups" in the world - Unit 61398 of the People's Liberation Army of China - says U.S. security firm  Cyberattacks that stole massive amounts of information from military contractors, energy companies and other key industries in the U.S. and elsewhere have been traced to the doorstep of a Chinese military unit, a U.S. security firm alleged Tuesday. The unit "has systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations," Mandiant wrote. By comparison, the U.S. Library of Congress 2006-2010 Twitter archive of about 170 billion tweets totals 133.2 terabytes. (Source msn.com)

Diamonds worth $50 Million stolen from plane in Brussels.  Eight masked gunmen made a hole in a security fence at Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and snatched some $50 million worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane without firing a shot. An airport spokesman said the robbers made a hole in the perimeter fence and drove up to the Swiss passenger plane, which was ready to leave. The robbers, dressed like police, got out of the car, flashed machine guns at pilots and security transport workers before taking the loot from the hold, which was accessed from outside. (Source cnn.com)

With Museums getting hit all over Europe, they unite creating a website for information sharing  The idea builds upon the cultural network which was put in place in anticipation of the Olympics last year. With the help of a software company called Facewatch, the National Museum Security Group has developed a website where arts organizations can report crimes to the police, share photographs of suspects, upload CCTV and share intelligence. Reaching 800 institutions the website is the only one of its kind in the cultural sector and should help to unite them. Galleries and museums are on high alert after the recent vandalism of a painting by Mark Rothko in Tate Modern, as well as the heist of seven paintings, including works by Picasso, Monet and Matisse, taken from the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam. (Source independent.co.uk)

Boost Mobile Store Associate killed during robbery in Houston.  The search is on for a robber who shot and killed an employee of a cell phone store in southeast Houston late Monday. Two armed suspects entered the store, one remained near the front of the store as a look-out, the other corralled employees to the rear of the store and took the owner over to the register. Hamid Waraich, 53 the store’s owner was shot in the back as he reached for the hold-up alarm. (Source khou.com)




Rite Aid associate grabs the robber’s gun in Pittsburgh.  The Rite Aid Associate fearing for his life, struggled to grab the handgun from the armed robber and was actually able to point the weapon back at the suspect. The robber regained control of the weapon and ran out the Rite Aid store. No injuries were reported. (Source wtae.com)




Dollar General armed robbery suspect shot by Police in Columbia, SC; suspect has a 7 page rap sheet.  Columbia police say two officers have shot and wounded an armed robbery suspect. Police Chief Randy Scott said the suspect was shot after a short chase. Scott says the officers had ordered 46-year-old Gregory Johnston to stop several times. Scott said the officers fired after it appeared Johnston was drawing a gun from a pocket. Johnston was in good condition in a Columbia hospital. Scott said a man went into the Dollar General store and threatened customers and a clerk before leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one in the store was hurt. (Source wltx.com)



Grocery Stores in Virginia reporting a rash of Price Gun thefts.  Martin’s Grocery chain in Virginia had two Motorola Pricing Guns stolen in the month of January, but according to Martin’s Loss Prevention the theft of these guns is wide-spread around the state. A search of eBay found the Motorola Pricing guns selling for over $1000. (Source nbc12.com)


McDonalds and Staples robbery ends with high speed chase and accident in Waynesville, NC.  The Waynesville and Canton police departments, N.C. Highway Patrol and Haywood County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the high-speed pursuit. The first of multiple incidents started around noon Monday when police say the John Doe attempted to rob the McDonald’s in Waynesville. He displayed a gun and asked for money, but left after workers sought safety in the back of the store. Later, police received a report of a man and vehicle near Waynesville Plaza matching the attempted robbery suspect at McDonald’s. Responding officers learned someone had stolen electronics from the Staples at the plaza, less than a mile from McDonald’s. The high speed chase lasted for 25 miles, until the suspect was stopped because of an oncoming train. (Source citizen-times.com)

Senior LP executives - We'd like to hear from you
We are conducting an informal survey in regards to the traditional retail LP model to see how LP jobs have incorporated any components of the IT security. If you are a senior Loss Prevention executive in retail and have any IT security responsibilities we'd like to hear from you and find out exactly what they are. Involvement may include but not limited to: mobile and tablet roll-outs, privacy issues, and internal threat analysis. Email Gus confidentially at gusd@downing-downing.com. Thank you.