Retail

Aiming to stabilize business costs for the next few years and provide rate relief to employers with good employee retention records, the Senate passed an unemployment insurance reform bill Thursday that got mixed reviews from business leaders.

CVS Caremark Corp. said it would no longer sell tobacco products at its 7,600 stores by Oct. 1, becoming America's first national drugstore chain to take cigarettes off the shelves.

When the average person thinks of Staples Inc., retail stores come to mind. But a major revenue component for the Framingham-based office supply company is its business-to-business contract operations, which accounted for $7 billion in sales in 2012, while the company's retail and online businesses generated a combined $12 billion. A recent change in leadership underscores the importance the company places on developing new contract business in Australia and New Zealand, as well as new markets Staples has yet to crack, according to Scott Tilghman, a Boston-based analyst who follows the company.

This year, the Worcester Business Journal marks its 25th anniversary. In each print edition, we will highlight...

Staples announced changes to its executive team Thursday.

Wegmans is pushing for a change in state law so it can serve alcohol at its Northborough Crossing store.

Fourth-quarter revenue for Dover Saddlery of Littleton jumped nearly 14 percent over the same quarter in 2012, according to preliminary data the equestrian products retailer released Tuesday.

Developers of the planned New England Baseball Complex under construction at the junction of routes 9 and 20 in Northborough are watching a vision come to life. And although the impetus for the project, in the works for several years, was a desire to create a true home base for the youth baseball team known as the New England Ruffnecks, it has the makings of a successful retail destination in its own right, according to Jason Kosow, chief financial officer at New England Baseball Enterprises, the developer.

Greater Boston Commercial Properties Inc. of Marlborough has announced three new commercial office lease deals in Westborough and Framingham, totaling more than 11,000 square feet. Hiperos LLC, a computer software company specializing in third-party management, signed a two-year lease on a 2,704 square-foot property at 176 East Main St. in Westborough. The office condominium building is located at the intersection of Route 9 and Route 30. A second Westborough deal brought Stellar Apparel to a 778-square-foot space at 57 East Main St., a three-year deal.

Postal worker union members are protesting the opening of Postal Service retail centers inside 82 Staples stores.