Rite Aid plans to close additional stores — Pennsylvania-based drugstore-chain Rite Aid is looking at its 4,900 locations under a microscope as it ponders closing more stores next year on top of the 181 units shuttered year-to-date. “I do think there will be some additional store closures,” said John Standley, president and COO of the retail behemoth. “You’ll see...
Retail Industry Archive
December 2008
Bankrupt Circuit City to break 154 more leases — Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. announced Dec. 17 that it plans to break the leases for 154 of the 155 stores it’s closing this month. The company was scheduled to auction the leases on Dec. 18 as part of its Chapter 11 proceedings, but too few bids came in to hold the auction. The chain will now break a total of 304...
Private labels could boom in 2009 — Amid economic troubles, big apparel retailers are abandoning designers, opting instead to make garments themselves — and sew their own labels inside. Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom all have namesake labels they plan to promote in the coming year. “Consumers aren’t making the distinction between private labels and other...
Adrenalina withdraws PacSun offer — Apparel retailer Adrenalina withdrew its buyout offer for Pacific Sunwear of California on Dec. 15 because of the recent fall in the company’s share price. Adrenalina, now a shareholder of PacSun, still seeks to eventually acquire its larger rival and may take its buyout proposal directly to PacSun shareholders. “Shareholder value at PacSun...
Georg Jensen, a luxury purveyor of Danish silverware, jewelry and gifts has refurbished its Manhattan store using a method that would have been familiar to discount store operators 40 years ago. In the current economic climate, the retailer decided it wanted to make its store on New York’s Madison Avenue seem less like a museum and more like a home. To accomplish that goal, Georg Jensen asked...
You know that times are tough when people cut back on prescription drugs, and it’s a trend that could have an impact on a lot of major retailers. Wal-Mart, Kroger, Target, Meijer, Kmart and others in the discount store and supermarket sectors have added pharmacies, drive-through prescription windows, and major price cuts to boost prescription sales. In the meantime, major drug chains have...
Kohl’s, Forever 21 snap up soon-to-be-vacated Mervyns stores — Mervyns bankruptcy spells expansion for Kohl’s Corp. and Forever 21 Inc., an unlikely pair of apparel retailers who won a joint bid to take over 46 former Mervyns locations for $6.25 million. Kohl’s, which opened dozens of new stores in 2008, will take hold of 31 Mervyns sites, while fast-fashion retailer...
Macy’s, an icon of the traditional American shopping experience, is enhancing online operations to secure its future. Macysbelieve.com, a seasonal site that combines entertainment, charity and shopping while promoting both online and store visits, is a case in point. Macy’s is developing such “sitelets” to drive online sales, but also to build its brand overall. The...
KB Toys files for bankruptcy protection — Although the holiday season is usually the busiest time of the year for toy stores, KB Toys Inc., one of the nation’s largest toy retailers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Dec. 12. The chain, comprised of 460 locations, plans to close all its stores and begin liquidation sales immediately. KB Toys, which listed its assets at...
Office Depot to shutter 112 stores — Office Depot Inc. plans to close 112 under-performing North American locations, slashing 2,200 jobs in the process, according to a Dec. 10 filing. Shares rose 9.1 percent after the world’s second-largest office-supplies retailer made the decision to shut down nearly 10 percent of its stores and eliminate 4.5 percent of its workforce. The company...
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