EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Dollar General to open 900 stores in 2016

Dollar General said earlier this month that it plans to open 900 new stores in 2016, compared to 730 store openings in 2015. The new stores are planned for urban, suburban and rural locations. The company also announced its third quarter earnings. Net income rose 7.2% (compared to the previous year’s third quarter) to $253 […]

Whole Foods to seek $1 billion in debt offering

Whole Foods announced earlier this month that it was seeking to raise $1 billion in a debt offering. The company said it intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including an authorization to repurchase up to $1 billion in its stock. Standard and Poor’s (S&P) assigned a “BBB” rating to the offering, the […]

Plans in place again for Albertsons IPO

Albertsons (Acme, Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco et al) filed an amended stock prospectus for an initial public offering late last month in hopes of raising between $1.5 and $2 billion. The company had originally planned to hold the offering in October but called off the IPO due to market volatility. The prospectus is seeking a […]

ShopRite subject to antitrust claim in fight to squeeze Wegmans

Wegmans’ bid to open a store in Hanover, NJ took an interesting twist recently, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision reversing a previous ruling, and holding that Village Supermarkets, a ShopRite operator and Wakefern member, may be subject to an antitrust claim related to its efforts to thwart […]

Supervalu to decide whether to sell or spin Save-A-Lot

Supervalu announced last month that it is preparing to explore an outright sale of the Save-A-Lot discount grocery chain, rather than spin it off as a separate unit. According to published reports, the company has received interest from several private equity firms, and has told them it will consider offers in early 2016. Waiting until […]

Natural Grocers continues growth in Western U.S.

Natural Grocers, a specialty retailer that offers natural and organic groceries and dietary products, announced last month that it plans to add 23 new stores in fiscal 2016. The company currently has 106 stores in 18 states. The easternmost locations are in Minnesota, Missouri and Arkansas. All other locations are further west.

Bridgestone Matching Icahn Offer for Pep Boys

Bridgestone Corp. increased its offer for auto parts retailer Pep Boys, the companies announced late Friday afternoon, matching the price offered by activist investor Carl Icahn.

Cheltenham Mall Gets a New Life

‘Warmer’ look, new name for Cheltenham Mall Developers presented a more refined plan for remaking the Cheltenham Mall on Monday, an open-air mix of stores and restaurants with glass facades, some brick and metal trim. “We’re trying to work with a combination of materials to give it a warmer look,” architect Jerry K. Roller told […]

Bass Pro Enters Connecticut

Bass Pro Enters Connecticut – Chain Store Age Article

Home Depot & Lowes: Strong Performance

Forbes Article A housing recovery may be keeping home improvement retailers like The Home Depot insulated from the problems plaguing other retail stocks. The Home Depot reported third quarter net income as $1.7 billion, or $1.35 per share, up a whopping 17.4 percent, from a year ago. Total sales were up 6.4% to $21.8 billion year-over-year. These earnings were in line with […]