News Briefs

Ashley Stewart Inc. has a new owner.

Kinbow LLC has acquired the majority stake of the  plus-size value fashion retailer. The price was not disclosed. Ashley Stewart specializes in apparel, intimates and accessories for women sizes 10 to 36. 

Kinbow is an affiliate of RA Capital, a group company owned by Ram Ajjarapu, with investments in technology, insurance, financial services, renewable energy and retail industries. The company plans to continue to operate all of Ashley’s Stewart’s 75 stores and its e-commerce business in their current form. It also plans to keep the retailer’s current management team in place.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire this iconic retailer and grateful for all of the support we have received from all of Ashley Stewart’s stakeholders, especially our lender, Wingspire Capital, who worked closely with us to consummate this transaction,” said Ajjarapu, executive director of Kinbow.

“This acquisition demonstrates our belief in the value fashion market and marks a strategic expansion of Kinbow into the retail business,”  Ajjarapu continued. “As an accomplished apparel and accessories manufacturer with proven experience in developing stylish inclusive size styles, we expect to continue the heritage of the Ashley Stewart brand and look for opportunities to expand the on-trend fashion offerings the company’s loyal customers have come to expect.”

Kinbow LLC was represented by Norris McLaughlin, P.A. Guggenheim Securities, LLC is acting as financial advisor to Ashley Stewart; Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP is serving as legal advisor to ASI Holdco.

Gopuff has launched a new benefit for its FAM paid membership customers that will make delivery even faster.

The on-demand delivery platform is debuting FAM20, a new benefit exclusively for FAM members that promises delivery in under 20 minutes for just $1.49/order. If an order takes longer than 20 minutes, FAM20 customers will be credited $1.49.

During pilot testing, FAM20 orders were packed in Gopuff’s micro fulfillment centers in 90 seconds on average and customers received their orders in 17 minutes on average, with some of the fastest orders completed in under 10 minutes. FAM20 drove a 10% increase in orders during the testing period.

“Gopuff has always been designed to bring instant experiences to customers and today we are excited to take instant to the next level with FAM20,” said Gopuff CEO & co-founder Yakir Gola. “FAM20 is a new FAM member benefit that promises delivery in 20 minutes or less. We are excited to leverage our vertically integrated platform and culture of innovation to bring the fastest delivery speed at the most affordable price to our customers.”

Late last year, Gopuff introduced “lower-than-low-grocery store prices” on thousands of everyday essentials exclusively for FAM members that rotate weekly.

Customers can join Gopuff’s FAM membership program for $7.99/month or $79.99/year. New members are eligible for a free 14-day trial.

Publix Super Markets is expanding in its home state.

The grocer will open six stores in Florida in April, along with a location in Alabama. The new stores (locations at end of article) will range in size from 25,740 sq. ft. to 54.964 sq. ft.

Publix kicked off 2024 by entering its eighth state, Kentucky, opening  a 55,701-sq.-ft. store at the Terra Crossing Shopping Center in Louisville. Five additional Publix stores in the Bluegrass State are in the works.

In other news, Publix said its board declared a quarterly dividend of 10.75 cents per share on its common stock. It will be paid on May 1, 2024.

For its fiscal year ended Dec. 30, 2023, Publix reported net earnings of $4.3 billion, compared to $2.9 billion in 2022. Sales rose 4.7% to $57.1 billion.

Here is the list of Publix’s April store openings.

April 4 

Sarasota, Fla. (Fruitville Farms)

Homstead, Fla. (Valencial Center)

April 11

Wellington, Fla. (Wellington Green Square)

April 18 

Oviedo, Fla. (Alafaya Square)

Estero, Fla, (The Shoppes at Verdana Village)

Melbourne, Fla. (Addison Center at Viera)

April 24

Gulf Shores, Ala. (Paradise Isle Shopping Center)

Publix is the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 250,000 employees. It currently operates 1,361 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky.

KnitWell Group has announced a new partnership that will bring its Talbots apparel brand to Mexico.

The holding company, which is comprised of Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Lane Bryant and more,  will work with Liverpool, a leading department store in Mexico, to bring Talbots to the country through a shop-in-shop partnership. This marks the first expansion of the brand outside the United States and Canada.

“The KnitWell Group has widely known brands with incredibly loyal customers that generate strong results," said Deirdre FitzGerald, president of international for KnitWell Group. "We know there is an even greater runway for growth by expanding our reach internationally and our partnership with Liverpool is an important first step. Mexico is a very influential market that knows the Talbots brand well and we are grateful to have Liverpool, a best-in-class organization and business partner, to navigate this new opportunity.”

Liverpool will open ten Talbots shop-in-shop locations within their stores in and around Mexico City this month. Each location will showcase the brand's women’s apparel with curated assortments for the Mexican consumer featuring dresses, sportswear pieces and more.

“We are thrilled to partner with KnitWell Group to bring Talbots to the Mexican market and exclusively for the Liverpool customer,” said Daniela Hernandez, commercial buying director for Liverpool. “For more than 175 years, we have been committed to providing our customers with exceptional products and experiences. Talbots has a long history of doing the same and we cannot wait to bring the Talbots brand to life for our customers in our stores.”

Founded in 1947, Talbots operates more than 500 stores in North America.

7-Eleven International LLC has expanded its global growth strategy via a big acquisition.

The company has completed its acquisition of  7-Eleven Australia convenience stores.  The two companies announced the $1.1 billion deal in November 2023. With the closing, 7-Eleven International adds more than 750 stores in Australia to its portfolio.

"We are thrilled to become one team and create stronger synergy with 7-Eleven Australia," said Ken Wakabayashi, president and CEO of 7-Eleven International. "For nearly 50 years, the 7-Eleven Australia team has built the legacy of the brand as a top choice for convenience. Together, we can enhance customer experience in the store."

7-Eleven Australia is a long-standing licensee of 7-Eleven.The companies identified opportunities to transform 7-Eleven Australia's merchandise and fuel offer, expand product assortment and introduce new high-quality fresh foods.

"It is about continuing to grow our store network in Australia and providing unrivaled customer experiences and quality products," said Angus McKay, 7-Eleven Australia CEO and managing director. "My team and I are looking forward to taking advantage of 7-Eleven International's deep experience in convenience retailing with the leadership of Executive Chairman, Shin Abe."

7-Eleven International LLC is a joint venture of 7-Eleven, Inc. and Seven-Eleven Japan, Co. Ltd., which are owned by the holding company, Seven & i Holdings Co. Globally, the 7-Eleven trademark is represented in over 84,000 stores in 20 countries and regions. 

7-Eleven International operates or master franchises approximately 48,000 stores in 16 countries and regions. 7-Eleven, Inc. operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 15,000 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd. operates and franchises more than 21,000 stores in Japan.

Three retailers accounted for more than 50% of home improvement spending in the U.S. in 2023.

Leading the pack was The Home Depot, which captured 28.1% of spending, followed by rival Lowe’s, at 17.3%, according to a new Numerator study that provides quarterly insight into omnichannel consumer buying behavior in select home improvement categories. Amazon ranked third, capturing 15.8% of spending.

Categories that saw growth in household penetration in 2023 were household cleaners & cleaning tools (98.6% household penetration), lawn and garden (86.4%), painting supplies and wall treatments (64%) and hand tools  (50.4%).

Kitchen and bathroom, power tools and outdoor power equipment all experienced declines in household penetration and buy rate, suggesting consumers were pulling back on bigger ticket items, according to Numerator.

Other highlights from the Numerator Home Improvement Tracker are below.

•Consumer reasons for purchasing from a specific retailer included convenient location (44.2%),  best prices (43.9%) and product options/availability (36.1%).

•While most home improvement categories are still dominated by name brand products, private label brands see the largest share in hand tools (40.1%), lawn and garden (22.5%) and kitchen and bathroom (22.5%). 

•Consumers that purchased home improvement items in the past three months said they purchased items because they needed supplies for a small DIY project (33.5%), were replacing a damaged/broken item (14%) or just wanted the item (13.5%).