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Consumer Affairs & Relations

  • Sears gets another lifeline from CEO — this time backed with real estate

    For the second time in a week, Sears Holdings Corp. is borrowing money from the hedge fund of its CEO.   The embattled retailer has entered into a $500 million secured loan facility (maturing in July 2020) with ESL Investments, the hedge fund controlled by Sears chairman and CEO Edward Lampert. Of the total, $321 million was funded immediately, and an additional $179 million may be drawn in the future.  

  • HEIGHTENED SECURITY

    Preparedness is key for mall owners, retailers

    “Just wanting to make sure, No. 1, it is a safe environment; and No. 2, everyone knows it is a safe environment.”

    That was the comment Mark Peterson made to a local news station in Rockford, Ill., regarding his top priorities after undergoing what could easily qualify as every mall manager’s biggest nightmare.

  • Holiday spending better than expected

    Initial reports about holiday spending bode well for retailers.      Consumers spent 16% more on holiday purchases this year than in 2015, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers Post-Holiday Shopping Survey.   

  • Concerns raised over Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops deal

    Federal regulators have raised questions over Bass Pro Shops' $4.5 billion deal to acquire Cabela's Inc.    In a regulatory filing Friday, Cabela's said the Federal Trade Commission had requested additional information from both Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops, according to Foxnews.com.   

  • Delaware center site is Native American burial ground, opponents say

    A Delaware developer’s plan to create a green space and shopping center in Lewes, Delaware, an idyllic shore town that was the site of the first European settlement in the state, has encountered a new obstacle.   After overcoming opposition by some residents to the commercial re-zoning of 11 acres in this town north of Rehobeth Beach, J.G. Townsend Jr. & Co. now must content with protestors who say that its proposed Gills Neck Village Center would desecrate a Native American burial ground.  

  • Grocery retailer gets EPA Platinum certified

    New Seasons Market in Mercer Island, Washington, has gone platinum.    The new supermarket received EPA GreenChill Platinum Certification for its efforts in reducing refrigerant emissions (by at least 95%). The 37,000-sq.-ft. store uses a natural refrigerant solution designed for minimal greenhouse gas emissions and superior energy efficiency.   

  • FTC expected to rule on Walgreens-Rite Aid merger before Trump takes office

    The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will rule on the Walgreens Boots Alliance-Rite Aid merger before the Trump Administration takes office on Jan. 20, according to the New York Post. The newspaper added approval of the transaction is “not guaranteed.”   “It is most likely [FTC] Chairwoman Edith Ramirez addresses it before she leaves,” a source close to the situation told the news outlet, and not leave it to a Republican-led FTC.  

  • Fred’s swallows poison pill

    Fred’s Inc. is playing defense.   The Memphis-based retailer on Tuesday adopted a shareholder rights plan, or “poison pill,” less than a week after news surfaced that an activist investor had amassed a big stake in the company. It also comes approximately one week after Fred’s announced it had agreed to purchase 865 divested Rite Aid stores as part of the expected Walgreens Boots Alliance-Rite Aid merger. The acquisition would more than double Fred’s store count.   
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