Finance & Capital Management

Texture Plus, the largest U.S. manufacturer of high-impact textured faux wall panels, urged the United States Senate and House of Representatives to quickly pass the “Restaurant and Retail Jobs and Growth Act.”

“Retailers and restaurants depend on remodeling their locations every five years to stay competitive,” said Brian Kampe, CEO. “The standard 39 year depreciation for building remodeling makes those improvements a difficult tax burden.”

The Samsung Pay mobile payment solution had a good first four weeks in the U.S.

According to data released by Samsung Electronics, U.S. consumers who have paid with Samsung Pay so far have executed an average of eight transactions each.

The pharmacy services segment helped CVS Health post a $10.3% increase in net revenue in the third quarter.

Buoyed by the launch of new menu offerings and increases in store traffic, Starbucks Corp. brewed up another strong quarter, with revenue and profits meeting Wall Street expectations. The coffee giant also continues to set a torrid pace for store expansion.

Starbucks intends to open 1,800 new stores globally during fiscal 2016, with licensing driving a large portion of the growth. This includes 700 stores in the Americas (half licensed), 900 in China/Asia-Pacific (two-thirds licensed), and 200 primarily licensed stores in Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA).

Amazon.com is famous for launching new services and solutions at a dizzying rate, but the online retail giant is quietly preparing to close one down.

In an announcement posted on the Amazon Local daily deals site, the retailer says it will stop deals on the site and app as of Dec. 18. Amazon Local will continue business as normal until that date. Amazon Local purchase vouchers will remain valid for five years from purchase date as required by law in all 50 states.

Thanks to modern technology and digital tools, the opportunities to interact with and buy from a brand today are ubiquitous. Customers want to shop anytime, anywhere. Omnichannel rules, and smart retailers are getting on board.

Despite concern from smaller pharmacies, Walgreens’ plan to acquire Rite Aid is likely to be approved by the FTC, according to a report by International Business Times. “The location strategies of these two companies have been historically quite different,” said Howard Davidowitz, a New York-based retail consultant.

The merger agreement between Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid must be consummated by Oct. 27, 2016, or the deal is off, according to documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. That deadline could be extended to Jan. 27, 2017 under some circumstances, according to the document.