Finance & Capital Management

New York -- RadioShack Corp. has agreed to a financing packaging arranged by its biggest investor, hedge fund Standard General, that would help ease the retailer’s cash crunch as it heads into the holiday selling season, Bloomberg reported.

Winston-Salem, N.C. -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts announced CFO Douglas R. Muir intends to retire in calendar year 2015. The chain will conduct a comprehensive search to identify his successor. Muir is expected to remain in his current role until his successor is in place and to provide ongoing support during the transition.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens’ same-store stores increased 7.9% in September. Total sales increased 9.4%, to $6.5 billion compared to the same month in fiscal 2014, the company reported Friday.

Comparable store front-end sales rose 1.7%, while comparable store pharmacy sales rose 11.3%.

Walgreens opened nine stores during September, including four relocations, and closed four.

Toronto -- Slate Retail REIT announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to purchase Stonefield Square, a 90,991-sq.-ft. grocery-anchored shopping center located in Louisville, Kentucky, for $12.6 million ($138 per square foot). The property is anchored by The Fresh Market.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in fourth quarter 2014 and remains subject to customary closing conditions.

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open two new stores in Illinois on Oct. 11. The stores are located in Hickory Point Mall in Decatur and Times Square Mall in Mount Vernon.  

The new openings are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year.  

Together, Ross Dress for Less and dd’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Under Armour, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and economic and community development commissioner Bill Hagerty announced the company's plans to build a new 1 million-sq.-ft. distribution and warehouse facility in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville.

Leadership changes continue at struggling specialty retailer Wet Seal. Just one month after appointing Edmond Thomas as CEO, following John D. Goodman’s departure, CFO Steve Benrubi has resigned. He will remain with the company through December 1 to assist with the transition.

The company said it plans to search for a new CFO, but offered no further details.

Walgreens had September sales of $6.5 billion, an increase of 9.4% as compared to the same month in fiscal 2014.
 
Total front-end sales increased 2.2% in September compared with the same month in fiscal 2014, while comparable store front-end sales increased 1.7%. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 2.7% while basket size increased 4.4%.
 

Seattle -- Kitchenware retailer Sur La Table has appointed industry veteran Diane Neal as its new CEO. She succeeds Jack Schwefel, who has left the company to pursue other opportunities after serving as Sur La Table’s CEO since 2007.

Neal served as CEO and president of Bath & Body Works from 2007 to 2011. She currently serves on the boards of several retail companies, including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Fossil Group Inc. Neal also held leadership positions at Gap and Target.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company and HBO will host a free, all-star concert to honor the nations veterans and their families on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to be presented live on HBO on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

The line-up of performers scheduled to appear at The Concert for Valor include Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Jamie Foxx, Dave Grohl, Metallica, John Oliver, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band, as well as special appearances by Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, among others.