Finance & Capital Management

The nation’s largest pet specialty retailer could be in for a long summer now that activist investor Jana Partners is pressing for a review of strategic alternatives after acquiring a 9.9% stake in the company.

Deerfield, Ill. – Same-store sales at both Walgreens and Rite Aid increased in June, compared to the same period a year earlier. Same-store sales grew 7.5% at Walgreens and 3.9% at Rite Aid.

Calendar day shifts helped boost same-store sales at Walgreens, while the introduction of new generic drugs had a negative impact. In addition, Walgreens had June sales of $6.28 billion, an increase of 8.9% from $5.77 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013.

New York -- Online menswear brand Bonobos has raised a total of $55 million in venture capital funding, bringing the brand's total funding to $128 million. The company plans to use a large part of the latest investment to quadruple its physical store count, growing from 10 locations to 40 nationwide by 2016, The New York Times reported.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open three new stores in Indiana on July 19. The stores include Waterford Park South Shopping Center in Clarksville, Shops on Main in Schererville, and Erskine Village in South Bend.  
    
These new openings are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year.

New York -- A physical store presence is key to most retailers for their online growth strategy, according to a new report by Moody’s Investor Services. Based on existing data, Moody’s estimate online sales as a percent of total retail sales are just 6% today, and will increase to 7.1% by 2016, and potentially reach a double-digit (mid-teens) share of the total retail sales pie in about five years.

June was a good month for two of the nation’s largest drugstore operators. Walgreens reported sales of $6.3 billion for the month, an increase of 8.9% as compared to the same month in fiscal 2013, while Rite Aid realized a 3.9% same-store sales increase for the four weeks ended June 28.

Total front-end sales at Walgreens increased 1.8% in June compared with the same month in fiscal 2013, while comparable store front-end sales increased 1.3%. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 2% while basket size increased 3.3%.
 

New York -- Activist investor Jana Partners LLC disclosed it has acquired a 9.9% stake in PetSmart, according to a regulatory filing, and plans to ask the retailer to explore various options, including a sale. Jana, $10 billion firm hedge firm run by Barry Rosenstein, has a reputation for pushing corporate managements to make changes.