Finance & Capital Management

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Washington, D.C. -- Nearly three-quarters (73.3%) of consumers say their spending plans are taking a hit due to the recent payroll tax changes, according to NRF’s 2013 Tax Returns Survey conducted by BIGinsight.
 
When asked how the new federal tax laws have affected spending, saving or budgeting of their households, nearly six in 10 (58.2%) of those polled say their plans have been either somewhat or greatly impacted. Specifically, nearly half (45.7%) say they will spend less overall, and 35.6% will watch for sales more often.
 

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. said that its fourth-quarter net income rose 13% to $244 million, far ahead of expectations, helped by its customer loyalty program. Safeway said the program, which offers personalized discounts based on past purchases, is driving market share gains and profits.
 
Quarterly sales rose to $13.77 billion from $13.60 billion a year ago. Same-store sales, excluding fuel, inched up 0.8%.

 

New York -- Grupo Gigante wants buy the 50% stake in the Mexican unit of Office Depot that it does not already own.

The Mexican retailer on Thursday said it has offered 8.78 billion pesos ($687.34 million) to buy the stake, Reuters reported.

In March, Gigante entered into a joint venture with Petco Animal Supplies to open at least 50 stores in Mexico and other Latin American countries over seven years.

 

New York -- The SPECS conference, presented each year by Chain Store Age, will debut a real estate track as part of the 49th annual event. Held in Dallas from March 17 to March 20 at the Hilton Anatole, SPECS will feature real estate workshops designed toward educating and informing the retail development executives who attend the SPECS conference.

New York -- Winick Realty Group announced that it is exclusively representing Chipotle Mexican Grill in its leasing efforts throughout Northern New Jersey, Long Island and all five boroughs of New York City.

The Winick team is seeking 1,600-sq.-ft. to 2,300-sq.-ft. sites in these markets. Since opening its first Manhattan location in 2003, Chipotle has grown to 60+ locations in New York City, Long Island and Northern New Jersey.

 

ROCKFORD, Mich. — Outdoor and sports apparel manufacturer Wolverine Worldwide reported that its consolidated fourth fiscal quarter revenue was $652.2 million, growth of 60.5% versus the prior year.

In the fourth quarter, excluding non-recurring transaction and integration expenses, earnings per share were 48 cents compared with the company's prior guidance of 12 cents to 22 cents per share.  

NEW YORK — Iconix Brand Group has acquired Lee Cooper, a global lifestyle brand with over a 100-year heritage for $72 million in cash. The brand was acquired through the company's Luxembourg subsidiary, Iconix Luxembourg Holdings Sarl. 

NAPERVILLE, Ill. and BOCA RATON, Fla. — The office retail field narrowed Wednesday, as OfficeMax and Office Depot officially announced an agreement to merge into a single company. The combined company would have had pro forma combined revenue for the 12 months ended Dec. 29, 2012 of approximately $18 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, OfficeMax stockholders will receive 2.69 Office Depot common shares for each share of OfficeMax common stock.

NEW YORK — Build-A-Bear CEO Maxine Clark has joined the Foot Locker board of directors. 

Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1997.  She has extensive experience in the retail industry, having also served as president of Payless ShoeSource Inc. and for 19 years as an executive of The May Department Stores Company.