Finance & Capital Management

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — New York Mets baseball executive Paul DePodesta is the newest member of the Sears Holdings board.

Although his qualifications are somewhat unconventional, DePodesta was elected to the board because his experience as VP of player development and amateur scouting for the Mets is believe to help Sears Holdings in the area of personnel development.

Former Best Buy chairman Richard Schulze is reportedly close to reaching an agreement to buy the company he founded, according to a Minneapolis Star Tribune report citing a source close to the situation.

Shoppers in many markets have to drive past one of Dollar General’s more than 10,000 stores before they get to their local Walmart, a situation that will intensify in 2013.

Dollar General is opening stores so fast its store count sometimes changes multiple times throughout the day. It surpassed 10,000 units earlier this year and by the end of the company third quarter on November 2, it had opened 479 out of 625 stores planned for 2012. Next year, 635 new units are planned and by the end of next year the company’s store count will be in the vicinity of 11,000 stores.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports expressed renewed confidence in its three-year growth plan following the release of third quarter results that same store sales advance 7.9%.

NEW YORK — Chobani Greek Yogurt is the recipient of the 2012 North America Innovation in Leadership award for its groundbreaking contribution to the U.S. yogurt sector, presented by Rabobank.

Grace Simmons, VP of strategic initiatives for Chobani, accepted the award at the global bank’s recent Commodity, Corporate, and Trade Finance Forum.

STAMFORD, Conn. — Pitney Bowes has landed a six-year contract with the U.S. Postal Service.

In accordance with the contract, valued at up to $32 million for meters and meter supplies, Pitney Bowes will provide USPS with support and maintenance of its network of postal meters. USPS will be able to nationally standardize its meter needs using a single leading edge design. The contract also includes the provision of systems and support to meet the U.S. Joint Military Postal Command’s needs nationally and internationally.

New York -- After nearly a year of steady gains, the Deloitte Consumer Spending Index (Index) fell in November due to a slowdown in the rise of new home prices and an accelerating decline in real wages. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.
 

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark executives expressed optimism going into 2013 and outlined its strategic growth framework during its annual Analyst Day held on Thursday in New York City.

New York -- Star Avenue Capital announced that it has acquired a minority ownership position in It’Sugar, Deerfield Beach, Fla., a growing specialty candy and gift chain. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Star Avenue is partnering with It’Sugar CEO and founder Jeff Rubin and existing investor Prentice Consumer Partners to provide the resources and strategic guidance to support the brand’s rapid expansion. The company currently has over 50 retail locations across 13 states and four international markets.

New York -- A Thursday report by the Minneapolis Star Tribune said that Best Buy Co. founder Richard Schulze is expected to make a fully financed offer of $5 billion to $6 billion by the end of the week to buy the retailer.     

The newspaper cited an unnamed source for the report.

The bid would fall below Schulze’s August offer of up to $10.9 billion including debt.

Best Buy has not yet commented publicly on the report.