Finance & Capital Management

Walmart doesn’t need a lot of help when it comes to growth, which is why last week’s announcement by Target to sell its larger rival 39 sites in Canada was a surprise. Walmart is on track to end this year with 333 stores, and on Friday Target said it had reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the rights for leasehold interests in up to 39 sites currently operated by Zellers. The sites are among the up to 220 possible sites whose leasehold interests Target is acquiring as part of a real estate transaction announced in January.

The most recent iteration of a pricing study conducted by Credit Suisse shows Target was 4.7% more expensive on a basket of items in Chicago and Dallas compared with 4% the prior month. 

Janney Montgomery Scott analyst David Strasser downgraded shares of Target to neutral from buy on Monday. In doing so he cited some familiar concerns about the challenging competitive environment, rising input costs and anticipated difficulties passing through price increases to cash-strapped shoppers thereby negatively affecting gross margins.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Donuts on Monday announced it has signed agreements with three franchisees to develop 12 new restaurants throughout Tampa over the next several years.

"The Sunshine State is a priority growth market for Dunkin' Donuts in 2011, and we're excited to expand our footprint in Tampa," said Grant Benson, CFE, VP franchising and market planning, Dunkin' Brands.

New York City -- Best Buy plans to reduce its store size by subleasing store space to smaller retailers, according to The Los Angeles Times. The chain’s new stores will be in the 36,000-sq.-ft. range, down from its current 45,000-sq.-ft. model.

"We can reduce our overall square footage while actually increasing our presence," Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said at the company's annual shareholders meeting this week. "It's an opportunity to capture cost savings and get ourselves 'right size.'"

New York City -- Massmart, now majority owned by Wal-Mart Stores, said on Sunday it aims to create 15,000 jobs in the next five years. The company also said it plans to expand its procurement of food and consumer goods by an additional $8.74 billion during the same period.

“Massmart intends to leverage Wal-Mart's global expertise in working directly with local farmers to encourage the cultivation of safe, high-quality fresh produce," Massmart CEO Grant Pattison said in the statement.

New York City -- Tiffany & Co. is replacing its CFO and adding a COO position.

The company announced Patrick F. McGuiness will replace James Fernandez as CFO.

Fernandez is taking on the newly created post of COO. The moves are effective immediately.
 

Minneapolis -- Target on Friday announced that Target Canada has reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the leasehold interests in up to 39 sites, currently operated by Zellers.

Specific locations will be identified later this fall. Terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Campbell Soup Company has named Denise Morrison president and CEO, effective Aug. 1, the first day of Campbell’s next fiscal year. In October 2010, Morrison was named EVP and COO and elected a director of the company in anticipation of her appointment to the role of CEO at the beginning of fiscal 2012.

Morrison will succeed Douglas Conant, who will step down as president and CEO on July 31, 2011, after more than a decade in that role. Conant also will step down from Campbell’s board of directors at that time.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Finish Line reported that net sales for the first quarter increased 6% to $299.5 million in the first quarter compared with $282.4 million a year ago. Comparable-store sales increased 6.5% in the first quarter on top of an increase of 10.9% for the same period a year ago.