Finance & Capital Management

Birmingham, Ala. -- Books-A-Million confirmed it has submitted a bid to purchase, among other things, the inventory, fixtures, equipment, and leasehold interests for 30 Borders locations. Under the proposed bid, Books-A-Million will assume the leases for these locations and continue to operate these stores. The move comes as Borders Group, after winning court approval, begins to liquidate its business.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s has announced the promotion of M. Lee Reeves to SVP, deputy general counsel and assistant secretary. Reeves will continue to report to Gaither Keener, EVP, general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer.

In his new role, Reeves’ responsibilities include leading the corporate transactions, intellectual property and information technology legal teams.

Reeves joined Lowe’s in 2004 as senior counsel, after serving as a member of a private law firm. 

It is logical that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke would top Supermarket News’ Power 50 list of the food industry’s most influential executives. The company sells more food, by a large margin, than anyone else, therefore a case could be made that Duke, or whoever is CEO of Walmart, should top the publication’s list each year.

McKinney, Texas -- Blockbuster announced that it has assumed contracts with property owners nationwide and will maintain operations of more than 1,500 U.S. Blockbuster stores that would have closed under liquidation, as approved in a New York bankruptcy court this week. The chain also will retain more than 15,000 store employees.

Kudos to Borders for not forgetting its most loyal customers as it begins the slow and painful process of shutting down operations.

The ministers of economic development, trade and industry and agriculture, forestry and fisheries in South Africa are protesting the nation’s Competition Tribunal’s approval of a merger agreement between Walmart and Massmart. The three government entities are seeking to set aside a ruling that allowed Walmart to acquire a 51% ownership stake in Massmart last month on the grounds that the tribunal acted irregularly with regard to matters of documents presented during the discovery process and the scheduling of decisions.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu announced that it has named Leon Bergmann as president of its independent business organization, reporting to Craig Herkert, CEO and president. He replaces Mark Anderson, who will be retiring from Supervalu later this summer.

The current upheaval we’re experiencing with booksellers reminds me of those nature documentaries where the host talks about what happens when a giant tree in the forest comes crashing down, leaving a gaping hole in the forest canopy. In those instances, dozens of smaller trees and plants spring up to take advantage of that gap and soak up the new light.