Finance & Capital Management

The ongoing saga of American Apparel is slowly making its way to a final conclusion.    The beleaguered retailer is seeking court approval to shutter nine poor-performing stores by the end of  December, prior to the auction of its business on Jan. 9, reported The Wall Street Journal, American Apparel filed Chapter 11 in November, its second filing in 15 months.   

Starbucks Corp. unveiled an ambitious five-year strategy that calls for major expansion, includes two new store formats, including freestanding bakeries.      The coffee giant said it plans to plans to open approximately 12,000 new stores globally by 2021, including 5,000 cafes in China. The new round of expansion would bring Starbucks’s total store portfolio to approximately 37,000 locations.   

In a move that is likely to help it attract new talent — and hold on to existing employees — Ikea U.S. has announced one of the most generous and inclusive parental leave programs in the U.S. retail industry.    Effective Jan. 1, Ikea will provide all its 13,000 U.S. salaried and hourly employees who are expanding their families — including mothers, fathers and adoptive and foster parents — with up to four months of paid parental leave.  

Beleaguered Sears has lost two of its top executives.   Jeffrey Balagna, Sears' executive VP, and Joelle Maher, Sears president and chief member officer both left the company within the past week, reported Business Insider.    Sears, which will report its third quarter earnings on Thursday, did not announce or explain the departures,  

Michaels came up short in the third quarter, posting earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ forecasts.   The art and craft retailer reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 40 cents per diluted share, missing analysts' estimates of 43 cents per share.   Net sales increased 5.0% to $1.227 billion, primarily a result of the acquisition of Lamrite West in February 2016 and sales from 19 additional stores.  

It’s official. Supervalu has finalized the sale of its discount supermarket business, Save-A-Lot, to an affiliate of Onex Corporation for $1.365 billion in cash.   In connection with the closing of the sale, Supervalu and Save-A-Lot have entered into a five-year professional services agreement whereby Supervalu will continue providing certain back office services to Save-A-Lot.  

Walmart has agreement to a settlement in a lawsuit that accused the retailer of discrimination against gay employees who were unable to get healthcare coverage for their same-sex spouses.      Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the discounter will set aside $7.5 million to compensate the employees affected by the denial of spousal benefits from 2011 to 2014.  (Walmart changed its policy to include same-sex spouses on Jan. 1, 2014, shortly after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage.)   

Domino’s is rewarding loyalty members with a “piece of the pie” — literally.    Starting Dec. 5 through Nov. 2017, all Domino’s Piece of the Pie Rewards members are eligible for a chance to win 10 free shares of Domino's stock, just for being enrolled in the program. Each month, 25 loyalty members will be randomly selected to win 10 shares of stock. They can keep the shares for their own stock portfolio or sell them at market price, the company said.  

Ulta Beauty shows no signs of losing its momentum as the chain reported a strong quarter and raised its full-year outlook for the third time this year.   Ulta’s performance was impressive, both in brick-and-mortar and online where its sales jumped nearly 60%. (For commentary, click here.)    

Ulta has finished its third quarter with another very impressive set of numbers. Despite lapping some tough comparatives, the pace of growth has quickened with strong uplifts in total and comparable sales, as well as on the bottom line where operating and net income both grew by well over 20%.