Mergers & Acquisitions

Jacksonville, Fla. -- American Restaurant Concepts is opening a new Dick’s Wings restaurant in Jacksonville, Fla. The restaurant will operate as a franchise with American Restaurant Corporation serving as franchisor and consulting partner.

Dick’s Wings has 15 full-service and two express restaurants in Florida and Georgia.

New York -- Uniqlo is taking a breather … but only a short one. The Japanese fashion retailer opened its seventh U.S. store — and its first in an outdoor lifestyle center location — on April 19, at Westchester’s Ridge Hill in Yonkers, N.Y. The two-level, 24,000-sq-ft. store comes on the heels of Uniqlo opening at Palisades Center in West Nyack, N.Y., in March. What’s next for the powerhouse brand that has made no secret of its intention to expand across the nation, with 200 stores by 2020?

MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy is leaving the European market. The company is selling its stake in a joint European venture with U.K.-based consumer electronics retailer Carphone Warehouse Group PLC for cash and stock worth about $775 million USD.

Best Buy Co. will also pay Carphone 29 million pounds (about $45 million) related to existing agreements that will be terminated when the deal closes. The U.S. retailer also said that it will incur an approximately $200 million asset impairment charge related to the stake sale.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Pizza chain Domino’s, Inc. reported a 6.2% increase in domestic store sales during first quarter 2013, compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

Domino’s also reported 6.5% international same store sales growth and added a net 75 global stores. Net income increased from $20.7 million to $34.4 million, an almost 66% jump.

As of March 2013, Domino’s operates 10,330 global stores, including 4,923 domestic locations.

Columbus, Ohio -- Discount retailer Big Lots has named David Campisi, 57, as CEO and president of Big Lots, effective May 6. The 30-year-industry veteran most recently served as chairman and CEO of Respect Your Universe, a publicly traded company focused on premium performance apparel and equipment. Prior to that, he was an executive with The Sports Authority for nearly seven years, rising to become chairman and CEO.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The timing of the New Year and Easter holidays negatively affected Office Depot’s first quarter sales which declined 5% to $2.7 billion and led to a $17 million loss compared to a profit of $41 million in the first quarter of 2012. 

Minneapolis -- Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy is leaving the European market. The company is selling its stake in a joint European venture with U.K.-based consumer electronics retailer Carphone Warehouse Group PLC for cash and stock worth about $775 million USD.

Best Buy Co. will also pay Carphone 29 million pounds (about $45 million) related to existing agreements that will be terminated when the deal closes. The U.S. retailer also said that it will incur an approximately $200 million asset impairment charge related to the stake sale.

Columbus, Ohio -- Footwear/accessories retailer DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse is opening a new store in Columbia, S.C., on May 2. This will mark the entry of the DSW brand into South Carolina.

The company operates 375 stores in 41 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as well as 347 leased departments for other U.S. retailers.