Mergers & Acquisitions

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market Inc. said Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit increased nearly 50% on strong sales. The grocer’s company's net income rose to $112.7 million for the period ended Sept. 30, up from $75.5 million a year ago.

Revenue rose nearly 24% to $2.91 billion, with an extra week in the most recent quarter. Same-store sales were up nearly 9%.

West Bridgewater, Mass. -- Supervalu said Monday it has cut about 700 store-level positions at the company’s Shaw's and Star Market stores in New England.

Atlanta -- Aaron’s said Tuesday it is opening five of its lease-to-own stores in the Midwest, south and on the East Coast.

From mid October to early November, Aaron's stores have opened in Delaware, Ohio; Ionia, Mich.; Franklin, Ky.; Indianola, Miss., and Towson, Md.

In September, the company opened its 2,000th store – located in the Bronx, N.Y.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Coming off a strong third quarter, CVS Caremark executives expressed confidence that the company’s integrated retail/pharmacy benefit manager model and the unique programs and services it is able to deliver customers and clients are “making the difference,” president and CEO Larry Merlo told analysts during a Tuesday morning earnings call.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark Corp. reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 jumped 16% to $1.01 billion, compared with $868 million in the year-ago period. Results were boosted by a 13.3% increase in revenue to $30.2 billion, which edged Wall Street’s forecast of $30.09 billion in revenue.

Drugstore revenue rose 5.5% to $15.5 billion, and same-store sales climbed 4.3%, helped by the influx of Walgreens customer who switched to CVS during the split between Walgreen Co and Express Scripts Holding Co.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax Inc. reported Tuesday that net income for the third quarter jumped to $433.5 million from $22 million in the same period last year, as the office supply retailer eliminated non-recourse debt guaranteed by Lehman Bros. Holdings from its books.

Revenue dipped 1.7% to $1.74 billion, missing Wall Street’s expected $1.87 billion. Same-store sales fell 2.1%.

Roseville, Calif. -- Revionics, a provider of end-to-end merchandise optimization solutions, and GIIV, owner of the SkuLoop business, a provider of social commerce driven promotions for retailers and consumer brands, announced that Revionics has acquired the SkuLoop business and assets from GIIV.

AUSTIN, Texas — Golfsmith International has named Sue E. Gove president and CEO of the world's largest specialty golf retailer. Gove, formerly president and COO of the combined Golfsmith and Golf Town business, has also served as the chief integration officer leading the successful Golfsmith-Golf Town combination which was finalized this past July.