Mergers & Acquisitions

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Limited Brands has announced the appointments of Michael Morris and Dr. Gordon Gee to its board of directors.

CARY, N.C. — The Pantry, an independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States, announced that Joe Venezia is joining the executive leadership team as SVP operations.

Venezia joins The Pantry from TitleMax. In his new role at The Pantry, he will lead the company’s store operations and be focused on driving sales, improving store productivity, and leading a great store operations team.

Foothills Ranch, Calif. -- The Wet Seal Inc. said Thursday it has dropped its temporary shareholder rights plan, citing feedback from stakeholders, and has proposed to expand its board to include two nominees of activist investor Clinton Group.

In July, Clinton Group, which owns approximately 7% of Wet Seal, called for a sale of the retailer, expressing dissatisfaction with its performance, and made a play for four seats on the board. In response, the retailer adopted a temporary shareholder rights plan with a 10% trigger.

UNION, N.J. — Bed Bath and Beyond's earnings per diluted share for its second quarter rose 5.4% from 98 cents ($224.3 million) from 93 cents ($229.4 million) last year.

The company reported net sales of approximately $2.6 billion, an increase of approximately 12.1% from net sales of approximately $2.3 billion reported in the fiscal second quarter of 2011.  Comparable-store sales in the fiscal second quarter of 2012 increased by approximately 3.5%, compared with an increase of approximately 5.6% in last year's fiscal second quarter.  

New York -- A Thursday report by Wall Street Journal said that Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. has filed plans for an initial public offering of up to $150 million in common stock.

The retailer, which this week unveiled its new RH branding, is looking to the IPO to pay down debt. It was acquired in 2008 by Catterton Partners in a $179 million buyout and last month revealed a plan for reorganization on the heels of co-CEO Gary Friedman’s resignation following an internal probe into a relationship with a female employee.

Camp Hill, Pa. — Rite Aid narrowed its second-quarter loss to $41.4 million in the second quarter from a $94.7 million loss in the year-ago period.

Revenue slipped to $6.23 billion from $6.27 billion last year, missing Wall Street’s projected $6.25 billion in sales. Same-store sales were essentially flat for the quarter.

Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 25 dipped 2.2% to $224.3 million, from $229.4 million in the same period last year. Results, negatively impacted by aggressive coupon discounting, trailed Wall Street’s expectations.

Sales increased 12.1% to $2.593 billion, and same-store sales climbed 3.5%, compared with an increase of 5.6% last year.

The retailer acquired Cost Plus in July for $495 million, adding 259 stores and a new e-commerce platform.

New York -- Enterprise business solution-provider Jesta I.S. Inc. said Thursday that Sterling Shoes, a division of Toronto-based Town Shoes, has gone live with its Vision Store and Vision Merchandising software.
 
Town Shoes completed the acquisition of 69 Sterling Shoes stores in April 2012 and immediately launched the selection process for POS and merchandising software solutions that could be implemented by Labor Day weekend.