Mergers & Acquisitions

Kohl's has ended its search for a new finance chief.   The retailer has appointed Bruce H. Besanko to the position of CFO, effective July 10.  He will replace Wesley McDonald, who announced plans in November to retire this spring after 14 years with the company.  

While Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods Market signifies a staggering boost in its physical store breadth, the deal is much more valuable than that.   This is according to “LandMark Insights,” a report from PlaceIQ. The study analyzed more than 165 million anonymous and opted-in mobile device signals nationwide to determine visitation patterns and audience affinities, among other metrics. These transactions were compiled over a 90-day period.   

Supervalu Inc. is losing its chief finance officer.   The company announced that Bruce Besanko plans to resign as executive VP, COO and CFO effective July 5, 2017 to pursue an outside opportunity.  

Eddie Bauer LLC could be for sale.   The retailer has hired investment banks Guggenheim Partners LLC and Financo LLC to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale, Reuters reported. The debt-laden company is seeking relief from a $225 million term loan due in 2020 and $200 million revolving credit line that comes due in 2019, the report said.  

German discount grocer is expanding its presence and investment in the U.S. — on two fronts.    On the heels of its first 10 stores opening in the U.S., Lidl is expanding with more locations. On July 13, the company will open two stores in Virginia (in Chesapeake and Culpeper) and two in North Carolina (Havelock and Wake Forest).  

Noting that necessity-based have proven to resistant to the pressures of online retailers, Westwood Co-CEO Randy Banchik announced his company’s acquisition of The Arbors at Mallard Creek in Charlotte. Purchase price was $25.1 million.    “This asset boasts a variety of internet resistant tenants, insulating it from factors such as the rise of online shopping,” Blanchik said.  

Lowe's Companies has finalized a deal that fits into its goal to better serve its pro customers.   The home improvement retailer has completed its previously announced acquisition of Maintenance Supply Headquarters for $512 million. The Houston, Texas-based company is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products serving the multifamily housing industry.  

Sears Canada is looking to reinvent itself.    The long-struggling department store retailer said it expects to close 59 of its 225 stores and cut 2,900 of its approximately 17,000 workers as part of its restructuring. Sears Canada filed for protection from its creditors under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, on Thursday.    

Walmart leads the pack when it comes to paid search advertising in the grocery category.   That’s according to new research from AdGooroo. The search marketing intelligence provider analyzed 124 non-branded grocery store and grocery delivery keywords from June 2016-May 2017.  

While the pace of decline at B&N has eased, the company remains firmly in decline with sales down across the board. The saving grace is that a firm grip on costs, which were slashed by $137 million over the year, allowed the group to reduce losses for the quarter, and to post a $22 million net profit for the full fiscal.