Mergers & Acquisitions

The Federal Trade Commission has given its blessing to a deal that creates the fourth largest supermarket company in the United States.   Delhaize Group, owner of Food Lion, and Royal Ahold NV, owner of Stop & Shop, on Sunday completed their $29 billion merger after they received regulatory clearance by the Federal Trade Commission.   

New store formats loom large in Starbucks Corp.’s long-term strategy.   The coffee giant on Monday announced that Cliff Burrows, who has headed up Starbucks' Americas business for eight years, will lead a new group within the company called Siren Retail. In the role, Burrows will oversee the global expansion of the chain’s new Roastery concept, as well as the development of the upscale Starbucks Reserve stores. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/coffee-giant-two-new-store-expansion-moves  

Unsecured creditors of Sports Authority said in court papers that the bankrupt retailer should not waste its dwindling funds preparing a plan to end its Chapter 11.     The unsecured creditors argued the company, which filed Chapter 11 in March, is "administratively insolvent," meaning it cannot even pay the cost of running its bankruptcy case, Reuters reported.  

The recent demolition of the Miss Jackson’s anchor store at Utica Square in Tulsa, a fixture in that town’s retail scene for more than 100 years, was a stark Heartland example of the changing face of retail. But mall owners and managers in Oklahoma’s second-largest city feel poised to enter the new era, according to a report in Tulsa World.  

Marla and Barry Beck, Founders of Bluemercury, open 100th store (Photo: Business Wire)   Bluemercury is testing a larger format space.    The specialty beauty products and spa retailer announced the opening of its 100th store, in Savannah, Georgia.     

HCW has named Bayer Properties to manage Branson Landing, the 95-acre mixed-use development in Branson, Missouri, that is home to the town’s convention center, Hilton Hotel, and in excess of 450,000 sq. ft. of retail and entertainment space.   Branson Landing is situated on 1.5 miles of Lake Taneycomo waterfront and its boardwalk, live entertainment, and nightly fire and water show are a big draw for the 8 million or so tourists who visit the town annually.  

A brand known for its low, low prices and high volume has opened its fifth U.S. store.   Primark has opened at PREIT’s Willow Grove Park Mall in the Philadelphia suburb of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. This is the second Primark location in the Philadelphia region. The store occupies 58,300 sq. ft. of space previously occupied by Sears on the second and third floors of the southwest side of the mall.  It features 59 fitting rooms and 47 registers, recharge areas, as well as a fashion "trend room.”  

Some three years after he returned to save J.C. Penney, industry veteran Myron E. (Mike) Ullman will retire from the company on Aug. 1.    Ullman is passing the reins of chairman of Penney’s board of directors to current CEO Marvin R. Ellison. The succession is in accordance with a transition plan the company outlined in 2014.