Mergers & Acquisitions

Moving forward with its promise to streamline its business model, Gap Inc. said it plans to close its fleet of 53 Old Navy stores in Japan and also shutter some Banana Republic stores, primarily outside of North America.

The retailer announced the moves on Thursday in its first quarter results, which marked the chain's fifth straight quarter of lower revenue and profit. The company also said it would not reaffirm its earnings guidance for the fiscal year.

In a quarter of strong home improvement demand, Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe’s reported net earnings of $884 million for the quarter ended April 29, a 31.4% increase over the same quarter lat year. Sales for the quarter increased 7.8% to $15.2 billion. Comp-store sales increased 7.3% overall, and increased 7.5% for the U.S. business.

A career that began in 1974 as a Giant Eagle supermarket clerk will end on June 30, 2016 as one of the company’s most instrumental figures in recent decades, president and COO John Lucot, will retire after 42 years of service to the Pittsburgh-area grocer.

Francesca’s Holdings is looking for a new CEO after the abrupt departure of former Chairman, President and CEO Michael Barnes and weaker than expected first quarter guidance caused the company’s shares to plummet.

The demise of regional grocer Haggen has been a boon to Smart & Final which grew its store count by more than 10% after acquiring former Haggen locations.

Last December, Smart & Final acquired 33 Haggen lease locations and the company recently announced that it had opened all those locations under its Smart & Final Extra! banner.

Veteran Bon-Ton Stores executive Michael Ricart has joined value-priced department store chain Gordman’s Stores as senior vice president of stores.

McKesson and Walmart on Monday announced a new generics sourcing agreement Monday alongside and extended distribution contract between the two companies. In a move aimed at improving value and scale for both parties, the agreement will see Walmart and McKesson jointly sourcing generics for their U.S. operations. 

Three new Gander Mountain stores are slated to open this fall in Colorado, Pennsyvania and Texas as the St. Paul, MN-based company looks to live up to its billing as the nation’s fastest-growing outdoor retailer.

The new stores, which range from 52,000 to 57,000 square feet are located in Parker, CO, Warrington Township, PA, and Frisco, TX and are among a group of 55 stores the company has opened since 2012, bringing its total store count to 160 units. The company has also remodeled roughly 85 locations since 2012.