Mergers & Acquisitions

The retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware has hired a chief real estate officer to lead the latest installment of its evolution into a "design gallery": a 70,000-square-foot store in Las Vegas.

New York - BGC Partners Inc., a global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets, has entered into an agreement to acquire Excess Space Retail Services Inc. Excess Space is a premier provider of real estate disposition, lease restructuring and lease renewal services, as well as related valuations for retailers nationwide and currently advises on 35.6 million-sq.-ft. of retail space in North America.

Atlanta - Honey Baked Ham is consolidating three regionalized operating divisions, currently based in Georgia, Michigan and Ohio, and has also named two new top executives. The combined organization, The Honey Baked Ham Company LLC, will be headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and will serve customers online and at more than 400 stores in 40 states across the U.S.

Party City’s CEO says robust sales prompted an “impressive” increase in same store sales in the first quarter, the company’s first quarterly report after an April IPO.

Boise, Idaho -- The parent company of Albertson's, New Albertson's and Safeway (collectively Albertsons), AB Acquisition LLC, has appointed industry veteran Mark Panzer as senior VP of pharmacy, health and wellness, overseeing the company's 1,760 pharmacies in 34 states across the country. Panzer succeeds Darren Singer, who has left the company to pursue other opportunities.

Vancouver -- Fast-growing Canadian online footwear retailer Shoes.com has reported record first quarter. In its first quarterly financial report since consolidating three online businesses under one platform, the company reported an increase in gross revenue of 89% to $60 million and a 129% increase in revenue from repeat customers.

Gross profit margins remained robust at 44%.

The parent company of Albertsons and Safeway has named a drugstore industry veteran as its new SVP of pharmacy, health and wellness.

San Jose, Calif. – In one more sign the long-discussed eBay-PayPal split is really on its way, PayPal has announced it will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol “PYPL” once it is spun off from parent company eBay. PayPal was initially founded as an independent company in 1998 and joined eBay in 2002.

PayPal intends to become a platform for a world in which all commerce is performed digitally.