Mergers & Acquisitions

Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo USA division named a new CEO with a familiar name to lead what is expected to be an accelerated growth plan.

Uniqlo elevated existing COO Lawrence Meyer to the role of CEO to lead is 17 unit U.S. operation roughly one year after he joined the company. In his new role, Meyer will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Uniqlo brand and be responsible for the ongoing development of the company retail footprint in the U.S.

Tempe, Ariz. -- Togo's Eateries has opened its first restaurant in Tempe, Ariz., owned by current Togo's franchisees, Monty and Diana Coury, who opened the first Togo's restaurant in Gilbert, Ariz., last year.

"Since opening our first restaurant in Gilbert, we've seen a tremendous amount of support from the community and there is still a huge potential for growth in the market,” said Monty Coury.

Sears Holdings chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert has pared down his stake in the retailing company, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed that Lampert reduced his stake in Sears Holdings to 48.4%, from a 55.4% stake reported in March. That leaves him with about 51.6 million shares in the company, whose stock was valued at $50.38 per share Wednesday morning on the NASDAQ, down from its opening price of $52.62.

New York -- Eddie Lambert’s ESL Partners has reduced the size of its stake in Sears Holdings Corp. disclosing in a regulatory filing on that it now owns 48.4% of its shares, down from 55.4%.

In a statement, Lampert said that his fund had distributed 7.4 million shares in Sears to investors who wanted to withdraw money from his firm.  He said that he had not sold any of his personal holdings.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- MinuteClinic, a division of CVS Caremark Corporation, has expanded to its 28th state with the opening of clinic locations inside select CVS/pharmacy stores in New Hampshire. Clinics are now open in Concord and West Lebanon.  

Suffern, N.Y. – Ascena Retail Group, parent company of Lane Bryant and Justice, reported net income of $52.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, a 22% increase from $43.1 million a year earlier.

Net sales totaled roughly $1.2 billion, a 5% increase from about $1.14 billion.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans to further expand its Los Angeles-area presence with the addition of a Nordstrom Rack at Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The approximately 40,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2015. The Rack location at Janss Marketplace is a development by Seritage Realty Trust, a division of Sears Holdings Corporation.

Nordstrom has operated a full-line store approximately one mile from the new Rack location at The Oaks since 2008.

New York -- Dunkin’ Donuts is the chain with the most locations in New York City, operating 515 stores across the five boroughs, according to The Center for an Urban Future’s sixth annual “State of the Chains” study. Subway is the second largest national retailer in the city with 467 locations. Rounding out the top ten are: Duane Reade/Walgreens (with 318 stores), Starbucks (283), MetroPCS (261), McDonalds (240), Baskin Robbins (202), Rite Aid (190), T-Mobile (161) and GNC (138).