Strategy

Troy Alstead, the longtime Starbucks executive who resigned as COO in February 2016, is ready to take his next professional step.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Alstead is planning to open a 57,000-sq.-ft. “sustainable social hub” in Gig Harbor, Washington. Offerings will include a restaurant, bar and café as well as a 20-lane bowling alley and meeting and party rooms.

In a not unexpected move, Fairway Group Holding Corp., operator of the Fairway Market supermarket chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
   
The company filed a “prepackaged” bankruptcy restructuring under which its lenders agreed to exchange existing debt for new equity and debt in a reorganized company. Supporting lenders agreed to vote in favor of the plan and exchange their loans for common equity and $84 million of debt of the reorganized company.

Under Armour is losing two key members of its executive team.

Chief merchandising officer Henry Stafford and chief digital officer Robin Thurston are both stepping down from their positions in July. No reason was given for their departures.

Stafford joined Under Armour in 2010 as the apparel team lead. He will be succeeded on an interim basis by Kip Fulks, who most recently served as Under Armour’s chief marketing officer.

David’s Bridal is expanding south of the border.

The bridal and special occasion retailer is partnering with Diltex, a leading manufacturer and retailer of intimate apparel in Mexico, to open its first franchise location, in Mexico City.

The store is expected to open by the end of 2016 with additional franchise locations planned to open over the next five years across the country.

Amazon.com is making its Prime Now on-demand delivery service more accessible, but is not adding new markets.

Following several weeks of media speculation, Amazon has made the formerly smartphone app-only Prime Now available as a page on its e-commerce site. Members of the paid Amazon Prime loyalty program in one of the 27 metro areas where Prime Now is available can place orders for one- or two-hour delivery.

Kohl’s has been offering the Apple Pay mobile payment app for store purchases since June 2015. But the retailer is now taking it to another level, more tightly integrating its private credit and loyalty programs with the third-party platform.

In a move rumored for weeks, Aéropostale on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The struggling teen apparel retailer said it would close 113 stores in the United States and all 41 of its stores in Canada. Store closing sales in the United States will begin this weekend (May 7-8), and in Canada during the week of May 9.

Target Corp. is getting tough with vendors as it works to improve its supply chain.

The retailer plans to tighten deadlines for deliveries to its warehouses, hike fines for late deliveries, and could institute penalties of up to $10,000 for inaccuracies in product information, according to a report by Reuters.

With rental rates rising, expansion minded retailers have a unique opportunity to satisfy their growth aspirations by capitalizing on below market rates available at nearly 200 former Hancock Fabric locations.

In a not unexpected move, Fairway Group Holding Corp., operator of the Fairway Market supermarket chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company filed a “prepackaged” bankruptcy restructuring under which its lenders agreed to exchange existing debt for new equity and debt in a reorganized company. Supporting lenders agreed to vote in favor of the plan and exchange their loans for common equity and $84 million of debt of the reorganized company.