Strategy

New York -- A judge in Delaware on Monday denied requests from the California State Teachers Retirement System and a group of New York City pension funds to seek appointments of lead plaintiff and lead counsel in a consolidated shareholder lawsuit over allegations of bribery involving Wal-Mart Stores’ operations in Mexico, the Associated Press reported.

Carpinteria, Calif. -- CKE Restaurants is planning to expand its Hardee's footprint in the Minneapolis area over the next several years and sees the potential to develop more than 59 new restaurants in the market.

“We are excited to expand in the Minneapolis area, and we're now looking for experienced multi-unit operators to join the brand,” said Jim Sullivan, CKE's senior VP domestic franchise development.

In an effort to promote retail entrepreneurism among today’s youth, Jones Lang LaSalle is inviting kids ranging from six to 15 years of age to participate in its “Kids, Inc.” program. The program will be hosted at select Jones Lang LaSalle-managed shopping centers throughout the United States.

New York -- New York City metro area retailer Daffy’s is going out of business. The discount apparel chain will close all of its 19 stores (eight of which are in Manhattan) this fall, according to various reports.

The closings are not totally unexpected. In June, Crain’s New York Business reported that Daffy’s was having trouble paying its vendors.

New York -- Sycamore Partners extended the expiration date of its tender offer to buy The Talbots by 14 days. Sycamore said in May that it would buy the women's apparel retailer for $193.3 million, or $2.75 per share -- a price that was lower than its previous offers.

The tender offer was previously scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, on July 13. It now has been extended to July 27.
 

New York -- Barnes & Noble announced the appointment of Thomas Donohue as VP treasurer, and Kanuj Malhotra as VP corporate development.

The company also said it has promoted Andy Milevoj to VP investor relations, all reporting directly to Mike Huseby, CFO.
 

New York -- Retail sales fell 0.5% in June, the Commerce Department said on Monday, as consumer spending declined for the third consecutive month. The drop, which followed a 0.2% decrease in May, was unexpected as many economists were expecting growth.

Falling gas prices were attributed to some of the weakness. But even excluding sales at gas stations, retail spending fell 0.3% in June. Economists said weak job growth was making consumers cautious and eating away at consumer confidence.

New York -- Macy's on Friday won a preliminary injunction against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia that would prevent it from selling some of its products at the chain.

Macy's Inc. sued Martha Stewart Living in January after J.C. Penney acquired a 16.6% stake in Martha Stewart Living and announced plans in December to open Martha Stewart mini-shops beginning next year. Macy’s said that it had exclusive rights to certain categories of the Martha Stewart brand until 2018.

By David Asselin, [email protected]

AMSTERDAM — A division of Ahold USA has completed its acquisition of stores in the greater Philadelphia area.

Giant-Carlisle officially closed its acquisition of 15 Genuardi's stores, a subsidiary of Safeway. The deal was previously announced in January and was approved by the Federal Trade Commission last month.

As previously reported, during the conversion process, five stores at a time will temporarily close for about a week. The three-phase staggered approach is expected to be completed on July 22.