Strategy

New York City -- BJ’s Wholesale Club is in the sights of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, which may pursue a hostile bid for the chain, according to The New York Post.

The Los Angeles-based buyout firm may make a bid if no auction occurs in coming weeks, the report said, citing an unidentified person close to the situation. BJ’s planned an auction to sell itself after an earlier bid from Leonard Green, according to the newspaper.

Holiday shoppers continued to unleash three years of pent-up demand as the season winds up, on their way to setting a new record of over $521B, blasting through 2007’s pre-recession record of $508 billion, according to Customer Growth Partners. Based on CGP’s proprietary mall surveys and government retail data -- and despite Sunday’s Northeast blizzard -- the sales growth confirmed CGP’s +5% holiday sales forecast. [CGP’s data include e-commerce, unlike NRF, which excludes the same.]

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- While many e-retailers had a holiday to celebrate, customer satisfaction with the Top 40 online retailers overall has fallen since last year, according to the sixth annual ForeSee Results E-Retail Satisfaction Index (U.S. Holiday Edition).

New York City -- A survey released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs found that chain-store sales for the week ended Dec. 25 rose 4.8% from the year-earlier period, the best performance since April 24.

According to the survey, on a week-over-week basis, sales gained 1%.

New York City -- Off-price retailer Daffy’s is launching an expansion push, including opening a store in Manhattan’s Times Square in the former home of the New York Times, Crain’s New York Business reported.

The 28,000-sq.-ft. Times Square store, to be located on West 44th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, is slated to open fall 2011. The store will have a ground-floor entrance, but the bulk of the space will be on the basement level.

Stratham, N.H. -- A Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal said that outdoor gear retailer Timberland will expand its presence in mainland China from 110 stores currently to double that number.

According to the company’s president and CEO, Jeffrey Swartz, who was interviewed by WSJ, the retailer sees the potential to more than double its doors in the next three years.

Swartz said one way his company can connect with Chinese consumers is by highlighting its environmental credentials.