Corporate Governance

Vermont mall project back on track with Rouse involvement
Rouse properties has announced plans to enter into a joint venture agreement with Devonwood Investors in the transformation of an outdated Burlington, Vermont, mall into a mixed-use center. The deal is expected to be closed in the coming weeks. Burlington Town Center, a traditional enclosed mall in the center of the state’s largest city, is to be converted into a modern apartment block including restaurants and an upgraded retail component.
Walmart turns up the heat on Amazon with new discounting program
Walmart has fired another shot at Amazon. In a move that leverages the retail giant’s vast store and delivery networks and expanding online capabilities, Walmart, starting April 19, will begin offering a discount on merchandise that customers buy online and have shipped to a Walmart store for pick-up. Walmart’s new Pickup Discount program will initially be available only on about 10,000 items, but will be expanded to more than one million of the chain’s most popular items by the end of June.

Toys ‘R’ Us in new venture with Fung Retailing

Toys “R” Us is combining its business in Japan with its ones in Greater China and Southeast Asia. In a joint venture between the toy retailer and Fung Retailing Limited, Toys “R” Us, Japan, which operates 160 stores in the country, will become part of Toys “R” Us, Asia Ltd., which operates 223 stores in Greater China and the Southeast Asia markets and licenses an additional 34 stores in the Philippines and Macau.
Report: Beauty retailer attracts suitors

An array of private equity firms are interested in The Body Shop. The beauty retailer, which is owned by cosmetics giant L’Oreal, has drawn bids from around 15 private equity firms and companies, including Bain Capital, CVC Capital Partners, Carlyle Group LP and South Korea’s CJ Group, Bloomberg reported.
Fast-growing teen value retailer enters California

Five Below is making its West Coast debut. The retailer will open stores on Friday, April 21, in Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Compton, Hawthorne, Montebello, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, South Gate and Redlands. The stores mark the company’s first West Coast locations, bringing its reach to approximately 550 stores in 32 states.
PetSmart expands physical presence and digital offerings

PetSmart is growing its brick-and-mortar footprint along with its digital one. The retailer opened 30 stores across the U.S. and Canada in the quarter ending January 29, 2017, for a total of 70 new stores opened in fiscal 2016 to 73.
Report: Children’s apparel retailer preparing bankruptcy filing

Gymboree Corp.’s debt and mounting losses may have finally caught up with it. The embattled retailer is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg reported, as it faces a June 1 interest payment on its debt. Gymboree has more than $1 billion in debt resulting from its Bain Capital buyout in 2010. It warned in March that it was running short on cash.
Report: Fraudsters zero in on Amazon marketplace merchants

Amazon’s third-party sellers are hackers’ latest victims. In recent weeks, attackers targeted the growing population of third-party sellers on Amazon.com, using stolen credentials from dormant accounts to sell nonexistent merchandise at bargain prices, and then collect the cash, according to Fox Business.
Report sends Amazon’s stock price surges

Amazon’s upward trajectory is not going to stop anytime soon — and it’s not going unnoticed on Wall Street.
Discounter details its wide-ranging energy initiatives

Target Corp. is deploying a number of solutions to reduce its energy use. The retailer, recently named Energy Star Partner of the Year for the second year in a row, counts more than 1,400 of its buildings as having Energy Star status — the Environmental Protection Agency’s certification of energy efficiency — more than any other retailer. And the number is still growing as Target works towards its goal of having at least 80% of its buildings certified by 2020.
Walgreens expanding its in-store beauty format

Walgreens is increasing its in-store beauty presence.
Fast-growing beauty retailer coming to nation’s largest mall

Ulta Beauty is touching down at Mall of America. The retailer will open an 11,000-sq.-ft. location at the mammoth shopping center, which is located in Bloomington, Minnesota, in fall 2017. In addition to more than 20,000 products, Ulta Beauty will also feature an in-store offering a variety of hair, skin, and brow services.