Corporate Governance

Bankrupt A&P receives financing, bids; will close 25 stores
Montvale, N.J. – So far, chapter 11 bankruptcy appears to be going as planned for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P). A&P has received approval for financing from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York, bids for some stores, and will close 25 stores in the near term due to “lack of interest” and ongoing losses.
Gymboree colors the world for kids
Gymboree is launching a colorful new campaign aimed at increasing awareness of a cause near and dear to the heart of its core customers.

The retailer has started a new effort to raise money in Gymboree and Gymboree Outlet stores to fund arts and crafts requests made by teachers on DonorsChoose.org. The goal is to fulfill classroom requests in every county where there is a Gymboree retail location.

TigerDirect hosts ultimate geek contest

TigerDirect is encouraging consumers to unleash their inner geek with 18th annual PC Race.

The retailer has partnered with Intel to host the competition, which is set to kick off at QuakeCon 2015 in Dallas from July 23 to July 26. The first contestant to assemble and boot their high performance PCs in each regional race will win an all expenses paid trip to Miami to compete in the National Finals on Nov. 6 during Tech Bash.
Belk still expanding despite sale rumors

At a time when the future of the company is unclear, Belk Inc. is reportedly building another flagship store.

Rouse Properties Inc. announced it has signed a lease with Belk Inc. to open a new 237,000 square foot flagship store at The Shoppes at Bel Air in Mobile, Ala. Belk will be taking the place of an existing Sears, and expanding on its already integral presence at The Shoppes at Bel Air.
Bon-Ton Stores names retail vet as COO

Bon-Ton Stores has hired a 30-year veteran of the retail industry as its chief operating officer.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. has named William Tracy to the position of COO, effective July 27. Tracy will have responsibility for stores, information systems, supply chain, distribution & logistics, omnichannel strategy, real estate, and HR.
Report: Sam's Club, Costco shutter photo sites after breach

Sam’s Club, Costco, Rite Aid, and other retailers have shut down their photo services to deal with a potential data breach.

According to Reuters, CVS, which also uses the same photo hosting service as the retailers named above, temporarily shut down its photo sites last week after noticing possible credit card data irregularities.

According to Reuters, some of the companies temporarily shut down the services after photo hosting service PNI told them about the breach, while others proactively shut down after reading reports.
Wolverine Worldwide to close 120 stores as profit dips 8.7%

Wolverine Worldwide reported profit declines for the second quarter as the retailer shaved the number of stores it plans to close to 120.
Jet rolling on $20 billion runway

Boasting a proprietary dynamic pricing algorithm, the new online shopping club Jet.com officially launched on July 21 with plans to reach a lofty sales milestone faster than other retailer.
A&P store sell-off begins

Quincy, Mass. – The sell-off of stores from the newly bankrupt Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) has begun. The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC has entered into an agreement with A&P to acquire 25 A&P stores in greater New York for $146 million.
Report: eBay makes acquisition after PayPal split

San Jose, Calif. – eBay Inc. is not wasting any time in moving on now that its long-anticipated split with PayPal Inc. is official. According to MarketWatch, eBay has acquired online consignment apparel retailer Twice, and will not maintain the Twice brand.
Mid-America brokers shopping center sale in greater Minneapolis

Lakeville, Minn. - Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s investment sales team recently brokered the sale of Heritage Commons in Lakeville, Minnesota (part of the Minneapolis metropolitan statistical area) to Austin, Texas-based Epic Real Estate Partners. Epic purchased the 138,690-sq.-ft. grocery-anchored neighborhood center.

Heritage Commons is anchored by Cub Foods and is complemented by national and local tenants including Subway, Papa Murphy’s, Great Clips and American Dental.
Amazon competitor prepares for Tuesday takeoff

Hoboken, N.J. – The countdown is on for the latest competitor to Amazon.com to take off. Jet.com, which hopes to compete with the Amazon Prime membership service using “profit-free” pricing, has an online clock on its homepage counting down to launch at 6 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 21.