Corporate Governance

The big get bigger.   The Home Depot reported record sales and net income as it revised upward its expectations for the full year.   The world’s largest home improvement retailer Tuesday morning posted second quarter sales of $26.5 billion, up 6.6% from the second quarter a year ago. Comparable store sales were up 4.7%, and up 5.4% in the U.S.   Net earnings were $2.4 billion, up from $2.2 billion.  

Dick’s Sporting Goods on Tuesday hit a home run, posting second quarter results that surpassed analysts’ expectations and lifting its earnings forecast for the year.   Dick's reported net income of $91.4 million for the quarter ended July 30, up from $90.8 million in the year-ago period.   Net sales increased 7.9% to $1.97 billion. Online penetration for the second quarter was 8.5% of total net sales, compared to 7.3% last year. Same-store sales increased 2.8%.   

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is reportedly nearing a deal that would increase the ongoing consolidation in the convenience-store industry.   The Canadian convenience-store giant is in the lead to acquire CST Brands Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported.   CST, based in San Antonio, Texas, is a fuel and convenience-store chain with more than 1,000 stores in the southwestern U.S., New York and eastern Canada.   

That didn’t take very long.    Barnes & Noble on Tuesday announced the abrupt departure of CEO Ronald D. Boire, who has held the position for just under a year.    In a short and bluntly-worded statement, the book-seller announced that its board had determined that Boire “was not a good fit for the organization and that it was in the best interests of all parties for him to leave the company.”      

Dollar General continues to expand its store portfolio at a rapid pace.   The discounter on Monday opened its 13,000th store, in Birmingham, Alabama. The company operates approximately 675 stores in Alabama.    The new store is one of the planned 900 new stores Dollar General expects to open in 2016.

To understand the current state of the Detroit real estate market, and to appreciate how and why Detroit is such a hot market today, we have to look to the past. Historical context is crucial here because, more than most cities, the story of Detroit is the story of a city shaped by its past. In many cases, the building blocks of today’s development boom are being literally and figuratively laid across foundations that were laid years ago.  

A Securities Exchange Commission investigation into some loans applied for by CBL & Associates is unfounded, the company maintained in announcing the results of an independent investigation.  

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc., acquired 100% ownership of Tanger Outlets Savannah, adjacent to the Savannah International Airport. The deal it made with its lone partner in the 420,000-sq.-ft. center included a $15 million cash payment and assignment of all outparcels on the property.   "The center is currently 99% occupied and is undergoing a second expansion to accommodate retailer demand for space," said Steven B. Tanger, president and CEO.