Bob's Stores

New York -- Vestis Retail Group, which operates Bob’s Stores, Eastern Mountain Sports and Sport Chalet, has selected Epicor Software Corp.’s SaaS solutions to power its expanding retail sporting goods apparel and equipment business.

  IRVINE, Calif.- JustEnough Software Corp announced that Eastern Mountain Sports, has gone live with JustEnough’s retail planning solution to better plan and forecast for its 68 stores and e-commerce site.  

Eastern Mountain Sports has enlisted JustEnough Software Corp., a leading provider of demand management solutions for retail, wholesale and direct-to-consumer businesses worldwide, to improve its inventory capabilities for its brick-and-mortar as well as its Internet site.

Meriden, Conn. -- Vestis Retail Group, made up of the East Coast-based Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, has signed an agreement to acquire Los Angeles-based Sport Chalet.

Vestis Retail Group, the parent company of Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, has set the wheels in motion to acquire Sport Chalet.

The acquisition will create one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the United States, with more than 150 stores and coverage on the East and West coasts. Sport Chalet will continue to operate stores under its existing brand name, and according to Vestis Retail Group, no store closures are planned.

Ninth annual survey supports adding value through redevelopment

In its ninth year, the annual Top Redevelopers survey continues to demonstrate the value of redeveloping and repositioning shopping centers. As always, the goals include refreshing, remodeling, tweaking, and sometimes demolishing and rebuilding with an eye to providing tenants with space that supports their goals. 

Meriden, Conn. – Vestis Retail Group, parent company of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), has named James Petty as CEO effective July 8, 2013. Petty most recently served as president of retail stores for Cartier Inc. from 2007 to December 2012 and left the company after it relocated its retail group headquarters from Connecticut to Georgia. He also previously held executive positions at Limited Too and Gap Inc.

James Petty has joined private equity owned Vestis Retail Group as CEO, effective July 8, to drive new growth opportunities.

Petty joins Vestis, parent company of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, after serving since 2007 as president of retail stores for Carter’s Inc. Petty left Carter’s last December after a restructuring resulted in Carter’s relocating its retail group to its Atlanta headquarters from Connectticut. Prior to Carter’s, Petty held senior roles at Limited Too and Gap, Inc.

Philadelphia -- Versa Capital Management, a Philadelphia-based private equity investment firm, has acquired Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), effective immediately. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mark Walsh, a Versa principal and chairman of Bob’s Stores, a northeastern apparel retailer that is part of the Versa portfolio, will serve as chairman of the board of EMS, which operates 69 stores in 12 Eastern states.

New York City -- The latest jewel in the portfolio of Mexican department store operator Liverpool took top honors in Chain Store Age’s 30th annual Retail Store of the Year design competition. The company’s 319,000-sq.-ft. store in the Mexico City suburb of Interlomas was named Store of the Year and was also the winning entry in the Department Store category.

Here is a complete list of the winning projects, all of which will be featured in the March issue of Chain Store Age and reviewed at its annual SPECS Conference: