News Briefs

Chico’s FAS has gone private.

The women's specialty apparel retailer announced the completion of its acquisition by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, for $7.60 per share. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $1 billion.

With the completion of the transaction, Chico's FAS shares of common stock have ceased trading and are no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

"Completing this transaction represents the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the company's three iconic brands — Chico's, White House Black Market and Soma," said Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore Partners. "We look forward to supporting the company's more than 14,000 talented associates as they continue to deliver best-in-class product assortments to their loyal customer base and help these brands reach their fullest potential."

As of Oct. 28, 2023, Chico’s operated 1,256 stores in the U.S. and sold merchandise through 58 international franchise locations in Mexico and through two domestic franchise locations in airports.

"Joining the Sycamore portfolio of leading retail brands marks an important milestone for Chico's FAS and continues our journey as a customer-led, product-obsessed, digital-first, and operationally excellent company," said Molly Langenstein, CEO and president, Chico’s FAS. "We look forward to working together to reach even greater levels of success."

Solomon Partners, L.P. acted as financial advisor to Chico's FAS, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal advisor.

UBS Investment Bank acted as financial advisor to Sycamore Partners and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor.

CVS Health has made it permanent.

The pharmacy and health care company appointed senior VP of corporate finance and interim CFO Tom Cowhey as its next CFO.  Cowhey joined CVS in February of 2022. He previously served as CFO of Surgery Partners Inc., and before that spent more than a decade at Aetna in various strategy and finance roles.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Tom's caliber and experience already within CVS Health today and ready to take on the role,” said CVS Health president and CEO Karen S. Lynch. “His experience in health care is deep and broad, and he will drive continuity for our strategy and delivering on our commitments.”

In addition, Mike Pykosz, CEO of Oak Street Health and interim lead of Health Care Delivery, has been formally appointed president of Health Care Delivery.  He joined CVS Health following the acquisition of Oak Street Health in May 2023. During his time at CVS, Pykosz has been focused on continuing to run the Oak Street Health business, while also helping to unify all of CVS Health’s care delivery assets.

“Mike is a natural fit to lead the execution of our health care delivery strategy,” said Lynch. “There is real innovation and value to be unlocked as Mike unifies our clinic-based and home health assets."

It’s been a while since a product at Target caused a shopping frenzy. But that’s what a limited-edition giant water bottle just did.

On Dec. 31, Target released a special “Galentine’s Collection” of Stanley’s iconic, cult-fave insulated beverage tumblers (the most popular is the 40-ounce “Quencher”) in red and pink hues. The assortment, which ranged in price from $20 to $45, quickly sold out, online and in-store, where customers rushed the display. The limited-edition cups can now be found on eBay for around $100 or more. 

On Wednesday, Jan. 3, Target released another limited-edition Quencher, a 40-ounce model designed in partnership with Starbucks and featuring a “Winter Pink” hue.  With a price tag of $49.95, the cup was available only at Starbucks stores in Target locations. It was launched the same day as the coffee giant debuted its winter menu.

The Target-Starbucks cup release caused long lines, overnight camp-outs and even mayhem at several Target stores, reported Today.com, along with lots of buzz on TikTok. The platform showed videos of people waiting before dawn for their local Target to open, long with videos of disputes over alleged line-cutting and more. 

According to the report, the cups that were sold yesterday are already listed on sites such as Mercari, Poshmark and eBay for as much as $300. Target plans to release new Stanley items in its stores throughout 2024, including new colors, prints and brand crossovers.

Floor & Décor ended the year with a round of new store openings.

The specialty hard-surface flooring retailer unveiled seven new locations in December. The openings are in line with Floor & Décor’s plan to open a total of 32 stores in fiscal  2023.  The new locations include the company’s 11th outpost in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, in Mansfield, Tex.

The other openings include: 

 •Port Chester, N.Y. (Floor & Décor’s 13th store in the New York City metropolitan area.

 •Springfield, N.J. (12^th store in New York City metro area)

• Shrewsbury, Mass. (7th store in the Boston area);

•Allentown, Pa. (6th store in the Philadelphia area);

•Manassas, Va. (7th store in the DMC metro area); and 

•Mobile, Ala. (4th store in Alabama).

Founded in 2000, Atlanta-based Floor & Decor operates more than 200 warehouse-format stores and five design studios across 36 states. Stores offer a wide in-stock selection of tile, natural wood, natural stone, laminate and luxury vinyl plank, along with free design services.

 In addition, the merchandise mix features tools, decorative materials, wall tile and related accessories for hard-surface flooring projects

In 2022, Floor & Decor’s net sales increased 24.2% to $4.264 billion from $3.433 billion in fiscal 2021. Comparable store sales increased 9.2%. Net income increased 5.3% to $298.2 million. Earnings per share were $2.78 compared to $2.64 in fiscal 2021.

A fast-growing quick-serve restaurant chain may be going on the selling block.

The private equity owners of Tropical Smoothie Cafe are preparing to put the Atlanta-based company up for sale, reported Reuters, which cited people familiar with the matter. The report put the price tag at about $2 billion.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe  is owned Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, which acquired the chain for an undisclosed amount in 2020. The company has more than 1,335 locations in 44 states. In its third quarter, the brand reported positive same-store sales along with the opening 141 new restaurants and the signing of 77 new franchise agreements. 

 The news about Tropical Smoothie Cafe comes a few weeks after Reuters reported that the investment firms that own Chuck E. Cheese are exploring a sale of the company three years after it emerged from Chapter 11.

The chain emerged from bankruptcy in December 2020 after ownership was passed to its creditors, including Monarch Alternative Capital and Redan Advisors, who agreed to eliminate $705 million in debt from its balance sheet.

Chuck E. Cheese is part of CEC Entertainment, whose other brands include Peter Piper Pizza and virtual kitchen concept, Pasqually's Pizza & Wings, which operates out of 400 ghost locations nationwide. 

The company and its franchisees operate a system of nearly 600 Chuck E. Cheese and more than 120 Peter Piper Pizza venues, with locations in 47 states and 17 foreign countries and territories.

The Container Store has made two additions to its executive leadership team.

The specialty retailer of organizing solutions, custom spaces, and in-home services, has promoted , Lindy Rawlinson, executive VP of e-commerce and digital marketing, to chief digital officer. 

Rawlinson joined The Container Store in 2021 with more than 20 years of experience in digital retail. In her new role, she will oversee both e-commerce and marketing, including creative, traditional and digital media, loyalty, social media and public relations functions. 

In addition, Jennifer Pape, VP of stores, has been promoted to senior VP of stores.  She joined the company in 2015 and has held several leadership positions managing store operations and customer experience.

As senior VP of stores, Pape will continue to oversee the Container Store’s expanding store fleet and have an increased focus on Custom Spaces business areas. Her responsibilities will include managing and developing the Custom Spaces customer experience as well as the company’s  in-home design service, which drove more than 85% of premium Custom Spaces sales in the second quarter.

In December, Container Store opened its 100th location, in Princeton, N.J. The opening is in line with the retailer’s strategy to expand its reach as part of its $2 billion revenue goal. 

“By bringing eCommerce and marketing together under Lindy, we will be able to tell a more cohesive brand story, specifically our differentiated offering of Custom Spaces and general merchandise,” said CEO and president Satish Malhotra. “Jen has done a fantastic job leading our store fleet and I am proud of the work she has already done to improve our Custom Spaces conversion rates. I’m confident in the executive leadership team we have in place as we continue to make progress on our path to $2 billion in revenue.”