Financial/Banking

WP Glimcher announced that CEO and vice chairman Michael Glimcher has resigned from the REIT founded by his father, Herbert. Board member Louis Conforti was named interim CEO at the company slated to be rebranded as the Washington Prime Group.   Several other senior leadership changes were announced, including the replacement of Mark Ordan as board chairman with Robert J. Laikin, who had been the board’s lead independent director. Ordan stays on as a director.  

Neiman Marcus is searching  for a buyer or investor, the New York Post reported.     Neiman Marcus CEO Katz recently visited China and while there met with potential buyers, including Anbang Insurance Group, which passed on an offer to buy the retailer,  the report said.  

The American Express card is now history at Costco Wholesale Club.    As of June 20, Costco is accepting only Visa-branded credit cards chain wide.   The retailer made headlines last year when it announced that, after 16 years, it was dropping American Express as its exclusive credit card provider and switching to Visa.   

Two private equity firms have thrown their hats in the arena to buy Cabela’s.   The firms, New York-based Apax Partners and San Francisco-based TPG Capital,  are each meeting Cabela’s management as part of an auction for the 82-store chain, the New York Post reported.   Bass Pro Shops is also interested in Cabela’s, and has partnered with Goldman Sachs Group’s private equity arm to make an offer for its rival, according to Reuters.  

In a new federal lawsuit, The Home Depot Inc. is accusing Visa and MasterCard of not doing enough to ensure EMV-compliant, chip-based payment cards truly prevent fraud.  

Draw Another Circle, the parent company of Texas-based Hastings Entertainment, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with hopes of finding a buyer for its Hastings superstores.    

The combination of a cool spring and the continued pullback in luxury apparel spending took a toll on Neiman Marcus Group in the company’s third quarter.    The department store retailer’s profit plunged 80% in the period ended April 30, down to $3.8 million from $19.8 million in the year-ago period.    Total revenue for the quarter fell 4.2% to $1.17 billion, down from $1.22 billion a year ago.   Same-stores sales fell 5%.   

Aéropostale has received final approval for $160 million in debtor in-possession financing provided by Crystal Financial LLC.