Financial/Banking

In the latest move in its battle against Costco, Sam's Club is going to start accepting the very form of payment that Costco rebuffed earlier this year.

New York -- Two very different retail companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Supermarket retailer Haggen filed for bankruptcy after struggling for months to digest a huge acquisition that has proved troublesome from the start. Surfing and skate apparel chain Quiksilver Inc. also sought protection, a victim of online competition, fast-fashion merchants and teens’ fickle tastes.  

Here is more information on both:

New York -- Barnes & Noble on Wednesday reported its fifth straight quarter of sales declines. But the CEO sounded a positive note, telling the Wall Street Journal that the retailer is looking at a new store prototype.

“The industry is evolving, and we think there are opportunities ahead with a different format,” CEO Ronald Boire told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. “I’ve sat in on a couple of meetings about this and we’ll have more to discuss later.”

The Woodlands, Texas – Conn’s Inc. named a new CEO as part of a planned succession, and also announced it beat Wall Street expectations for profit in the second quarter.

Following a year-long repositioning initiative, Conn’s has appointed Norman Miller to serve as CEO and president.

Miller brings more than 30 years of business leadership experience, most recently serving as president of Sears Automotive, and as president and COO of DFC Global Corp.

Conn’s is selling off much of its consumer debt and appointing a new CEO as the specialty retailer looks reposition its business.

In a series of strategic moves designed to shore up its ailing consumer finance business and restore investor confidence, Conn’s has named Norman Miller as its new CEO, entered into an agreement to securitize $1.4 billion of retail installment contract receivables, and received board authorization to repurchase up to $75 million of securities, and termination of the stockholders’ rights plan.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. has renewed its exclusive ATM services agreement with Cardtronics Inc. The latest agreement, a long-term renewal, extends a relationship between the two companies that was established in 2001.

Cardtronics currently owns and operates approximately 1,800 ATMs in Target stores located in all 50 states. All Cardtronics ATMs at Target stores participate in the company's surcharge-free Allpoint Network. Banks will have a chance to participate in the Cardtronics ATM branding program at some Target stores.
 

Columbus, Ohio -- Alliance Data Systems Corp.’s card services business has introduced an EMV-based co-brand credit card solution with tap-and-pay functionality for its retail partners.

The first of these dual-interface chip cards are co-branded with MasterCard and BJ’s Wholesale Club and the Fuel Rewards program. With this new functionality, customers can pay for purchases by tapping their card on a contactless-enabled terminal, making payments simple, easy and fast.
 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holding Corp. is protecting the assets of its pension fund following the creation of its Seritage Growth Properties real estate investment trust (REIT).

The company has entered into a five-year agreement with Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC) to guarantee that it will continue to make required contributions to the fund.