Large Chains

Walmart’s new convenience store test concept, Walmart To Go, is located in its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.  

The approximate 2,500-sq.-ft. store is a hybrid. Part grocery store, part c-store and part quick-serve restaurant, it offers a mix of groceries, c-store staples, and refrigerated and fresh prepared foods, complete with a deli counter. Products are priced the same as they would be in a regular Walmart store.     

San Antonio – Convenience store operator CST Brands plans to open 38 new stores in North America during fiscal 2014. That includes 30 new stores in the U.S. and eight in Canada.

Sioux Falls, S.D. – A retail center is being planned for Sioux Falls, South Dakota. According to the Argus Leader, preliminary plans for the Market at Canyon Creek Development include two 17,000-sq.-ft. retail buildings and include a drug store, three restaurants and a bank.

Owner RMB Associates hopes to have the site developed by 2016. A Get N Go convenience store is also planned for the northeast corner of the site, which is owned by Olson Oil Co.

Coach has appointed David Denton, EVP and CFO of CVS, to its board.

The company also appointed William Nuti, who was named chairman, CEO and president of NCR Corp., to the board. The appointments of Nuti and Denton brings to 11 the number of board members.

Fred's plans to implement a long-term marketing strategy stressing everyday low pricing and the convenience of a smaller box to help bolster sales against what the company describes as "intense competitive pressures." The company's pharmacy operations continue to grow, however.

Fred's reported $150 million in sales for the four weeks ended May 3, representing a decline of 1.6% as compared to year-ago sales. For the first quarter ended May 3, sales totaled $498.5 million, down 0.6%.

Phoenix -- Leslie’s Poolmart announced plans to grand open three retail locations on May 9. The stores are located in: Los Banos, California; Utica, Michigan; and Jackson, Tennessee.

In total, Leslie's plans to open 45 new stores this year, between April and May. With these new stores, Leslie’s will bring its total store count to more than 850 stores nationwide.  

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- On Wednesday, nearly 54 years after its founding in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Domino's Pizza will open the doors to its 11,000th store, in Brantford, Ontario.

"Domino's international growth continues to expand, and I think it is special that we reached this milestone in Canada, the country where the international growth started,” said Mike Schlater, Domino's Pizza of Canada master franchisee. “I am proud to continue serving this community by bringing the 11,000th store to Brantford."
 

Longtime Hallmark executive Michael Goodwin was named chief information officer at the nation’s largest pet specialty retailer.

Goodwin will become SVP and CIO at PetSmart effective June 2, after previously serving as SVP and CIO of technology and business enablement at Hallmark, a $4 billion company with more than 2,600 stores and an extensive online presence. PetSmart operates 1,333 stores.

New York -- Energy Transfer Partners, parent company of Sunoco, plans to acquire Susser Holdings Corp in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $1.8 billion.

Susser operates 630 convenience stores under the Stripes and Pac-N-Sac banners, in Texas and surrounding states. Sunoco operates more than 5,000 stores, primarily on the East Coast.

Houston - Mattress Firm Holding Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire Mattress Liquidators Inc., which operates Mattress King retail stores in Colorado, and BedMart retail stores in Arizona, for about $35 million. This will add approximately 75 specialty retail stores to the Mattress Firm company-operated store base in markets where it currently operates, primarily Denver, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur by the end of the second fiscal quarter of 2014, subject to normal closing conditions.