Convenience Stores

Walgreens Boots Alliance’s acquisition of Rite Aid is moving closer to getting a green light from the Federal Trade Commission.       The FTC is expected to approve the sale in the next two to four weeks, reported the New York Post, citing two sources close to the situation.   The major sticking point was reportedly the number of Rite Aid stores that need to be divested to Fred’s Pharmacy.      

The year kicks off with a respectable set of retail sales numbers that show continued momentum in the consumer economy. The overall growth rate of 4.9% is a little way above the average monthly growth rate of 3.3% recorded in 2016, something that will give retailers some cheer as they head into 2017.  

Retail sales sizzled in January, beating expectations. Even the struggling department store sector managed to beat the odds.   Retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, grew 0.4% in January, according to the National Retail Federation. (The numbers exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants)  

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is getting its stores on the same page.   The convenience and fuel chain, which operates more than 400 locations in 40 states, employs more than 17,000 people. By adding Reflexis Workforce Manager, it will have a consistent way to manage its budgeting, forecasting, and labor scheduling across the enterprise.   

Lidl is coming out of the starting gate in the United States earlier than expected — and it isn’t going to waste any time ramping up its store base.   The discount grocer will open its first U.S. stores this summer, with plans to open up to 100 locations across the East Coast within a year, the Associated Press reported. The chain initially had said it planned to enter the U.S. market no later than 2018.    

BJ’s Wholesale Club could see a change in ownership.   The company’s private equity owners, Leonard Green & Partners and CVS Capital Partners Ltd., are hiring investment bankers to advise them on options, reported the Wall Street Journal.   The two buyout firms acquired BJ’s in 2011 for approximately $3 billion. The retailer, which is based in Westborough, Massachusetts, operates 213 stores and 130 BJ's Gas locations 15 states.    

Dick’s Sporting Goods is putting two of its formats under one roof in the Austin, Texas, market.   The retailer will open a Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream store on Friday, March 3 at The Parke in Cedar Park, Texas. It will be Dick’s 677th store and 29th Field & Stream store nationwide.    There are currently three other Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in Austin.  

For years, retail was neatly divided into two categories: e-commerce and brick-and-mortar. But with the advent of smartphones, digital and physical worlds are melding together, creating a new retail environment in which almost every customer journey involves both online and offline activity. This is particularly true for Generation Z consumers, the first generation to have grown up with digital technologies at their fingertips and who now make up 25% of the total U.S. population.