Discount Store

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.    

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.  

The CEOs of Gap, Best Buy, Target Corp., J.C. Penney and several other national retailers met with President Trump on Wednesday to discuss tax reform and to make their case against the so-called border tax adjustment.  

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.    

The ever-expanding Dollar General has entered its 44th state.   The discounter opened a store in Hankinson, North Dakota. The company plans to open six additional locations in the state through spring 2017.   

The Trump brand at retail has taken another hit.    Sears and Kmart this week removed 31 Trump Home items from their e-commerce sites, Reuters reported, to focus on more profitable products. Neither Sears nor Kmart carried the products in their brick-and-mortar stores.  

These are tough times for outdoor/sporting goods retailers.   Gander Mountain is reportedly considering filing Chapter11 bankruptcy protection, according to Reuters.    Founded in 1960, Gander Mountain specializes in fishing, camping and hunting gear and accessories, and bills itself as “America’s firearms superstore.”   

Sears Holding Corp.’s chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert and the company's board settled a lawsuit alleging that the chief executive benefited from a spin-off deal.   The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Sears and against Lampert, other Sears directors and Seritage Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust established to acquire 235 of the struggling chain’s best stores, reported Reuters.