Mass Merchant

Bankrupt sporting goods retailer Gander Mountain may live to see another day.   Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc. is planning to bid for as many as 80% of Gander Mountain’s stores, Bloomberg reported. Gander Mountain filed for bankruptcy on March 10.  

The number of Amazon Prime members are on the rise.   An estimated 60% of Amazon customers are Prime members, a group that is comprised of roughly 80 million members in the United States, according to research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). The study is based on responses from 500 U.S. shoppers who made a purchase at Amazon.com between January and March.  

Albertsons Cos. on Monday appointed the president of its Jewel-Osco division, Mike Withers as  executive VP, retail operations, Albertsons.   Withers will lead the company's East Region operations, while current executive VP, retail operations Susan Morris will lead the West Region. Jim Perkins, executive VP, retail operations Special Projects, is focused on targeted initiatives to accelerate growth. All three executives will continue to report to Wayne Denningham, president and COO, ALbertsons.  

Macy’s is getting more serious about its off-price format, Macy’s Backstage.   The department store giant plans to add 30 Backstage shops to existing Macy’s stores this year, reported CNBC. The format debuted in 2015, originally as a freestanding store.   

Walmart’s tech start-up has added a new leader.   The retail giant’s newly launched startup investment arm, called Store No. 8, has named Jenny Fleiss as one of its chief executives, according to Reuters. Fleiss is the co-founder and former head of business development for Rent the Runway.   

Retailers concerned over the pending border-adjusted tax have boosted their lobbying efforts in Washington.   Target Corp., Gap Inc., and Best Buy Co. Inc. spent nearly $3.2 million combined on lobbying during the quarter – as opposed to just $830,000 in the same period a year ago – according to federal lobbying disclosures filed Thursday, Bloomberg reported, while Wal-Mart spent almost $2.2 million in the first quarter, an increase of $140,000 over the same time last year.   

Sears Holdings has a new finance chief — again.   The struggling retailer announced that Rob Riecker, currently controller and head of capital market activities, has been appointed CFO, effective immediately. He replaces Jason Hollar, who resigned “to pursue another career opportunity,” the retailer said. Hollar was appointed to the role in October 2016.