Mass Merchant

Menomonee Falls, Wis. - Kohl’s Corp. has increased the maximum amount of a previously announced cash tender offer for several debt notes coming due between 2017 and 2033 from $60 million to about $737.04 million. The new tender offer is subject to the same terms and conditions made in an original offer to purchase dated June 29, 2015.

Settlement of notes that have been tendered and accepted for purchase by Kohl’s is expected to take place July 17, 2015. The tender offer expires July 27, 2015.
 

With Amazon.com’s share price approaching $500 on the heels of a highly publicized 20th anniversary promotional event, the struggling Books-A-Million chain announced a deal to go private for a paltry sum.

The Books-A-Million chain was always a distant competitor to the likes of Barnes & Noble and even the now defunct Borders chain. Then along came Amazon.com and Books-A-Million grew more irrelevant. As its sales and profits declined so did its growth prospects in the eyes of investors and its stock price.

Oak Brook, Ill. - Retail Properties of America Inc. (RPAI) is shuffling some executives as part of a strategic realignment of its operating platform geographically between the eastern and western regions of the country. Timothy Steffan, former senior VP, asset management and commercial leasing for Macerich's eastern region, has joined RPAI as divisional president – eastern region.

Boston – A three-level CityTarget store is a main feature of a new $315 million mixed-use development on Boylston Street in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston. The Samuels & Associates development also includes a 172-unit luxury apartment building and adjoining 11-story office tower.

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Chicago -- Starbucks Corp. is ratcheting up its already significant commitment to job creation.

The coffee giant is teaming up with such other retail powerhouses as Walmart, CVS Health, Walgreens, Macy’s, Target and J.C. Penney in an ambitious jobs program to hire 100,000 16- to 24-year-olds "who face systemic barriers to jobs and education" by 2018 through apprenticeships, internships, training programs, and both part-time and full-time jobs.

Bentonville, Ark. – It’s no secret that a big part of Wal-Mart’s strategy is to maintain its market share in the face of competition from Amazon.com, and maybe even steal some away.

But Wal-Mart is now taking the fight for customers directly to Amazon in a big way with a new pricing and shipping promotion that directly challenges the upcoming July 15 Amazon “Prime Day” event.

Quebec -- The Quebec City-based Simons department store chains is planning to extend its brand across Canada, according to Canada’s Global News.

The 175-year-old Canadian retailer - plans to spend up to $200 million over the next four years on its expansion plan, which will result in eight additional stores openings across the country, the report said.

Amazon.com and Walmart aren’t the only retailers lowering prices this month. Food Lion has jumped on bandwagon at its 1,100 stores with a three-pronged price reduction effort.

Food Lion has announced significant investments in prices throughout its stores by lowering prices on thousands of items that are most important to customers, according to the company, tapping into its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations.