Data & Analytics

Facing significant headwinds in its core business of bookselling, Books-A-Million has received a take-private proposal by the family who hold a majority of the company's shares.

The Anderson family has proposed to acquire 100 percent of the company's outstanding shares for $2.75 per share. Books-A-Million’s board of directors has appointed a special committee of independent directors to consider the proposal. The special committee has retained King & Spalding LLP as its legal counsel, and is in the process of retaining financial advisers.

Washington, D.C. -- Mobile is the top priority for retailers in 2015, according to the 2015 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc., State of Retailing Online, with 58% of surveyed retailers placing it at the top of their list, up from 53% last year.

The survey found smartphone sales as a percentage of online sales grew from 8% in 2013 to 12% in 2014, an increase of 50%. Tablets’ share of the pie also grew from 13% of online sales in 2013 to 16% in 2014.

Chesapeake, Va. - Dollar Tree Inc. is arranging financing for its pending acquisition of Family Dollar Stores Inc. To that end, Dollar Tree has priced a private offering of $$2.5 billion of senior notes due 2023 and $750 million of senior notes due 2020. The 2023 notes will bear an annual interest rate of 5.75% and the 2020 notes will bear an annual interest rate of 5.25%.

Dollar Tree has also arranged for a $1 billion term loan with interest of LIBOR plus 2.25% and a $3.95 billion term loan with interest of LIBOR (subject to a 0.75% floor) plus 3.5%.

New York - While the digital age has encouraged more consumers to shop and browse products on the Web, physical stores are still primary destinations for shoppers, according to an annual survey by PwC's.

Gap Inc. is raising its profit guidance based on its fourth-quarter sales and reduced taxes.

The retailer says it expects to report a profit of $2.86 to $2.87 per share for the year, up from its previous estimate of $2.73 to $2.78 per share. Analysts expected $2.74 per share on average.

The San Francisco company says its total fourth-quarter sales grew 3% to $4.71 billion compared with $4.58 billion for the fourth quarter last year.

Starkville, Miss. -- Camgian Microsystems announced today the closing of a new contract to deploy Egburt into the largest fred’s Super Dollar franchise group in the U.S. to provide company personnel with real-time actionable intelligence through the monitoring of equipment health and customer foot traffic.

Mobile and omnichannel are the top priorities for retailers this year, according to the 2015 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc. State of Retailing Online report.

About 58% of the retailers by surveyed Shop.org and Forrester Research Inc. place mobile at the top of their list, up from 53% last year. 

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. raised its annual profit guidance based on its fourth-quarter sales and reduced taxes. The retailer expects to report a profit of $2.86 to $2.87 per share for the year, up from its previous estimate of $2.73 to $2.78 per share.

Gap reported that its net sales increased 3% for the quarter, to $4.71 billion compared with $4.58 billion for the fourth quarter last year. Same-store sales rose 2%.