News Briefs

Costco Wholesale Corp. is expanding its U.S. footprint.

The membership warehouse club giant is opening a total of 14 locations in October and November across the U.S. and Canada. The openings are part of Costco’s plan to add 30-plus new stores annually during the next decade, with half in the U.S. and the rest internationally.

Below are the locations for Costco’s upcoming clubs.

Opening in October:

•Missouri: Lee’s Summit;

•Texas: The Colony;

•New York: Amherst;

•Kansas, Lawrence; and

•California: Camarillo.

Opening in November:

•Idaho,South Meridian;

•California: Vallejo;

•Arizona, Chandler;

•Virginia: Newport News; and

•Wisconsin, Franklin.

In addition, Costco is opening four locations in Canada in November: Northeast Edmonton and Lloydminster in Alberta; and East Windsor and Wasaga Beach in Ontario.

[READ MORE: Costco August sales up 9.9% amid higher gas prices, digital growth]

Costco currently operates 939 warehouses, including 647 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 43 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand. 

Francesca’s amended Chapter 11 wind-down plan has been approved by a New Jersey bankruptcy court judge, but the brand may live on.

The Houston-based young women’s clothing and accessories chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February with plans to close its 400-plus stores and liquidate. (All the stores have since gone dark.)

In its amended disclosure statement and joint plan of liquidation, Francesca’s detailed its success in recent months in resolving objections from landlords and other creditors regarding its store closing sales. The plan also details the retailer’s sale of its IP to Stand Out For Good, the parent company of Alterd’ State and other brands, for about $7 million.  

The IP deal includes all trademarks, copyrights, and domain names, as well as social media accounts, brand and product design collateral and more. 

Francesca’s, which was founded in 1999, previously filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and was sold in January 2021 to Francesca’s Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of private equity firm TerraMar Capital, for $18 million. The retailer cited several factors leading to its most recent filing, including a data breach on Jan. 31, 2023 that impacted sales, a disruptive e-commerce upgrade, the underperformance of non-core brands and spending on marketing and promotion efforts to drive sales, and the failure of an anticipated capital infusion in December 2025. 

CBRE has announced the sale of four CVS Pharmacies in Upstate New York owned by Feinberg Development Corp. and JMM  Property at West Corners LTD.

CBRE handled the sale and sourced the buyer, Blue Zone Capital.

“This transaction demanded a targeted buyer search,” said Karly Iacono senior VP of investment properties at CBRE. “We identified the right capital, structured the transaction, and delivered a successful closing on assets the Feinberg family had held for years.”

Two of the CVS locations are in Binghamton. The other two are located in Owego and Endicott.

“The portfolio offers the new ownership the opportunity to own a collection of established CVS locations with durable cash flows and long-term tenancy,” said Iacono

Global ransomware incidents continued a sharp upward trend from the first half of 2026 into July and August.

During August 2026, attacks recorded by the Comparitech ransomware tracker reached a record-breaking high of 32 incidents globally per day, up from 26 per day the previous month. Comparitech recorded a total of 997 ransomware attacks in August, up 23% month-over-month and exceeding the previous record of 988 logged in February 2025.

Comparitech previously tracked 4,217 ransomware attacks during the first half of 2026, an 11% increase from the second half of 2025 (3,809). The U.S. saw the most attacks (417), followed by Germany and Italy (48 each), the U.K. (36) and Canada (35). Ransomware attacks on retailers increased by 30% from the prior month and manufacturers saw a 23% increase. These two sectors also saw the most confirmed attacks (incidents where the targeted organization publicly acknowledged the security breach) in August 2026 with eight and 12, respectively.

Attacks in the U.S. increased by 28% from July, which Comparitech says is likely due to the increase in attacks by leading global ransomware gang Qilin. One-third (34%) of the cybercrime group’s claims were on U.S. companies.

[KPMG: Cybersecurity spending rises as attacks increase]

"Ransomware threats are escalating across most sectors and continue to have a devastating impact on those affected,” Rebecca Moody, head of data research, Comparitech, said in commentary emailed to Chain Store Age. “Critical infrastructure remains a key target for hackers, (who) are not only causing mass disruption by encrypting systems but they're also gaining access to highly sensitive data, including personal data and information about critical systems and infrastructure."

A franchisor and operator of fitness clubs is upgrading its brand identity.

Planet Fitness is undergoing a wide-ranging brand refresh it says is based on member feedback. Since 2025, the company has expanded equipment offerings, refined club floor layouts and rolled out new spa amenities such as red-light recovery.

Now the company is releasing an updated mobile app with features including a redesigned member profile with seamless syncing across major wellness platforms and a homescreen that changes when the member is in the club, as well as enhanced equipment-aligned tracking allowing members to log weights, reps, and sets directly from their phones. 

In addition, an upgraded, real-time crowd meter helps members plan optimal visit times and a refreshed gear logo is designed to reflect “movement, progress and the collective energy” of Planet Fitness, complemented by a new custom font and an update to the brand's purple and yellow color palette intended to reflect the “warmth, energy, and optimism” of Planet Fitness locations.

“Our goal was to ensure that our evolved visual identity would continue to reflect our welcoming and supportive ethos while also allowing for a more seamless and flexible presentation of the brand across traditional marketing formats and digital channels,” said Brian Povinelli, chief marketing officer of Planet Fitness. 

The evolved branding will start to appear in September across all new and remodeled clubs, marketing assets, social media, and the Planet Fitness app and website, with key touchpoints rolling out through the first quarter of 2027 in existing clubs. The Planet Fitness "thumbs up" icon will also remain part of the brand identity.

[READ MORE: Fitness chains beef up at retail centers]

As of June 30, 2026, Planet Fitness had approximately 2,930 clubs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Australia and Spain. 

Neighborhood Intelligence Inc., formerly known as Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., has canceled a deal that would have added more companies to its portfolio.

The company,  whose brands include Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, BuyBuy Baby, Kirkland’s, The Container Store, Elfa and Closet Works and more, is not moving forward with its planned acquisition of F9 Brands Inc., which was announced in April. F9 Brands Inc. owns and operates Lumber Liquidators as well as Cabinets To Go, Gracious Home / Thos. Baker, and Southwind Building Products.

In addition, F9 Brands offers integrated financing solutions including credit cards, HELOC, and credit union programs. When the deal was first announced, Bed Bath & Beyond said the transaction would represent an additional step in building a national, fully integrated home services platform under a concept the company calls “Beyond Home Services.”

“We determined F9 was unable to satisfy all closing requirements within the contemplated timeframe,” the company stated in a release. “Neighborhood will not proceed with the acquisition or enter into a commercial or strategic collaboration with F9. The companies will continue to operate independently, and the terms and economics of the previously announced acquisition agreement are no longer in effect. “

In a statement, Neighborhood Intelligence CEO Marcus Lemonis said that “disciplined capital allocation and protecting shareholder value are central to how we evaluate every transaction.”

"In this case, we determined the seller was unable to satisfy the closing conditions, which are essential to our confidence in any business we acquire,” he added. "We remain focused on the strength of the Home Services platform, anchored by Elfa, Closet Works and SFV Construction Services, and on pursuing opportunities that meet our strategic, financial, and operational standards.”