News

DALLAS and LOS ANGELES — Sequential Brands Group, a company that owns, markets and licenses a portfolio of consumer brands, including DVS Action Sports, will acquire Heelys, a maker of sports-inspired products targeted to the youth market.

Laval, Quebec City -- Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. announced that it has signed, through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary, Mac's Convenience Stores LLC, an agreement to acquire 29 stores, 25 stores are located in Illinois, three in Missouri and one in Oklahoma. The transaction is anticipated to close in December 2012.

All the stores would eventually be rebranded under the Circle K brand. Couche-Tard’s Midwest division would operate 28 of them and the other one would be operated by the Southwest division.

New York -- British billionaire Sir Philip Green, the owner of the Arcadia retail group, sold a 25% stake in his fast-fashion Topshop and Topman retail chains to Los Angeles-based Leonard Green & Partners for about $805 million. Arcadia’s other retail divisions include Miss Selfridges, Bhs, and Dorothy Parker.

Starbucks blends tradition with innovation, transforming the vault of the historic Amsterdamsche Bank, a landmark building in Rembrandt Square, into its largest store in Europe. The chain’s first “concept” store in Europe, it spans 4,500 sq. ft. and was conceived as a theatre space with a 57-foot coffee bar as its stage, with multi-level areas that provide stages for local bands, poetry readings and other cultural activities. The store will function as a test space for rare and exclusive coffees, diverse coffee brewing methods, and new food concepts.

ATLANTA — Perdue Partners has aquired Atlanta-based logistics company Benton Express.

New York -- Consumer confidence declined more than expected in December, reaching a four-month low as Americans grew concerned about the possibility of higher taxes next year. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index decreased to 74.5 this month from 82.7 in November. Economists had projected a preliminary reading of 82 for December.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Retired Publix president and director emeritus Mark C. Hollis has passed away at that age of 78.

Tesco and Walmart’s Asda division are intense competitors in the U.K. and that was supposed to be the case in the U.S. when Tesco arrived in 2007 with its Fresh & Easy format.