News

An upbeat Michaels beats Street
The Michaels Companies reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter and also issued an upbeat forecast for 2017. Michaels reported net income of $193.5 million for the quarter ended January 28, up 6.3% from $183.7 million in the year-ago period. Net sales increased 4.1% to $1.8 billion, from $1.7 billion in the year-ago period. The company attributed the increase largely to its February 2016 acquisition of Lamrite West and sales from 19 additional stores.
Walgreens looks to speed up Rite Aid merger
Walgreens Boots Alliance is considering a move that would force the Federal Trade Commission to vote on its planned merger with Rite Aid within 30 days. Walgreens is considering declaring that it has “certified compliance” in its application, which would mean that the drugstore chain believes it has given regulators substantially all the information they need to make a decision, The New York Post reported.

Brixmor buys grocery-anchored center in Ann Arbor

Brixmor Property Group has purchased Arborland Center, a 404,000-sq.-ft. center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for $102 million. The center is anchored by Kroger and Nordstrom Rack and is situated between the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.
Sunrise Brands re-launches celeb clothing line

Thanks to a new partnership, shoppers once again can purchase Eva Longoria-designed apparel.
Specialty retailer deploys new platform to improve merchandising, store ops

The DNA of Altar’d State is based on delivering a distinctive store experience and merchandise offerings, while always “standing out for good” in the world.
Nordstrom expanding important employee benefit

New parents working at Nordstrom are about to get a break. Starting May 1, the department store retailer will offer up to 12 weeks of fully paid leave to birth mothers, and up to six weeks of fully paid leave to other new parents, the Seattle Times reported. Nordstrom’s current maternity leave policy is six weeks of disability paid at 60% for birth mothers.
Discounter in rapid EAS rollout

No retailer is immune to theft — even discounters. That’s why Dollar General has completed a speedy installation of an electronic article surveillance (EAS) solution from Checkpoint Systems chainwide. The discounter began its journey by testing EAS pedestals and deactivation systems in a limited number of stores to determine the benefits of how visible EAS tagging deters shoplifting and protects high-theft inventory.
Off-pricer to open 90 stores in 2017

Ross Stores continues to maintain an aggressive store expansion strategy. The retailer recently opened 23 Ross Dress for Less stores and five dd's Discounts stores across 15 different states in February and March. The new locations are part of the company's plans to add approximately 70 Ross stores and 20 dd's locations during 2017.
CBL sells Belk-anchored Florida center

CBL has sold Cobblestone Village, ad 96,891-sq.-ft. center in Palm Coast, Florida, to RCG Ventures, a privately funded real estate investment group. The selling price was not disclosed. The Belk-anchored center is a quarter-mile from the Interstate 95 interchange and is adjacent to Lowe’s and Walmart. It was “highly sought after by a variety of institutional and private investors,” said John Crossman, president of Crossman & Company, which handled the sale on behalf of CBL.
Making the Case for Strategic Liquidation Planning

Every company has liquidation inventory: returned, excess, obsolete or damaged merchandise that can’t go back on store shelves. Though most organizations would rather not admit they have a need for it, liquidation is the rule – not the exception – in retail.