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FINANCE

  • Finish Line sheds specialty running stores division
    Finish Line is cutting its losses related to its specialty running gear unit.   The sportswear retailer has sold its JackRabbit specialty running store division to CriticalPoint Capital LLC, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm.   

  • Commentary: Starbucks now “firmly in middle age”
    Neil Saunders, CEO of retail research and consulting firm Conlumino, comments on Starbucks’ first quarter results in the remarks below.    

  • Another teen apparel retailer to close all stores
    It looks like it’s curtain time for The Wet Seal.   The struggling teen retailer is closing its 171 stores, along with its headquarters in Irvine, Calif., after being unable to obtain the necessary cash infusion or find a buyer, according to several media reports.        

  • Ulta Beauty is one hot retail property
    There is no denying it: Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance is on a roll.   The retailer will open 100 stores this year, including its first-ever location in Manhattan.   Shares of Ulta rose 38% last year, about four times higher than the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s gain, Bloomberg reported, and its annual revenue has quadrupled to $3.9 billion since it went public 10 years ago.  

  • Alibaba affiliate buys MoneyGram
    A new acquisition by Alibaba positions the company to accelerate the accessibility of global financial services.   Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba’s e-payment arm and the parent company of Alipay, is purchasing money transfer firm MoneyGram for approximately $880 million, according to Business Insider.   

  • Walgreens CEO: Company in 'active discussions' to get approval for Rite Aid deal
    With the deadline for the deal set to expire Friday, Jan. 27, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina told shareholders attending the Walgreens Boots Alliance annual meeting Thursday morning that the board of directors for both Walgreens and Rite Aid were in "active" discussions toward getting the deal approved even as the Federal Trade Commission continues to deliberate over the proposed retail pharmacy merger.  

  • Founder sells Art Van Furniture to private equity firm
    The owner of one of the largest independent furniture chains in the country has sold his company to a private equity firm approximately 58 years after he founded it.  

  • Survey: Retail execs optimistic about 2017
    Retailers executives are bullish on 2017.   That’s according to a survey from TD Bank, which polled 173 retail executives at the National Retail Federation’s annual Big Show in New York City. Seventy-four percent of the retailers said they believe sales will increase in the next 12 months. What’s more, 81% of the retailers reported that they met or exceeded their revenue goals in 2016.   In other key findings:  
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