Tag Archives: retail

The Christian Post reports: LifeWay Christian Resources announced today that it will be closing all remaining 170 stores this year and focusing on online sales. Carol Pipes, director of corporate communications for LifeWay, posted the announcement on the company’s website, explaining that it was “a strategic shift of resources to a dynamic digital strategy.” Dates for store closures will vary …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Philadelphia is the first major U.S. city to ban cashless stores, placing it at the forefront of a debate that pits retail innovation against lawmakers trying to protect all citizens’ access to the marketplace. Starting in July, Philadelphia’s new law will require most retail stores to accept cash. A New York City councilman is pushing …

CNBC reports: Gap Inc. said Thursday it will split into two independent publicly traded companies — one comprised of its Old Navy brand, and the second a yet-to-be-named company that includes its other brands like Banana Republic and Athleta. Its shares surged more than 20 percent in after-hours trading on the news. Following a review by Gap’s board of directors, …

USA Today reports: Payless ShoeSource confirmed Saturday that it will close its 2,100 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and start liquidation sales Sunday. The company is also shuttering its e-commerce operations. The closings mark the biggest by a single chain this year and nearly doubles the number of retail stores set to close in 2019. “We expect all …

CNBC reports: Sears has rejected Chairman Eddie Lampert’s bid to save the company, setting the storied retailer on a path to liquidation, people familiar with the situation tell CNBC. Sears plans to announce its liquidation plans this morning, the people said. Lampert had put forward a $4.4 billion bid to save Sears and 50,000 jobs by buying it out of …

The Wall Street Journal today looks at the growing number of retailers, some of them chain restaurants, that no longer accept cash. Lawmakers are starting to react. Massachusetts is the only state that currently requires retailers to accept cash. Some New Jersey legislators are working to make their state next. New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres of the Bronx recently …

Reuters reports: Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Eddie Lampert has submitted a roughly $4.6 billion takeover bid for the bankrupt U.S. retailer, representing its only chance of escaping liquidation and laying off tens of thousands of workers, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The offer came after Sears’ existing lenders Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc, as well …

CNBC reports: Sears, the 125-year-old icon, has 24 hours to survive. The employer of more than 68,000 filed for bankruptcy in October. Its last shot at survival is a $4.6 billion proposal put forward by its chairman, Eddie Lampert, to buy the company out of bankruptcy through his hedge fund, ESL Investments. ESL is the only party offering to buy …

The New York Times reports: Sears, which more than a century ago pioneered the strategy of selling everything to everyone, filed for bankruptcy protection early on Monday. The company had long ago given up its mantle as a retail innovator. It was overtaken first by big box retailers like Walmart and Home Depot and then, by Amazon as the go-to …

Retail Dive reports: After years of speculation and financial losses, Sears is contacting banks to arrange the financing for a possible Chapter 11 filing, which might come as soon as this week, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, and CNBC, that both cited unnamed sources. The report comes as Sears faces a $134 million …

The Associated Press reports: Mattress Firm, Inc., the nation’s largest mattress retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, saying its rapid expansion of stores in recent years — with locations often very close to each other — resulted in “cannibalization” of sales. The Houston-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Delaware, saying it plans to …

The New York Post reports: It’s official: Toys R Us will live on. The iconic retailer’s debtholders are forming a new company, Geoffrey LLC that will control the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands, including e-commerce assets and data associated with the brands, the debtors said late Tuesday night. They also plan to open stores in the US …

CNN Money reports: In the latest indignity for a once-grand retailer, the share price fell below $1 on Friday for the first time in the company’s history, dropping as much as 15% to 85 cents in midday trading. Falling into loose-change territory is more than embarrassing. Nasdaq, the exchange where Sears stock trades, could delist the company. Shares of Sears …

Fortune Magazine reports: After 123 years in business, department store Henri Bendel is closing up shop for good after the holiday season. Known for its brown-and-white-striped bags, Henri Bendel was founded in 1895 by its namesake, a designer from Louisiana. When L Brands acquired Henri Bendel in 1985, it was by far the most luxury holding in its portfolio of …

The death of physical retail grinds on: Brookstone, the ubiquitous seller of cool but largely unneeded things, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again and will close the 101 of its stores that are located in malls. Malls have suffered for years due to far-reaching shifts in the way that Americans shop for just about everything, which has diminished …

MarketWatch reports: Barnes & Noble Inc. has fired Chief Executive Demos Parneros, citing company policy violations. The bookseller said Tuesday that Parneros won’t receive any severance pay and that he is no longer a board member. Barnes & Noble didn’t disclose what rules Parneros may have violated, but said the decision wasn’t tied to any disagreement over financial reporting or …

Reuters reports: Retailer Hudson’s Bay Co on Sunday disclosed that it was the victim of a security breach that compromised data on payment cards used at Saks and Lord & Taylor stores in North America. One cyber security firm said that it has evidence that millions of cards may have been compromised, which would make the breach one of the …

Via Mediaite: Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union today, Sen. Bernie Sanders seemed to endorse some of what the president has said of the massive company. Asked by anchor Jake Tapper if he believed Amazon had gotten too big, the independent senator answered in the affirmative. “Yeah, I do. I do,” Sanders declared. “I think this is — look, …

Barron’s reports: News broke late Thursday that Walmart is in preliminary talks to buy the insurer Humana: Sources told The Wall Street Journal that the two companies are discussing a “range of options” that includes an acquisition. Although no details of the deal are known at the moment, it would be Walmart’s biggest acquisition on record. Humana’s market value is …

Bloomberg reports: Claire’s Stores Inc., known for tween jewelry and ear piercing, has become the latest victim of the retail apocalypse. The company filed for bankruptcy Monday and said it reached an agreement with creditors including its private-equity backer, Apollo Global Management LLC, to restructure around $1.9 billion in debt. Its plan to survive rests on its reputation for trendy …