Whole Foods
The first Whole Foods 365 location on the East Coast, and the seventh in the country, opened last week in Brooklyn, NY (Fort Greene). The 365 stores are about one-third smaller than a typical Whole Foods, and offer a more curated, private label-focused selection at a so ... Read more
Kroger
According to a report published last week, Kroger is exploring an alliance with China-based e-commerce giant Alibaba. Multiple sources claim that senior Kroger executives met with senior Alibaba officials last month in China and, while details of the discussions were not rel ... Read more
Lidl
Lidl appears to have recognized that its initial U.S. expansion plans may have been overly ambitious. In a recent interview, Klaus Gehrig, head of the Schwarz Group that owns Lidl, acknowledged the challenges in the U.S. market including poor site selection, building stores too large, ... Read more
Walmart
On January 11, Walmart announced it was closing 63 of its membership warehouse Sam’s Clubs; click here for a complimentary geo-coded list. Ten of the locations will close immediately with the remainder to be closed over a three to four week period. The Company indicated that 10 ... Read more
Sears
Sears Holdings announced on January 4 that it plans to close an additional 103 stores, consisting of 64 Kmart and 39 Sears locations (click here for a complimentary geo-coded list). The stores are expected to close between early March and April with liquidation sales beginning as early ... Read more
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market
Published reports indicate Fresh Thyme Farmers Market plans to slow expansion in 2018. The Company, which operates 66 stores in nine Midwestern states (see store concentration map below), will scale back 2018 expansion to 10 new stores, from 20 new stores ... Read more
Party City
Earlier today, Party City announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the MG Novelty Corporation for approximately $5.5 million. The deal includes seven retail stores under the Party Galaxy banner in the Oklahoma City, OK metro area. MG Novelty Corporation reported total ... Read more
Charming Charlie
Yesterday, Charming Charlie LLC filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware (click here to request a copy of the full petition). The proceedings have been assigned case number 17-12909. Subject to Court approval, the Company, ... Read more
CVS Health
Yesterday, CVS Health said it would acquire insurance giant Aetna in a deal worth approximately $77.00 billion, including Aetna’s debt. On a pro forma basis, the companies generated $221.40 billion in revenue and $18.50 billion in adjusted EBITDA. The Company expects to incur ... Read more
Rite Aid & Walgreens
Yesterday, Rite Aid announced that it completed the pilot closing and first round of asset sales to Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), resulting in the transfer of 97 Rite Aid stores and related assets to WBA. WBA will purchase a total of 1,932 stores, three distribution cen ... Read more
