Openings, Closings, & Other Key Industry Highlights

Retail News

Powered by

Premier Source For Location Data


rue21, inc.

rue21, inc. will be closing nearly 400 stores (33.5% of its entire store base) across the country, stating the decision is “difficult, but necessary” as the teen apparel retailer focuses more on its online business. Earlier in the year, rue21 hired Rothschild, Inc. to help evaluate alternatives for it’s almost $1.00 billion of debt. The Company’s operations have been struggling for a sustained period and in October, its CEO and CMO were replaced as part of its turnaround efforts.

Please click here for rue21's full store closing list.

Five Below

Five Below will open stores this Friday in Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Compton, Hawthorne, Montebello, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, South Gate and Redlands, CA. The stores, all located in the Greater Los Angeles area, mark the Company’s first West Coast locations, bringing its count to about 550 stores in 32 states. As CEO Joel Anderson commented during the Company’s fourth quarter conference call last month, “We are excited to enter the state of California and look forward to building our presence in Southern California with additional stores in 2017 followed by increased openings in 2018 and beyond. California is expected to be our largest growth opportunity over time.” Five Below plans to open 100 stores nationwide this year (of which roughly 30 have opened already), bringing its store count to 620 by year end. Stores are typically located in shopping centers and average 8,000 square feet.

Click here for Five Below's full store list.

Whole Foods

Whole Foods will add three new 365 by Whole Foods stores in the Los Angeles metro area, in Santa Monica, Long Beach and North Hollywood. The Santa Monica store is slated to open this summer, almost a year after the Silver Lake opening; timelines for the other two were not released. The Company’s website also lists future planned 365 stores in Akron, OH; Bloomington, IN; Concord, CA; Decatur, GA; Brooklyn, NY; Houston, TX; San Francisco, CA; Toledo, OH; and Upland, CA. A new store under the format will open in Cedar Park, TX on April 27. There are currently 365 by Whole Foods stores in Silver Lake, CA; Bellevue, WA; and Lake Oswego, OR.

Click here for Whole Foods' full store list.

BJ's Wholesale Club

In February, we reported on rumors that private-equity owners Leonard Green & Partners (LGP) and CVC Capital Partners (CVC) were exploring a sale or IPO of BJ’s Wholesale Club and had hired investment bankers to assess their options. Last week, a published report again claimed BJ’s is putting itself up for sale. LGP and CVC reportedly are “pressing ahead for an outright sale that could fetch more than $4.00 billion,” interviewing bankers and planning to distribute sales books in a few weeks. The report noted potential interest from other PE firms like KKR, Bain Capital, TPG and Blackstone; it also indicated that Amazon, with its new focus on brick and mortar, had previously discussed BJ’s as an acquisition target. BJ’s and Amazon both have significant retail food, electronics, home goods and auto parts sales, and BJ’s has had success in the appliances and furniture categories, which Amazon is looking to grow. Furthermore, BJ’s Northeast warehouse club locations could serve as needed hubs for the AmazonFresh grocery delivery service. LGP and CVC purchased BJ’s for $2.80 billion in June 2011; a sale price of $4.00 billion – $4.50 billion would represent roughly 9x BJ’s EBITDA of $450.0 million.

The two firms’ $600.0 million cash investment in BJ’s (the remaining was funded with debt) along with the $2.80 billion – $3.30 billion in dividends and proceeds would give them a pretty nice 500% return on their money. BJ’s, which operates 213 warehouse clubs and 130 gas stations in 15 states, generates about $250.0 million annually from membership fees but has not been successful in growing its online offerings or in maintaining its member retention rates.

Click here for BJ's Wholesale's full store list.

 
 

J.C. Penney

J.C. Penney has postponed liquidation sales and store closures at the 138 locations slated for closure this year due to improving traffic and better-than-expected sales. Management indicated that it will continue selling through spring and summer merchandise at current promotional levels and begin liquidation sales a month later. The new closure date is now July 31, six weeks later than originally planned, with liquidation sales beginning May 22. The Company expects the closures will generate $200.0 million in annual savings, which will be used to lower the $4.30 billion it has in long-term debt.

Click here for J.C. Penney's full store list.

Supervalu

The FTC approved Supervalu’s (SVU) application to sell one of two supermarkets it purchased in 2015 when Safeway and Albertsons merged and were required to divest 168 stores. SVU will sell the former Albertson’s in Lake Stevens, WA to independent grocer Saar’s Inc., which currently has seven locations in the greater Puget Sound area. Per the FTC’s decision and order in the Safeway-Albertsons merger, for a three-year period SVU is required to obtain FTC approval before selling stores it bought as part of the deal; additionally, the FTC must approve the buyer.

Click here for Supervalu's full store list.

PetSmart

PetSmart announced it opened 30 stores in the U.S. and Canada during the quarter ended January 29. New stores were added in Texas (5), California (4), North Carolina (3), Colorado (2), Florida (2), Missouri (2), New Jersey (2), Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New York, South Carolina and Canada (2). With the 43 new stores opened in the first three quarters, the Company opened a total of 73 stores in fiscal 2016. PetSmart operates more than 1,500 pet stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and more than 200 in-store PetsHotel boarding facilities.

Click here for PetSmart's full store list.

Cabela's / Bass Pro Shops

Cabela’s announced it has entered into agreements under which Synovus Financial Corp. will acquire certain assets and assume certain liabilities of Cabela’s credit card unit, World’s Foremost Bank, including deposits totaling $1.20 billion. Synovus will then sell the credit card assets and related liabilities to Capital One, retaining the deposits. The transaction is contingent upon conditions, including FTC approval, related to the pending Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s merger, and will close immediately prior to the closing of the merger. Synovus is essentially acting as a “middleman” in the transaction involving the credit card unit, to allay regulatory concerns and ultimately facilitate the larger merger transaction. We previously noted that past financial improprieties by Capital One Financial Corporation raised regulatory concerns which threatened to upset the planned merger; under the original agreement Capital One had agreed to purchase World’s Foremost Bank to facilitate Bass Pro’s acquisition of Cabela’s retail unit.

Meanwhile, Cabela’s also announced that it has amended the terms of the original merger agreement signed on October 3, 2016, under which Bass Pro will acquire Cabela’s. Under the amended agreement, Bass Pro Shops will acquire Cabela’s for $61.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate transaction value of $5.00 billion. The original agreement was for $65.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate transaction value of $5.50 billion. Cabela’s board has unanimously approved the transaction, which it expects to close in the third quarter of 2017, subject to Cabela’s shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It should be noted that the FTC’s evaluation of antitrust issues may be impacted by the intervening bankruptcy of Gander Mountain, DIP. Uncertainties over whether Gander will liquidate continue to cloud the competitive landscape, and may add a dimension to the FTC’s evaluation that did not exist at the time of the original merger agreement between Bass Pro and Cabela’s.

Click links above for full store lists.

Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee announced plans to eliminate approximately 60 positions at its Des Moines, IA headquarters due to the “changing nature of the grocery business.” It was reported that at least 50 of the 60 employees have been offered reassignments. A Hy-Vee spokesperson commented, “We are redirecting how we are supervising and structuring certain administrative areas of the Company. At this time, the majority of the people whose positions are impacted will be reassigned to other positions within the Company, including opportunities at retail…. As we continue to evolve our services and product offerings, we will grow other areas within the Company.” Hy-Vee concurrently announced it will create about 70 new corporate positions and will hire several dozen employees at its IT building in Grimes, IA, to support an increased focus on digital initiatives: “The new facility will serve as a creativity center where those in IT and marketing will work together to develop future apps, programs and online content that will provide customers with more convenience and customer service, while showcasing the Company’s culinary expertise.” Additionally, Hy-Vee’s HealthMarket and restaurant development departments will hire an undisclosed number of employees in the coming months. In February, Hy-Vee opened new stores in downtown Des Moines, IA and Savage, MN, outside of Minneapolis. The Company employs about 550 at its headquarters and operates more than 240 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Click here for Hy-Vee's full store list.

Loblaw Cos.

Loblaw Cos. announced plans to spend $1.30 billion in 2017 to open 30 new stores, renovate more than 500 existing stores, continue its rollout of Click & Collect (online ordering with in-store pickup), improve health and wellness services, and install fresh food options at select Shoppers Drug Mart locations. A year ago, Loblaw earmarked an identical $1.30 billion to build 50 new stores and renovate 150 others during 2016. Loblaw operates more than 2,400 stores across Canada.

Click here for Loblaw's full store list.

The Jim Pattison Group

In an interview last week, Canadian businessman Jim Pattison, owner of The Jim Pattison Group which controls the Overwaitea and Save-On-Foods supermarket chains, expressed an interest in buying any Sobeys or Safeway Canada locations in Western Canada, if they are looking to divest stores. Mr. Pattison stated, “…if there were any opportunities that came up that would be good for any of our competitors and ourselves, that they wanted to sell, we would certainly be interested in the opportunity,” noting his commitment to Western Canada. The Jim Pattison Group purchased 15 stores in Alberta and British Columbia from Empire and its Sobeys subsidiary in 2014, after the Competition Bureau required Sobeys to sell several locations before approving its C$5.80 billion acquisition of Safeway Canada in 2013. Empire has not been profitable with the Safeway Canada chain, as it faced merchandising and supply chain issues, and earlier this year, it hired former Canadian Tire CEO Michael Medline to turn around the business. The Jim Pattison Group continues its growth trajectory; in March it purchased Quality Foods, a 13-store Vancouver Island grocery chain in which it had previously invested.

Click links above for full store lists.

Fastenal Company

Fastenal Company’s first quarter sales increased 6.2% to $1.05 billion, driven primarily by increased sales at existing store locations, growth in the Company’s industrial vending business and growth in new and existing onsite locations (dedicated sales and service provided from within the customer’s facility); comps increased 6.2%. As a result, profit rose 6.3% to $134.2 million. CEO Dan Florness said, “We are pleased with the improving pace of business growth in the first quarter of 2017. This is a welcome sign of improving customer business activity and of the traction we are gaining in our growth drivers.” Fastenal signed 5,437 industrial vending machines during the first quarter of 2017, a 17% increase over the prior year, ending with 64,430 machines; vending machine sales continued to grow at a double-digit pace during the quarter. The Company also signed 64 new Onsite locations, a 33.3% increase from last year, ending the quarter with 437 active sites. On March 31, 2017, Fastenal acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of Manufacturers Supply Company, funding the deal with proceeds from a new series of senior unsecured promissory notes under the Company’s master note agreement. The Company opened five stores and closed 26 stores during the first quarter.

Click here for Fastenal's full store list.

Raley's

Raley’s opened a new 35,000 square-foot namesake store in Sacramento, CA, with a focus on health, wellness and sustainability. The store, the first of five that the Company will open over the next 18 months, has an expanded assortment of fresh, natural and organic foods, culinary offerings, a foodservice counter with a kombucha bar, sushi, a meat-carving station, a salad bar/hot food bar, a “boutique-like” bulk food section and an extensive vitamin and supplement department. According to our map below, there are more than 10 competing food retail stores within three miles of the new store, including two additional Raley’s, two Safeway stores, two Save Marts, a Whole Foods, WinCo, Smart & Final and Trader Joe’s. Raley’s operates 121 stores in Northern California and Nevada under four banners: Raley’s Supermarkets, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source.

Click here for Raley's full store list.

Future Retail Store Closings

AggData monitors upcoming retail store closings throughout the day and maintains an active database of store locations and anticipated closing dates. Here is a sample of recently announced store closings.

Please contact AggData to request a full future store closing list.

H-E-B

Last week, H-E-B received city council approval to purchase land in South Houston, TX to develop a new 72,000 square-foot supermarket. With federal funding, the city will purchase the land and lease it back to the Company. The store will be one of H-E-B’s few Houston metro area locations in a lower-income, predominantly African-American neighborhood.

Earlier this month, the Company purchased two lots, comprising 26 acres, in the San Antonio, TX metro area; a spokesperson indicated H-E-B has “no immediate plans” for the property. The Company already has two new stores slated to open in San Antonio this year, and in February purchased more than 24 acres on the city’s South Side. In January, H-E-B bought a six-acre lot in Austin to consolidate its regional headquarters.

Click here for H-E-B's full store list.

ALDI

ALDI is opening a new store in East Brunswick, NJ on Thursday. The store will feature an expanded produce selection, brighter colors, high ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally friendly building materials.

On April 27, the Company will reopen its Woodbridge, NJ store, which was revamped as part of ALDI’s previously announced $1.60 billion initiative to remodel and expand more than 1,300 stores across the U.S. by 2020. ALDI currently has more than 1,600 stores in 35 states and plans to have nearly 2,000 stores by 2018.

Click here for ALDI's full store list.

Gymboree

As previously reported earlier this month, Gymboree included in a regulatory filing a “going concern uncertainty comment.” The filing had noted the Company must refinance all or a portion of its indebtedness in order to sustain its liquidity requirements, and if Gymboree is unable to refinance its debt, it would be in default under the terms of its agreements. It should be noted that the Company faces a June 1 interest payment on its more than $1.00 billion in debt resulting from its Bain Capital buyout in 2010. According to recent published reports, the Company may be preparing a formal restructuring ahead of the interest payment due date. Gymboree operates about 1,300 stores and has posted losses for the last several years amid increased competition from online and discounters. In January, the Company’s CEO Mark Breitbard stepped down and was appointed president and CEO of Banana Republic.

Click here for Gymboree's full store list.

Destination Maternity

Destination Maternity’s fourth quarter sales decreased 15.3% to $100.2 million, reflecting 21 net store closures and a comparable store sales decrease of 7.8% (on top of a 3.5% decline last year). The decrease in sales was primarily driven by the wind down of the Kohl's, Sears and Gordmans relationships and by a decline in comparable sales due to weaker foot traffic. Anthony M. Romano, CEO & President, stated, “In a challenging year that saw several headwinds pressure sales, we achieved increased adjusted EBITDA before other charges reflecting improvement in gross profit margin and a reduction in expenses. While the year included several headwinds, including business exits from Sears and Gordmans, certain Macy's store closures, Kohl's business wind down, mall traffic declines, and cancelled fourth quarter orders due to the Hanjin bankruptcy, we continued to advance our key strategies. To this end, we implemented our product allocation tool, which will assist us to increase sales productivity and reduce markdowns, and we introduced Demandware to support our new web platform that launched early in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. We also evolved our merchandising and marketing strategies to more closely align with the millennial consumer. We remain confident that with the completion of our merger with Orchestra-Prémaman, we will begin to benefit from both the groundwork we laid in 2016 and the synergies we will experience with our new partners. We expect these efforts to enable us to deliver improved operating performance in fiscal 2017 and beyond." During the fourth quarter, the Company opened two stores and closed 13 and during the fiscal 2016 period it closed 32 stores and opened 11.

Click here for Destination Maternity's full store list.

Uniqlo

Uniqlo plans to open a 20,000 square-foot store in Metrotown, Burnaby, British Columbia this fall; it will be the chain’s first store in British Columbia and third in Canada; the other two Canadian stores are in Toronto. The Japan-based business, a division of Fast Retailing, operates about 1,800 stores globally.

Click here for Uniqlo full store list.

Thrifty White Pharmacy

According to local reports, Thrifty White Pharmacy will open its second location in Grand Rapids, MN on May 1, taking over the pharmacy space inside a Milner’s Super One Foods store. The location will have a drive-thru. Thrifty White is an employee-owned chain of 97 pharmacies in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, the Dakotas and Wisconsin.

Click here for Thrifty White's full store list.

Pier 1 Imports

Pier 1 Imports reported fourth quarter sales decreased 2.6% to $528.4 million, as the Company was operating with 3% fewer stores compared to the prior year; comps were up 0.2%. Profit rose 42.7% to $26.6 million, which the Company attributed to a 28% increase in e-commerce sales to $103.1 million. Interim CEO Terry E. London stated, “We are pleased to conclude the year with strong fourth quarter results. We gained momentum in the second half of the year, as our initiatives to drive improved financial performance took hold. Notably, we strengthened our top-line trend, highlighted by positive Company comparable sales, improved merchandise margins, controlled operational costs and increased profitability. Our omni-channel platform is enabling us to compete effectively in a challenging environment and positions us to deliver long-term success and increased shareholder value.” During the fourth quarter the Company closed four stores, ending the year with 1,018 stores in operation. The Company expects to close another 20 to 25 stores during fiscal 2018.

Click here for Pier 1 Imports full store list.

GNC Holdings

GNC Holdings reported first quarter sales decreased 3.6% to $644.8 million, and comps were down 3.9%; domestic franchise comps declined 4.6%. Revenues in the U.S. and Canada decreased 3.8% to $552.9 million, and domestic comps were down 3.9%. International revenues increased 7% to $2.6 million, while manufacturing/wholesale revenues decreased 8.6% to $52.5 million. Profit fell 53.1% to $23.9 million; results included a legal charge related to the outcome of litigation the Company pursued of a potential breach under its UK license agreement. As of March 31, 2017, the Company had 3,499 corporate stores in the U.S. and Canada, 1,164 domestic franchise locations, 2,371 Rite Aid franchise in-store shops, and 1,949 international locations, for a total of 8,983 stores worldwide.

Click here for GNC Holdings' full store list.

Walmart Stores

Published reports claim Walmart is engaged in “advanced discussions” to acquire men’s fashion retailer Bonobos, with the two companies having agreed on a price and “the deal is in its final due diligence stages.” Bonobos generates approximately $100.0 million – $150.0 million in annual revenue and sells its products at Nordstrom (which invested $55.0 million in Bonobos in 2014), through its website, or at its more than 30 brick-and-mortar showrooms, called Guideshops. Bonobos was valued at $300.0 million after the Nordstrom funding brought its total venture funding to $125.0 million. In March, Walmart acquired online womenswear retailer Modcloth; while the purchase price was not disclosed, Walmart indicated it was an all-cash deal on par with its two previous deals for online shoe retailer ShoeBuy ($70.0 million) in January and outdoor retailer Moosejaw ($51.0 million) in February.

Click links above for full store lists.

Claire's Stores

Claire’s Stores reported sales of $382.5 million for the fiscal 2016 fourth quarter, a decrease of $20.1 million, or 5% compared to the fiscal 2015 fourth quarter. The decrease was attributable to the effect of store closures, a decrease in same store sales, an unfavorable foreign currency translation effect of non U.S. net sales and decreased shipments to franchisees, partially offset by new concession store sales and new store sales. Net sales would have decreased 2.7% excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange rates. Consolidated same store sales decreased 1%, with North American same store sales decreasing 2.3% and European same store sales increasing 1.3% (the Company computes same store sales on a local currency basis, which eliminates any impact from changes in foreign currency exchange rates). During fiscal 2016, the Company closed 100 stores in North America and 57 stores in Europe, for a total 5.5% decline in store count. The lower sales outpaced gross margin expansion, which resulted in full year EBITDA slipping 13.1% to $180.7 million; however in the fourth quarter EBITDA moderately declined 1.9% to $75.8 million. Additionally, the Company’s full year interest coverage fell further to an alarming 0.90x, but that trend appears to be reversing in the fourth quarter as quarterly interest coverage improved to 1.79x compared to 1.40x last year. For the fiscal 2017 quarter-to-date period ended April 11, 2017, consolidated same store sales have increased in the low single-digit range, with Europe outperforming North America. Management also stated in its conference call that Easter should be favorable in 2017 compared to 2016 and working capital should remain flat compared to fiscal 2016. Although management will not discuss store closures going forward, they did mention that roughly 20% of leases come due each year in both North America and Europe.

Click here for Claire's Stores full store list.

Bartell Drugs

Bartell Drugs opened a new CareClinic at its Silver Lake-Everett, WA store. Kaiser Permanente and Bartell now operate 12 CareClinic locations and plan to add three more in Washington state by the end of the year, slated for Gig Harbor (in June), Snoqualmie and Redmond Town Center (this summer). In March, Bartell opened a CareClinic at its store in Des Moines, WA. The clinics are part of a partnership between Bartell and Group Health Cooperative (acquired by Kaiser Permanente in February 2017), first announced in December 2013, to add CareClinic in-store health clinics at Bartell stores. Bartell Drugs operates 65 pharmacy locations in the Seattle metro area.

Click here for Bartell Drugs' full store list.