Oct. 12, 2010 at 7:48 p.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Retail,
Stock activity
By Sandra M. Jones
OfficeMax Inc. shares rose 9.3 percent to $15.69 in heavy trading Tuesday after a J.P. Morgan analyst said that the office supply company was ripe for a leveraged buyout.
The Naperville-based retailer is undervalued compared to its larger rivals Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc., analyst Christopher Horvers said in the report. Even though OfficeMax is five years into a turnaround effort, there is still plenty of room left to restructure the business, he said. The report valued OfficeMax at $28 a share, citing the company’s cash pile along with a slew of expiring leases that would allow OfficeMax to move to higher traffic locations and open smaller, more productive stores. Get the full story »
Oct. 12, 2010 at 2:57 p.m.
Filed under:
Philanthropy,
Retail,
Technology
By Wailin Wong
The Microsoft store planned for Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook will open on Nov. 4, making the Chicago-area location the fifth such store for the technology giant.
Microsoft’s first store opened a year ago in Scottsdale, Arizona and the company also has locations in Mission Viejo, Calif., Lone Tree, Colo., and San Diego. Get the full story »
Oct. 12, 2010 at 12:00 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Consumer news,
Retail,
Updated
By Reuters
Wal-Mart Stores will start selling Apple’s iPad tablet computer this Friday.
Wal-Mart said the iPad will be available in hundreds of its stores in the United States to start, expanding to more than 2,300 outlets by mid-November.
Wal-Mart rivals Best Buy and Target are already selling the iPad, which Apple launched in April. Get the full story »
Oct. 11, 2010 at 12:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Housing,
Real estate,
Retail
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | A 19-room, 17,000-square-foot mansion in Hinsdale that is owned by the founder of the Addison-based Pampered Chef kitchenware company has just come on the market for $6.8 million.
Doris Christopher founded the Pampered Chef and then sold it in 2002 to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway company. Now, Christopher and her husband on Oct. 9 placed their mansion, which sits on a 1.9-acre hilltop in east Hinsdale, on the market. Get the full story »
Oct. 11, 2010 at 8:47 a.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Retail
By Associated Press
Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Corp. is being purchased by affiliates of asset management firm Bain Capital for $1.8 billion.
Gymboree said Monday that the deal is for $65.40 per share, a 24 percent premium to Gymboree’s Friday closing stock price of $52.95. The retailer, based in San Francisco, currently has about 27.3 million shares outstanding. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Retail,
Retirement
By Reuters
Wal-Mart employees Robert Dion, left, and Jean-Philippe Barrere collect shopping carts in front of a store in Brossard, Quebec. (AP Photo/Ryan Remiorz)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to end automatic profit-sharing contributions it has given employees for 39 years as part of a benefits overhaul that the world’s largest retailer says will let employees get more cash up front.
Starting in February, the company will end the profit-sharing contributions, which had equaled up to 4 percent of pay. It will instead offer more funds for bonuses, a 401(k) retirement plan contribution match and cash for medical expenses, according to a memo to Wal-Mart employees that was obtained by Reuters.
The profit-sharing, which has been in place since 1971, went into a program that let employees access the funds only at retirement, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 3:36 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Investing,
Retail,
Updated
By Reuters
General Growth Properties Inc. on Friday named the board of its future spin-off company and appointed hedge fund manager William Ackman to become its chairman when the mall owner and property developer emerges from bankruptcy. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 2:44 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Insurance,
Pharmaceuticals,
Retail
By Reuters
CVS Caremark Corp. warned that 2011 earnings growth could fall below its long-term goals as it spends money to streamline its pharmacy benefits management business and as fewer generic drugs hit the market.
Shares in the company, which operates drugstores and manages prescription drug plans, fell 3 percent Friday. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 9:52 a.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
Retail
By Reuters
Activist hedge fund manager William Ackman, who has been known for big bets on retailers and real estate, on Friday said his fund has taken a 16.5 percent stake in retailer JC Penney.
Unveiling one of his biggest investments in months, Ackman’s New York-based firm Pershing Square Capital Management said it now owns roughly 39 million shares of common stock in the Plano, Texas-based retailer. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 9:28 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Reuters
American Apparel Inc said on Friday it has named Tom Casey as acting president. Get the full story »
Oct. 7, 2010 at 8:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Fashion,
Retail
By Reuters
Teen apparel retailers led generally stronger-than-expected same-store sales in September, with a late start to the back-to-school season helping those chains beat Wall Street forecasts.
Department stores and luxury chains also posted forecast-beating results, though retail experts warn the gains could be short-lived as consumers draw up budgets for the holiday shopping season. Get the full story »
Oct. 6, 2010 at 7:56 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Retail
By Associated Press
Kohl’s Corp. is increasing its holiday hiring this season by 21 percent, another major retailer to boost its employee count this winter.
The department store chain said Wednesday it expects to hire more than 40,000 people this season, up from 33,000 last year. Get the full story »
Oct. 6, 2010 at 6:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Economy,
Fashion,
Retail
By Reuters
Caution remained the name of the game for U.S. consumers in September, but there was an upswing in spending on back-to-school supplies and less expensive electronics, according to a report by MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse.
Clothing, electronics and online retailers all saw sales gains in September, SpendingPulse said, supporting Wall Street’s view that they got a boost from late back-to-school shopping that pushed sales from August. Get the full story »
Oct. 6, 2010 at 5:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Sandra M. Jones
The National Retail Federation expects holiday retail sales to increase 2.3 percent this year, to $447.1 billion, as shoppers start to regain their financial footing.
The trade group’s forecast remains slightly below the 10-year average sales gain of 2.5 percent for the November-December holiday period. But, it marks an improvement from the last two years. Get the full story »
Oct. 5, 2010 at 12:51 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Retail
By Associated Press
Ford Motor Co. plans to eliminate more than a third of its Lincoln dealers in large metropolitan areas over the next two years as part of its effort to revive the luxury brand, according to a dealer who attended a closed-door meeting Tuesday. Get the full story »
