May 28, 2010 at 10:52 a.m.
Filed under:
IPOs,
Retail
A child looks at toys at a Toys R Us in Texas on Oct. 7, 2009. (Joyce Marshall/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)
Reuters | Toys R Us filed to raise as much as $800 million in an initial public offering in what could mark its return to the public markets after five years. But investors’ appetite for Toys R Us, which was taken private in 2005 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co Bain Capital, and shopping center operator Vornado Realty Trust in a $6.6 billion deal, will depend on how much of the money raised will go to its current owners and how much will go to fund growth.
Those three companies collectively own 98.2 percent of Toys R Us, but
the prospectus filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission
did not specify whether they would shed any of their stakes in the
eventual IPO.
Toys R Us, based in Wayne, New Jersey, said only in the filing that it
plans to use the net proceeds of the offering to pay down some of its
debt, without getting into specifics.
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May 28, 2010 at 8:29 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Retail
Reuters | U.S. consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April,
but the largest gain in real disposable income in nearly a year offered
hope spending will trend higher in the second quarter. It was the first
time since September that spending did not increase, according to the
Commerce Department data on Friday.
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May 28, 2010 at 7:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Retail
A shopper wheels her cart past produce bins at a SuperTarget in St. Charles. (Carl Wagner/Tribune file photo)
From the Chicago Sun-Times | Chicago-area Target stores will undergo “PFresh” renovations to add a larger offering — up to 10,000 square feet — of fresh fruits vegetables and meats. A total of 47 Chicago-area stores are slated to be renovated this year. Nine city stores that do not currently offer groceries will add them.
Get the full story: suntimes.com
May 27, 2010 at 12:32 p.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals,
Recalls,
Retail
Associated Press | Johnson & Johnson learned of potency
problems with its Motrin formula in 2008, but instead of issuing a
recall, hired an outside contractor which began buying up the defective
products, according to congressional investigators.
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May 27, 2010 at 8:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Sandra M. Jones | Movado
Group Inc., the Swiss watchmaker and jeweler, plans to close its
money-losing retail division as of June 30 in an effort to bolster
profitability. The decision means shuttering two dozen U.S. stores,
including locations at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Oakbrook Shopping
Center in Oak Brook and Water Tower Place in Chicago.
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May 27, 2010 at 6:21 a.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Real estate,
Retail
Dow Jones Newswires | Australian shopping mall giant Westfield
Group on Thursday ruled out a bid for General Growth Properties Inc.,
saying it would only look at individual assets its bankrupt U.S. rival
puts on the market.
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May 26, 2010 at 4:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Economy,
Jobs/employment,
Retail
Reuters | Many U.S. consumer goods companies still face a tough operating environment as shaky consumer confidence and lingering high unemployment keep discretionary spending soft.
Companies from big box retailers to nutritional supplement makers presenting at a Janney Capital Markets consumer conference in Boston on Wednesday forecast better times ahead after a brutal 2008 and 2009.
But most are keeping a reign on expansion and looking for ways to boost margins with supply chain improvements, e-commerce and, in some cases, squeezing out costs from acquisitions.
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May 26, 2010 at 1:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Media,
Retail
By Sandra M. Jones | Oprah Winfrey makes no secret about loving to shop. Now, she is headed to the mall, literally.
The talk show star plans to open a mini Oprah Store at Water Tower Place in Chicago on Thursday.
The 138-square-foot shop — an upscale kiosk Harpo Retail calls a microsalon – marks the second retail outpost for Winfrey and could signal broader retail ambitions.
The window at Winfrey’s first store, 37 N. Carpenter St., across from her West Side studio (Harpo Productions, Inc./George Burns) >>
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May 24, 2010 at 11:28 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail,
Video
Redbox DVD machines have forced Blockbuster to come out with its own vending machines
to compete. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Associated Press
| Blockbuster Inc. on Monday urged shareholders to reject a bid by an
activist investor to garner a seat on the company’s board.
Gregory S. Meyer, who founded a DVD rental kiosk company in 2001 called
DVDXpress, is looking to take the seat held by insurance executive James
W. Crystal.
Meyer, 38, has also played a small role in the erosion of Blockbuster’s
traditional rental store business. He sold DVDXpress in 2007 to Coinstar
Inc., which later merged the company with its own Redbox business. The
spread of Redbox vending machines, which offer new
releases for $1 per
night, has forced Blockbuster to come out with its own vending machines
to compete.
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May 21, 2010 at 1:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Retail
By Wailin Wong |
High-end leather handbag maker Coach has sued the city of Chicago over
the sale of knock-off goods at the Maxwell Street Market. The company
filed its lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, saying
it has suffered “substantial damages” as a result of the activity.
According to the lawsuit, a Coach investigator visited Maxwell Street
in August 2009 and observed about 300 vendors selling “counterfeit
Coach products in plain view.”
Later that month, representatives of the
city’s police department returned to the market with the investigator,
who bought an $18 fake Coach bag at one booth and a $24 fake Chanel bag
at another booth. The two vendors were arrested.
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May 21, 2010 at 8:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Media,
Retail
Associated Press | Borders Group says financier Bennett LeBow is
investing $25 million in the company and will become chairman. The
nation’s No. 2 traditional book seller says LeBow, chairman of holding
company Vector Group Ltd., is buying 11.1 million shares at $2.25
apiece, which will be used to help strengthen its balance sheet and
grow its online efforts.
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May 20, 2010 at 1:55 p.m.
Filed under:
Retail
From WSJ’s Metropolis blog | Although the official plans for Wal-Mart’s first New York City store have not been announced, rumors that it plans to build in Brooklyn’s Gateway II shopping center are prompting protests similar to the ones in Chicago.
Get the full story: blogs.wsj.com/metropolis
May 20, 2010 at 12:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals,
Retail,
Stock activity
Dow Jones Newswires | Shares of drug-store chain Walgreen Co.
fell 5.4 percent to $32.93 in recent action Thursday, hit by a
downgrade from Credit Suisse, which lowered its stock rating to neutral
from outperform and cut its 2010 profit target.
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May 20, 2010 at 7:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
From The Consumerist | Sears Holdings’ Kmart unit is testing an in-store laundromat concept called Kwash in an Iowa City store. the laundromat features free Wi-Fi and laundry drop-off. And, of course, customers have easy access to the attached Kmart store so they can shop during the spin cycle.
Get the full story: consumerist.com
May 20, 2010 at 5:32 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Retail
Associated Press | Sears Holdings Corp.’s first-quarter net income fell 38 percent on
thinner profit margins at its Sears chain, squeezed by discounts on
appliances.
The discounts offset a turnaround in revenue at the retailers’ Sears
and Kmart stores, breaking a long string of declines at Sears stores.
It was Kmart’s third consecutive quarter of rising revenue at stores
open at least a year.
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