Personnel Updates
• eBay Inc. (56) announced that Devin Wenig is stepping down as President and CEO, of the company. It appointed Scott Schenkel, most recently eBay’s senior VP and CFO, as interim CEO.
• Michaels Stores Inc. (58) announced that Mark S. Cosby has been named Chief Executive Officer effective immediately.
• Target Corporation (347) said CFO Cathy Smith will be replaced by Michael Fiddelke. Chief Merchandising Officer Mark Tritton is also leaving Target, to lead Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (72)
• Walmart Stores Inc. (254) announced Sam’s Club President and CEO John Furner is slated to become President and CEO of Walmart U.S. on November 1, taking over from Greg Foran, who is leaving the company.
Mergers and Acquisitions
• Franchise Group, Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of the Sears Outlet business and Buddy’s Home Furnishing stores from Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores.
• Hudson Group has signed an agreement to acquire all 34 Brookstone brand operations in the U.S.
Industry Insight
• Best Buy Co. Inc. is offering free next day delivery to 99% of its customers for the holiday season.
• Dollar General Corp. has opened its 16,000th location in Panama City, FL.
• Groupon is expanding its partnership with MINDBODY to connect Groupon users with thousands more bookable fitness, beauty and wellness experiences in their local neighborhoods.
• The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack is opening new stores on both coasts. The retailer’s newest locations have opened in Astoria, NY, Lawndale and Rocklin, CA, and LaGrange, GA.
• Sam’s Club is piloting a program that will offer its members four different bundled healthcare options that will help cover the costs of routine primary care, dental, optical and alternative medicine and also offer select free generics.
• Target Corporation is partnering with the parent company of the Toys R Us brand, TRU Kids, to help it relaunch ToysRUs.com. The deal will allow the Toys R Us brand to once again have an online presence, post-bankruptcy, as it simultaneously begins to open stores in the U.S. again.
• Wayfair LLC announced a partnership with Big Sister Association of Greater Boston that will bring a workplace mentoring program to Wayfair’s Boston-based headquarters aimed at building relationships between girls from Boston-area schools and Wayfair employees.
Real Estate
• Amazon.com Inc. is opening its first fulfillment center in Idaho. The 650,000 sq. ft. robotics fulfillment center will open in Nampa, ID in 2020. The Company is preparing to open more than 12 grocery stores in the greater Los Angeles area and will be expanding its network of dedicated pickup counters to three new retail partners: GNC, Health Mart and Stage Stores.
• Bed Bath & Beyond said it will close approximately 40 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 20 stores from its other concepts by the end of fiscal 2019.
• Dollar General Corp. announced that it is building new stores in Washington and Wyoming. When completed, these stores will expand Dollar General’s presence to 46 states throughout the country.
Technology News
• Amazon.com Inc. is planning to launch the cashier-less technology of its Go stores into the locations of other retailers. The initial expansion of Go technology could begin by the first quarter of 2020, with plans to grow across hundreds of retail spaces by the end of next year.
• Dollar General Corp. is testing a grocery pickup service for online orders.
• Five Below Inc. is partnering with Nerd Street Gamers, a developer of training and competition facilities for esports. Five Below and Nerd Street will build 3,000 sq. ft. Localhost esports gaming centers connected to select Five Below stores, beginning with a multi-store pilot in 2020. While future rollout plans will be based on the results of the pilot, they could include 70 or more locations during the next several years.
