J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney has released the list of 138 stores it plans to close. As previously reported, the Company announced on February 24 that it would close 138 stores, and one supply chain facility in Lakeland, FL as it cuts costs and focuses on growing sales at its best-performing locations. Texas, with nine stores slated to close, and Minnesota, with eight, were the states hardest hit. While most of the stores are located in smaller markets, the list does include several higher-profile locations, such as the one at Palisades Center in West Nyack, NY and one at the King of Prussia mall in King of Prussia, PA. The liquidation process will begin on April 17 and is expected to be completed sometime in June. Of the 5,000 positions impacted, the Company is looking to relocate certain “leaders” and will provide outplacement support services for eligible associates.
AggData has compiled a geo-coded list of the 138 JCPenney store closings announced last week. Please click here to download the full closing list.
Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores
Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores opened its newest Sears Hometown location in Okeechobee, FL on March 15. This is the fourth Sears Hometown store to open this year. The average Sears Hometown store is more than 9,000 square feet, or half the size of a Sears Outlet, and generates $1.65 million in sales per year. The Company closed 160 stores during fiscal 2016, including 149 Sears Hometown locations. It also opened 19 Hometown stores during fiscal 2016, and plans to selectively identify new trade-area opportunities in 2017. The Company opened one new Outlet store last year and does not plan to open additional stores this year.
Click here for Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores' full store list.
Fiesta Mart
Fiesta Mart, the Hispanic focused grocer, was purchased by ACON Investments back in April 2015. It was sold separately from the Grocers Supply business, which C&S purchased back in December 2014. New management has embarked on aggressive store acquisition and remodeling efforts, as the Company looks to improve its market share in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, TX metro areas. The competition there is fierce, including H-E-B, Walmart and Kroger, as well as newly expanding competitors in the region Grocery Outlet, Sprouts and ALDI.
Click here for Fiesta Mart's full store list.
Albertsons Companies / Sprouts Farmers Market
According to Bloomberg, unnamed sources have indicated that Cerberus-owned Albertsons Companies has held preliminary talks to merge with Sprouts Farmers Market. The story claims that the discussions took place in recent weeks, are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal. Representatives for Cerberus and Sprouts have not made any immediate comments. Albertson’s may not be the only interested bidder. Kroger has also been acquisitive, and was reported to have considered a bid for the Fresh Market, which was ultimately taken private by Apollo Global Management. Some Wall Street analysts are predicting Sprouts could be acquired for at least $26.00 per share, representing close to a 20% premium from yesterday’s close of $21.83, and an enterprise value of about 13x fiscal 2016 EBITDA. Sprouts’ stock price has already been trading up about 20% since the beginning of the month.
Click links above for full store lists.
Party City
Party City inked a deal to acquire a master franchise group representing 18 franchise stores in North Carolina and South Carolina for $31.0 million. The purchase price represents an EBITDA multiple of approximately 4.6 times, and the fully synergized multiple is expected to be about four times. In 2016 this franchise operator reported sales of $44.0 million. Prior to the acquisition, the Company’s retail operations included 765 Company-owned Party City stores and 164 franchise stores.
Click here for Party City's full store list.
Sendik's Food Markets
Sendik's Food Markets opened a new, smaller-format Fresh2GO store in Greendale, WI on March 14. The 11,000 square-foot store includes all of the Company’s traditional offerings but on a smaller scale, as well as gas. It also operates a store in Bayside, which opened in 2013. A third, 17,000 square-foot Fresh2GO store will open in Hales Corners, WI this spring. Within five miles of the new store there are seven competing food retailers including four ALDI locations, two Save-A-Lots and one Woodman's Market.
Publix Super Markets
In Florida, Publix pharmacy and BayCare Health System have inked an agreement under which BayCare-branded telehealth sites will appear in a number of Publix stores. In addition, BayCare health screening stations will be in all Publix locations, and Publix pharmacies will open in five BayCare hospitals. Through the partnership, BayCare will serve as Publix’s exclusive health care and telehealth coordinator within Florida's Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties. The two companies said they will finalize details of the deal by year end but that all the components could be in place within the next several months.
Click here for Publix' full store list.
Trader Joe's
Construction has begun on a new north Fresno, CA Trader Joe’s, which is expected to open in late summer. The store will replace a nearby store (located about 3.3 miles away) that will close when the new one opens. The new store will be 3,000 square feet larger than the existing 10,000 square-foot location.
Trader Joe's also opened a new, 13,000 square-foot store in Towson, MD on March 17. The store replaced a smaller Trader Joe’s located less than 1.5 miles away that closed on March 16.
Click here for Trader Joe's full store list.
General Wireless Operations, DIP
On March 20, the Court authorized General Wireless Operations, DIP (dba RadioShack) to begin GOB sales at 552 of the approximately 1,300 stores which will eventually be closed. Additionally, the Creditors Committee was appointed; the members include: Spectrum Brands, Inc., Brightstar US, Inc., ION America, LLC, Weide Electronics Co., LTD., Ideavillage Products Corp., Protop International, Inc., and Brixmor Property Group, Inc.
Please click here for RadioShack's full store list.
True Value
True Value reported gross billings of $2.07 billion during fiscal 2016, compared to $2.03 billion in the prior year period. Revenue increased 1.1% to $1.51 billion, and comps were up 2.5%, with increases across 11 of the 12 regions in the U.S. and six of nine merchandise categories, led by farm ranch auto & pet, lawn & garden, and paint. The Company also recorded a profit of $23.7 million, up 24.7% from $19.0 million in 2015. CEO John Hartmann commented, “True Value is two years into executing a plan that will serve our retailers’ needs and ensure their long-term growth and profitability, making them relevant for generations to come. We have broken a nearly decade-long trend of negative net new sales growth; for the past three consecutive years, the sales volume from our new stores has exceeded sales from terminated stores.” The Company completed 101 store remodels and added 68 new locations, representing 960,000 square feet of added retail space during 2016.
Click here for True Value's full store list.
New York & Co.
New York & Co. reported fourth quarter sales decreased 1.8% to $266.3 million, and comps were down 0.4%. The Company recorded a loss of $10.0 million, compared to a profit of $840,000 in the prior year period. The Company closed 11 New York & Company stores and six Outlet locations during the quarter, ending with 466 stores in operation, including 123 Outlet stores. CEO Gregory Scott stated, “In a rapidly changing retail environment, our fourth quarter results met the high-end of the updated outlook we issued in January and included a double-digit increase in e-commerce sales, strong results in our Eva Mendes Collection, and expansion in overall gross profit margin despite mall traffic declines that lowered sales. As we begin, 2017, we expect to accelerate our progress toward our goals with continued growth in celebrity and sub-brands that will include the introduction of a new celebrity partnership launching in early April. We are also extremely pleased to have taken over several competitor locations with flexible lease terms in some of the best malls in the country. These locations were obtained at attractive occupancy rates, requiring low capital investment and are expected to generate high returns.”
Click here for New York & Co.'s full store list.
Sheetz
Sheetz will open a store in Huntington, WV on March 23. Sheetz currently operates 544 stores across Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland.
Click here for Sheetz's full store list.
ALDI
ALDI plans to open a 19,840 square-foot store in Orange Park, FL, with construction expected to begin during the first half of this year. ALDI currently has four stores in the area including two in Jacksonville, one in St. Augustine and one in Middleburg.
Meanwhile, an ALDI store in Newark, NJ will undergo an extensive remodel and will close for about five weeks beginning March 26. The remodeled store will focus on fresh items, a modern design, and expanded offerings.
ALDI announced earlier this month a $1.60 billion investment strategy, which includes an extensive plan to remodel and expand more than 1,300 U.S. stores by 2020.
Click here for ALDI'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.
Walgreens Boots Alliance / Fred's, Inc.
According to a recent Bloomberg report that cited sources close to the talks, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) could be close to an agreement to sell more assets, including additional stores, distribution centers, software and personnel, to Fred’s, Inc. in an effort to win FTC approval of its proposed agreement to acquire Rite Aid. According to the report, “Walgreens could present the beefed-up package to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission within weeks, in hopes of satisfying the agency’s concerns after an initial proposal fell short.” WBA has already agreed to sell up to 1,200 stores in order to obtain approval. In addition to the FTC, at least a dozen states’ attorneys general had “scrutinized the deal.” As part of the beefed up deal, Fred’s would also get the rights to the Rite Aid brand name for an extended period beyond the 24-month period outlined in the original deal.
Click links above for full store lists.
Bartell Drugs
Bartell Drugs and health care and benefits provider Kaiser Permanente opened the first of five CareClinic in-store clinics planned for 2017 yesterday in Des Moines, WA. Bartell also announced plans to add four more CareClinics by the end of the calendar year in Silver Lake (Everett) in April, Gig Harbor in June, and Snoqualmie as well as Redmond Town Center in summer 2017. Group Health Cooperative, Bartell Drugs’ previous clinic partner, was acquired by Kaiser Permanente effective February 1. Kaiser Permanente and Bartell Drugs now operate 11 CareClinics.
Click here for Bartell Drugs' full store list.
CVS Health
CVS Health will add a second Longs Drugs pharmacy in Honolulu as part of a new Target store scheduled to open this fall. Target’s six pharmacies in Hawaii have recently been converted to Longs Drugs as part of a December 2015 deal in which CVS acquired all 1,662 of Target’s pharmacies in 47 states for $1.89 billion. CVS, which owns 55 Longs Drugs stores in Hawaii, recently opened new units on Kauai and Oahu, and plans to open a new store in Honolulu in May.
Click here for CVS' full store list.
Pharmasave Drugs National Ltd.
Pharmasave Drugs National Ltd. recently opened its 600th store. Pharmasave is a member-owned and governed cooperative operating independent drug stores across nine Canadian provinces. Over the past two years it has opened more than 70 new stores, including 50 over the past year, and recently said that “many more are in the pipeline for 2017.”
Click here for Pharmasave's full store list.
Cato Corporation
Cato Corporation reported fourth quarter sales decreased 12% to $220.4 million, and comps were also down 12%. The Company recorded a loss of $12.8 million, compared to a profit of $11.8 million in the prior year. CEO John Cato commented, “2016 was a very disappointing year for Cato. The overall apparel retail environment continued to be difficult and was compounded by several mistakes of our own. We also are being impacted by the disruption caused by the growth of online sales at other retailers, resulting in lower store traffic. In the back half of the year, we made several mistakes in our merchandise assortment, fit and timing. This resulted in significant reductions to regular priced sales causing us to liquidate a large portion of our slow selling inventory, which put severe pressure on earnings. Due to the continued volatility and overall difficulty in the retail environment, we believe 2017 will be another challenging year for Cato.” The Company anticipates opening 13 new stores in 2017 and closing up to 19 underperforming locations by year end.
Click here for Cato's full store list.
Christopher & Banks
Christopher & Banks reported fourth quarter sales decreased 10.1% to $85.0 million, and comps were down 7.8%. The sales decline was attributed to the Company operating an average of 499 stores during the fourth quarter, down from 534 stores in the prior-year period. Meanwhile, the Company’s net loss of $17.2 million narrowed 63.1% from last year’s loss of $46.6 million. CEO Joel Waller commented, “While our fourth quarter results were disappointing, I am confident we have identified the key issues facing the Company and are well down the path to addressing them. Over the next several quarters we will take aggressive steps to (i) develop a differentiated product assortment with a greater mix of relevant fashion and establish a consistent flow of newness, (ii) recapture Missy customers by rebalancing the MPW (Misses, Petites and Women’s) assortment, and (iii) address the underperformance of our outlets through a cross functional team dedicated to ensuring their planning, buying, and allocation needs are addressed promptly and effectively.”
Click here for Christopher & Banks' full store list.
Target
Target unveiled elements for an “ambitious” store redesign, aimed at making shopping quicker and more convenient. The new layout, which was recently unveiled by CEO Brian Cornell, will feature a separate entrance and 10-minute parking for shoppers looking to pick up an online order or some essentials. New center aisles will be curved rather than squared off, “to inspire people to explore.” There will be LED track lighting, “and brand boutiques meant to replicate a specialty-store feel will showcase rotating looks.” The first of the redesigned stores will open in suburban Houston, TX this fall. About 40 more stores will be remodeled with the new design by October. More than 600 of Target's 1,800 total locations are scheduled for updates over the next three years. The Company expects the remodeled stores to see a 2% – 4% increase in sales.
In other news, Target plans to open a new 43,000 square-foot store in New York City in October. The two-level small-store format on West 34th Street is located in Herald Square and will include a CVS pharmacy. It will be the fourth Target in the city with other locations in East Harlem, Tribeca and the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. The Company said this is part of its focus “on expanding Target’s small-format stores in dense urban neighborhoods, with New York being a priority market for the Company’s growth.”
Finally, Target appointed Jeff Burt as SVP, grocery, fresh food and beverage, effective April 10. Mr. Burt joins Target from Kroger, where he most recently served as president of the Fred Meyer division.
Click here for Target's full store list.
Amazon.com
Amazon's reported move to open its second drive-up grocery concept will complement its AmazonFresh delivery service in major metro areas. New permit documents reveal that the city of Seattle has given Amazon permission to post “AmazonFresh Pickup” signs for locations in the Ballard and SoDo neighborhoods, as well as signs with messages such as “Shop Online. Pick up here” and “Relax while we load your groceries” for location exteriors. Each pickup site includes an awning for drivers to park under, as well as a brick-and-mortar building for workers to compile orders. Parking spaces at the Ballard location have motion-activated signs installed, which read “Your order is on the way” when triggered.
Meanwhile, Amazon opened a brick-and-mortar Amazon Books store in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood today. The store has a coffee shop and offers best-sellers as determined by sales on the Amazon site. It also features proprietary technology including Kindles, Fire TVs, and Alexa/Echo voice-activated computer assistants.
In other news, as of April 1 Amazon will begin collecting sales tax of 5.5% on purchases shipped to addresses in Maine. It will also begin collecting sales taxes in Hawaii, Idaho and New Mexico next month. The Company is still working to reach agreements in a handful of remaining states where it doesn't already collect sales tax.
Dollar General
Dollar General reported fourth quarter sales growth of 13.7% to $6.01 billion, boosted by an extra week when compared to 4Q15. Growth was driven by new stores, modestly offset by sales lost from closed stores. Comps increased 1%, primarily due to an increase in average transaction amount, partially offset by a slight decline in traffic that moderated from the second and third quarters. Comps were driven by positive results in the consumables and home products categories, partially offset by negative results in the seasonal and apparel categories. Profit rose 10.1% to $414.2 million. For fiscal 2016, sales increased 7.9% to $21.99 billion, comps were up 0.9%, and profit rose 7.4% to $1.25 billion. In 2016, the Company opened 900 new stores and remodeled or relocated 906 stores.
Looking ahead at fiscal 2017, Dollar General expects sales growth of 4% – 6%, comp growth to be slightly positive to up 2%, and EPS of $4.25 – $4.50 (compared to $4.43 in fiscal 2016). The Company plans to open approximately 1,000 new stores and relocate or remodel 900 stores in fiscal 2017. Capital expenditures are expected to be $650.0 million – $700.0 million.
Separately, Dollar General announced James W. Thorpe, EVP and chief merchandising officer, will retire, effective April 15. Dollar General has started a search for a successor and will consider both internal and external candidates for the job.
Click here for Dollar General's full store list.
Sears Holdings
Sears Holdings’ Kmart division is closing its only Maui, HI store in mid-June, with a liquidation sale starting on March 30. Kmart is also closing a store in Honolulu. The Company commented, “We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced.” Kmart has closed its other Honolulu store and its Central Oahu store, leaving its West Oahu location as the only remaining store on that island. It also has three stores on the other islands, including one on Maui, another on the Big Island and one on Kauai, which the Company has said it has no plans to close. Kmart has about 870 stores today compared with about 1,300 in 2012.
Click here for Sears' full store list.
Destination XL Group's
Destination XL Group’s fourth quarter sales decreased 1.1% to $122.6 million, and comps were down 1.9%, impacted by the overall weakness in the retail environment. In addition, management cited the elimination of its fall marketing campaign as a negative impact on fourth quarter sales. Destination XL recorded a profit of $1.8 million, compared to a loss of $1.4 million in the prior-year period. During the quarter, the Company opened 30 new DXL stores in 2016, including four outlets, and shuttered 32 CMXL locations, including four outlets. Looking to 2017, 20 new DXL stores, including one outlet, will be opened, and 19 CMXL stores, including three outlets, will be shuttered.
Management also indicated that sales per square foot for its DXL stores increased to $180 for fiscal 2016 from $177 in the prior year. CEO David Levin said, “Despite the 2016 retail environment being one of the most challenging in recent memory, we were very pleased to deliver strong growth in EBITDA and free cash flow. In 2016, we fully funded our DXL store expansion from free cash flow and grew EBITDA nearly 36%. We enter the new fiscal year keenly focused on continuing to grow our customer base by leveraging our fully developed fleet of DXL stores and elevating our digital distribution channel. Six out of 10 big and tall guys still do not know who we are and, therefore, our top priority in 2017 is customer retention and acquisition. We intend to fuel that objective with a marketing dollar increase of approximately 40% this year, including reinstituting television advertising beginning April 2.”
Click here for Destination XL's full store list.
Guitar Center
Guitar Center’s fourth quarter revenue declined 3.7% to $606.0 million as a result of lower sales in all segments. The top-line erosion reflected a decrease in foot traffic, which was partially offset by greater online sales, specifically at guitarcenter.com. The Company was more promotional during the quarter, which resulted in a 220 basis point decline in gross margin. Operations were also impacted by the negative effect of the newly introduced ERP system. Management stated the $2.4 million decrease in Music & Arts EBITDA fully reflected the troubles associated with the implementation of the ERP system.
As a result, the Company’s EBITDA margin fell 230 basis points to 8%. Moreover, cash from operations for fiscal 2016 fell nearly 75% to $22.9 million, after the Company reported increased revenue, slower A/R collections and “major cash flow differences” compared to the prior year. This was reflected in its significantly negative free cash flow for the year of $41.7 million.
Going forward, the Company expects to open six stores in 2017 and spend $60.0 million – 70.0 million on capital expenditures, with investments mainly in IT and store upgrades. After the ERP system issue is solved within the next few quarters, management expects to begin pursuing strategic acquisitions. The Company continues to target 7,000 – 11,000 square-foot locations in secondary and tertiary markets. In addition, the Company has identified 120 possible Guitar Center locations and expects to double its footprint in Music & Arts stores. In order to accomplish this level of growth, it appears Guitar Center may be preparing for an IPO; this will be difficult if operations do not quickly improve.
Click here for Guitar Center's full store list.
Williams-Sonoma
Williams-Sonoma’s fourth quarter sales slipped 0.3% to $1.58 billion, and comps were down 0.9%. By banner, comps were up 6.5% at West Elm and 1.4% at Williams-Sonoma, but these gains were offset by an 8.1% comp decline at Pbteen, a 4.9% decrease at Pottery Barn Kids and a 4.1% decrease at Pottery Barn. CEO Laura Alber commented, “In 2016, we delivered revenues of over $5.00 billion, which included another year of double-digit growth across West Elm, our newer businesses Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham, and our Company-owned global operations. Additionally, from an operational perspective, we executed one of our best holiday seasons. Entering 2017, we will continue to improve performance and increase our competitive advantage, with a focus on innovation in e-commerce, our products and service, and the retail experience.” In 2017, the Company expects to open 21 new stores and shutter 16 underperforming stores, to end with 634 stores in operation compared to 629 stores at the end of fiscal 2016.
Click here for Williams-Sonoma's full store list.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Columbus, OH-based Bibibop Asian Grill has assumed the leases for ShopHouse Southeast Asian Grill’s 15 locations in Washington, the Chicago area and Southern California. Chipotle Mexican Grill announced earlier this month that it was closing all of its 15 ShopHouse Asian noodle restaurants due to underperformance. When Chipotle announced its decision, it cited a deal to get out of its leases as one of the reasons for the timing, though it did not identify any third party at the time. Bibibop, with a dozen locations in Columbus and Cincinnati and one opening soon in Cleveland, operates under a similar fast-casual model to ShopHouse; its version offers Korean-inspired choices and build-your-own ordering. Bibibop says the ShopHouse locations will be converted and opened in the coming months.
Click here for Chipotle Mexican Grill's full store list.
