August 16, 2023
In the CHRISTMAS TREE SHOPS, DIP case, the Company's remaining 49 stores were set to close on August 12, according to the Company's website. As of the petition date, the Debtors operated 82 stores in 20 states.
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Taco Bell, a subsidiary of YUM BRANDS, is on track to operate 10,000 U.S. based restaurants in the coming years, up from its current total of 7,500. To drive growth, the chain plans to open stores under a variety of formats including its urban format "Cantinas" and its smaller format digital focused format "Go Mobile." The first Go Mobile opened in March in El Paso, TX, followed by a second in Columbus, GA. Under the Cantina format, stores are designed to match the ambience of their locations with urban designs, open kitchen concepts, and alcoholic drinks.
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As we previously reported on July 24, the Delaware Chancery court rejected a proposed settlement of a lawsuit by several AMC shareholders against the Company. Afterward AMC and the plaintiffs submitted a revised settlement to address the Court's concerns, which has now been approved. As a result, AMC plans to implement two proposals that were previously approved by a majority of shareholders in March. The Company will execute a 10-for-1 reverse stock split, effective August 24, and then convert all its APE preferred shares to common shares (at the same 10 to 1 rate). Subsequently, on August 28, in accordance with the settlement, the Company will issue all common shareholders one additional AMC share for each 7.5 shares held prior to the APE conversion; APE shareholders will not receive any additional shares.
Management indicated that now that this issue has been resolved, it plans to initiate an at-the-market program for the issuance and sale of up to 25 million shares of new common stock. AMC's common share price ended at $5.26 on Friday, August 11, but it has since fallen to $3.30 at the start of trading on August 14. Proceeds will be used to support AMC's liquidity, with Chair and CEO Adam Aron stating any additional equity capital could be used to "shore up our capital reserves, pay down debt, invest in growth initiatives to strengthen our operating profitability and pursue transformative merger and acquisition opportunities."
NORDSTROM will open a 28,000 square-foot Nordstrom Rack in Queen Creek, AZ in Spring 2024. Once open, Nordstrom will operate 10 Rack stores and one full-line store in Arizona. Other 2024 store openings already announced include Snellville, GA; Wheaton, IL; Jacksonville Beach, FL; Elk Grove, Gilroy, Oceanside, and San Mateo, CA; and Macedonia, OH.
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IKEA will open a location in downtown San Francisco, CA on August 23. Featuring the chain's city format, the store will be 52,000 square feet across three levels and will include 27 fully furnished rooms designed to showcase "city living" solutions. Smaller home furnishing accessories and special collection items will be available to purchase and take home, while larger furniture items will be available to order for home delivery. Ikea operates nearby stores in Emeryville and East Palo Alto.
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TARGET will add the option of Starbucks to go at over 1,700 stores starting this summer, with a complete rollout scheduled for later this fall. The Company began testing the Starbucks curbside pickup last fall at 250 stores, allowing customers to add a Starbucks item to their pickup order. Target says that first-time curbside shoppers spend 20% to 30% more on average than they did during a previous shopping trip.
ROUSES MARKET is opening a replacement 60,000 square-foot store in Houma, LA on August 16, marking the fourth store at or near this same location. Rouses operates 63 stores across three states, with additional stores under construction.
BIG Y FOODS opened its 15th and 16th Express fuel and convenience stores in Somers and Enfield, CT, bringing the total number of Express locations in Connecticut to six. The first Big Y Express opened in 2013 in Lee, MA.
NEIMAN MARCUS has created a new buying approach, focused on customer data, and formed a marketing strategy and customer analytics team. The Company created new senior management roles and consolidated certain responsibilities to eliminate silos that it says typically limit interactions between different business functions and slow the execution of plans. Among the executive changes, Stefanie Tsen Ward has been appointed chief integrated retail officer, a new role in which she leads the digital, stores and remote selling teams in an effort to encourage multichannel shopping. She previously held the title of chief retail officer. Ann Marie Janke has become chief technology and information officer. These were two roles before, and Janke had been CIO. Her appointment follows last February’s change with Darcy Penick, who became head of product and technology while continuing as president of Bergdorf Goodman. In addition, Andrew Floyd has been named VP of marketing strategy and customer analytics, a new role in the organization. Floyd had been VP of acquisition and growth. Finally, Amanda Martin was promoted to chief supply chain officer, continuing to lead supply chain transformation and operations.
Neiman Marcus also implemented another round of personnel cuts at its corporate offices (no store level cuts). Less than 1%, or under 100 individuals, were cut. In February, the Company laid off hundreds of workers, representing just less than 5% of its total workforce, which at the time was approximately 10,000 workers. That included about 100 corporate workers and a few hundred workers at stores and other areas.
RALLY HOUSE, a family-owned sports apparel and gifts retailer based in Kansas, opened a second location in Grapevine, TX. The opening follows seven store openings across five states over the first weekend in August. The newest location carries a wide array of popular college teams, including the Texas Longhorns, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Texas A&M Aggies. The other seven locations that opened this month are in Champaign, Aurora, and Fairview Heights, IL; Coralville, IA; Manhattan, KS; Norman, OK; and Tempe, AZ. Rally House operates more than 160 stores in 17 states. The chain opened 45 stores during 2022.
CARVANA announced an improved 3Q23 outlook based on fundamental progress in key business drivers and momentum early in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be above $75 million, up from prior guidance for positive EBITDA. Total gross profit per unit is expected to be above $5,500, up from $5,000.
JACK IN THE BOX appointed Brian Scott as CFO on August 14. Scott most recently served as CFO of ShiftKey, a marketplace platform that connects clinical healthcare professionals with healthcare facilities, and as CFO of TheKey, a private pay provider of home care services.
The Company also reported 3Q23 sales declined 0.3% to $396.9 million, as comp growth at both Jack in the Box and Del Taco was offset by the impact of the Company re-franchising 50 Del Taco locations during the quarter; 66 total Del Taco units have been re-franchised YTD and another 23 have been re-franchised in 4Q. Jack in the Box 3Q comps improved 7.9% and franchisees opened net four new restaurants, including the Company's first location in Salt Lake City. Del Taco 3Q comps were up 1.7%, as menu price increases made up for weakening traffic trends. Management increased its full-year Del Taco re-franchising target to 90 to 120 locations, compared to 65 to 85 previously.
On August 9, Jack in the Box announced record-breaking first full-month sales in Salt Lake City, UT, its first new market entry in over a decade. The store, the first to showcase the chain's new CRAVED upgraded design, outperformed the brands previous record-setting new market opening by 66%. Looking ahead, the chain will open the first drive-thru/walk-up only CRAVED image in Ogden, UT this fall. The brand also plans to open four additional CRAVED units this calendar year, with two in Louisville, KY, another new market entry in 2023.
Consumer Price Index
The July CPI Index rose 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in June. Food prices increased 0.2%; food at home prices increased 0.3% and food away from home rose 0.2%. The following major grocery store food group indexes increased: meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 0.5%, as the index for beef increased 2.4%), dairy (up 0.5% after decreasing in each of the previous four months), and fruits and vegetables (up 0.4%); cereals and bakery products prices and nonalcoholic beverages prices were flat. Energy prices were up 0.1%, as fuel oil was up 3% and gasoline prices were up 0.2%. All items less food and energy prices were up 0.2%, with shelter, motor vehicle insurance, education, and recreation contributing to the increase, and airline fares, used cars and trucks, medical care, and communication decreased.
Over the last 12 months, inflation increased 3.2%, slightly more than the 3% YOY increase in June. Food prices rose 4.9% and all items less food and energy rose 4.7%, while energy prices decreased 12.5%.
Quarterly Earnings
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