Retail News

In the 99 Cents Only, DIP case, the Debtors identified Dollar Tree Stores and Ollie's Bargain Outlet / OBO Ventures as the successful bidders at an auction of certain leases, and Dollar Tree Stores as the successful bidder for intangible property. 

In other news, the Debtors filed motions seeking to reject 68 unexpired leases, bringing the total it has sought to reject to 143 leases. 

In the Express, DIP case, the Debtors selected a joint venture owned by WHP Global and affiliates of Simon Property Group, L.P. and Brookfield Properties (the Phoenix JV), (the Company's two most significant landlords), as the stalking horse bidder to purchase a substantial portion of the Company's assets.

The Creditors' Committee filed an objection to final approval of the DIP Facility, stating in part:

“Unfortunately, despite the Debtors having received a going concern bid, no party has had enough time to review fully the proposed transaction and the alternatives thereto. The proposed Final Order does not appropriately protect the estates from the potential downside risk of liquidation, and should not be approved. Instead, the parties are being forced to bless – with insufficient information as to the path forward for these cases – a financing that provides limited new money at great cost to the estates, converts prepetition obligations to postpetition superpriority claims, encumbers previously unencumbered assets (including avoidance actions), and builds in premature and inappropriate protections for the Debtors’ liquidators (who also happen to be affiliated with certain of the DIP Lenders); as such, the releases and stipulations are premature. The proposed Final Order furthers the interests of the DIP Lenders at great expense and risk to the estates and to unsecured creditors and it is replete with one-sided protections for the DIP Lenders, and potential traps for the estates."

In other news, the Court entered an order setting July 10, 2024 as the bar date for filing proofs of claim, including those under section 503(b)(9).

The Debtors filed motions seeking to:

• close a store in Kansas City, MO (its 97th closure)
• reject 17 unexpired leases

Walmart recently opened two Neighborhood Markets, one in Santa Rosa Beach, FL on May 8, and the other in Atlanta, GA on May 22. Both locations are larger than previous Neighborhood Markets, spanning around 57,000 square feet. They both include an expanded fresh section, wider aisles, and new accommodations in the pharmacy department. The two locations kick off Walmart's recently announced growth plans to open 150 stores over the next five years. 

Meijer plans to build a 75,000 square-foot Meijer Grocery store in Fishers, IN. The store will carry food, baby, and health and pet supplies, as well as offer a drive-up pharmacy and a gas station. Meijer Grocery stores are significantly smaller than the Company's supercenters, which average 150,000 to 250,000 square feet. Another Meijer Grocery location is slated to open later this year in nearby Noblesville, IN (90,000 square feet), joining a pair of existing Meijer Grocery stores in Indiana. 

Ahold Delhaize said it will close a number of underperforming Stop & Shop stores in the U.S. this year. The Company declined to disclose the number or locations of stores affected, saying it would do so later in the year. Commenting on the announcement, U.S. CEO JJ Fleeman said, "Stop & Shop has already evaluated its overall portfolio and will make difficult decisions to close underperforming stores to create a healthy store base for the long term."

In other news, The Giant Company named John MacDonald VP of marketing. MacDonald first joined Giant in 2012 as director of marketing. 

In the Rue21, Inc., DIP case, the Debtors filed a motion seeking to reject 85 unexpired leases. To date the Debtors have sought to reject a total of 143 leases.

In the Rite Aid, DIP case, reports stated the Debtors are close to reaching a final deal on a post-bankruptcy financing package, with a group of lenders preparing to provide interim financing while the Company remains in Chapter 11. The reports indicate the Debtors expect to seek Court approval of its Plan in late June. Last month, Rite Aid delayed a Court hearing to consider approving its reorganization plan as it struggled to finalize the Plan’s details, including exit financing. The Debtors filed a motion to extend the period during which they have the exclusive right to solicit votes on a Chapter 11 Plan by 65 days through and including July 31, 2024. In the motion, the Debtors said they expect to pursue confirmation of their Plan in the coming weeks.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold $400 million of shares in Cencora, Inc. reducing its ownership interest to 12% from 13%. Walgreens will use the proceeds for debt paydown and general corporate purposes. Walgreens has been gradually reducing its stake in Cencora, which had been as high as 28.5% stake, before they started selling shares in 2022. Walgreens noted that the sale has no impact on the long-term supply partnership between the two companies.

Sources say CVS Health has been seeking a private equity partner to fund growth at Oak Street Health, the $10.6 billion primary care provider it bought a year ago. The Company has reportedly been working with financial advisors to help find capital to back new clinics that will be opened by Oak Street, including reaching out to a handful of private equity firms about a potential joint venture. Clinics like the ones operated by Oak Street focus on serving seniors in managed Medicare plans. New clinics tend to lose money before building scale as they recruit new patients. A joint-venture could help house some of the losses related to investing in them and take them off CVS’ income statement.

London Drugs said cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data it stole, after the Company refused to pay a ransom. The Company described the hackers as a "sophisticated group of global cybercriminals." The Company is reviewing the files that may have been stolen, which includes certain employee personal information. London is offering its employees credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. It appears no patient or customer databases were compromised in the breach.