New York City — Luxury department store retailer Barneys New York has voluntarily filed for bankruptcy protection and has disclosed plans to close 15 of its 22 brick-and-mortar stores. The Chapter 11 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York indicated that Barneys had more than $100 million in assets and more than $100 million in debts, according to The Wall Street Journal. Barneys plans to keep five of its flagship locations open, including its famous Madison Avenue store. The retailer will also continue operating …
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Calabasas Hills, Calif. — The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Fox Restaurant Concepts (FRC) and the remaining interest in North Italia, reinforcing its leadership position in experiential dining. The transactions will be completed for $308 million. “Since making our initial minority investments in North Italia and Flower Child in 2016, we have not only helped fuel the growth of both brands, but also developed a deep relationship with Sam Fox at Fox Restaurant Concepts,” says David Overton, chairman and CEO of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated. …
Oceanside, Calif. — Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, LLC (KBS), a leading North American provider of technology-enabled, integrated facility management services to the industrial, commercial, logistics, retail and grocery sectors, has acquired PE Facility Solutions, LLC (“Pristine”), a provider of facility management, contract cleaning and related services. KBS is a portfolio company of San Francisco-based private investment firm GI Partners. Pristine is owned by Massachusetts-based Great Elm Capital Corp. “Pristine is an outstanding asset and its integration into the KBS platform is an important step toward advancing our expansion into targeted end …
Atlanta — Ace Hardware Corporation, the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the world, has selected Atlanta-based tech startup Deputy as its recommended people management and scheduling solution to its community of store owners and managers. “Not only does it take less time to make a schedule in Deputy, but after I’m done making it, there’s nothing else required from me until it’s time to make schedules again the next month,” says Bobby Heuser, owner of Heuser Ace Hardware in Bluffton, S.C. “Deputy enables my employees to do everything they need in …
Houston — The Rustic plans to bring its farm-fresh fare and Texas-sized selection of wine, spirits and beer, served alongside live music 7 days a week, to the west side of Houston. Located at 1121 Uptown Park Blvd. in Houston’s Uptown Park, the 27,000-square-foot venue broke ground on Aug. 1 and is anticipated to open in February 2020. The Rustic is the brainchild of Kyle Noonan, Josh Sepkowitz and Texas country artist Pat Green, whose love of the outdoors and live music helped bring The Rustic to life. The result …
Plano, Texas — J. C. Penney Company, Inc. has hired James (Jim) DePaul, a highly accomplished field executive with nearly 25 years of retail experience, as executive vice president of stores, effective August 5, reporting directly to CEO Jill Soltau. He joins JCPenney from Shopko. DePaul, who will oversee the company’s stores, store operations, store environment and design and asset protection teams, will be responsible for improving in-store and omnichannel operations. Mike Robbins, executive vice president of stores and supply chain, will be leaving the organization on August 3, 2019. …
New York City — Mamoun’s Falafel, the fastest growing Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant in North America, has opened its fifth location in New Jersey, with plans for two more to open by the end of the year. The new restaurant, located at the Wall Promenade shopping center in Wall, N.J., marks the 10th location nationwide. The concept’s New Jersey partner, Prospect Capital Restaurants, signed a multi-unit franchise agreement to continue bringing Mamoun’s Falafel throughout the state of New Jersey. Prospect Capital Restaurants is responsible for existing franchise locations in Wall …
Fort Myers, Fla. — GATES Construction has completed multiple projects at Daniels Marketplace located at the crossing of Daniels and Six Mile Cypress parkways in Fort Myers, Fla. The project buildouts include Club Pilates, Paradise Grill, Tide Dry Cleaners, Uh-Maze Bowls, Pearle Vision and Hand & Stone Spa. Design services are provided by Wakefield Beasley & Associates and Hand & Stone Franchise Corp. For over 25 years, GATES has provided construction management, general contracting and design-build services. Its diverse portfolio of commercial, healthcare, multi-family, club and hospitality, institutional and special …
Louisville, Ky. — Yum! Brands, Inc. has appointed Taco Bell division and Pizza Hut division chief executive officers, who each will assume global responsibility for driving their respective brand’s growth strategies, franchise operations and performance. Now, each of the company’s three global brand divisions will be led by a CEO. Mark King, former president of adidas Group North America, will join the company as Taco Bell division CEO, reporting to David Gibbs, president, COO and CFO, Yum! Brands. King brings extensive retail experience and an excellent track record driving growth, …
Pittsburgh — The vitamin and health supplement niche of the brick-and-mortar retail market continues to experience intense competitive pressure, observes veteran retail consultant Jeff Green. So it came as no surprise to Green when GNC Holdings Inc. officials revealed in a second-quarter earnings call earlier this week that it will shutter up to 900 stores in North America by the end of 2020. “It used to be that specialty health supplements were only found in specialty stores such as GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and other regional chains,” says Green, a partner …