Mergers & Acquisitions

Coty Tops List of 100 Fastest-Growing Retailers
October 30, 2018 at 3:25 pm

In Total Retail's recently released rankings of the top 100 fastest-growing publicly traded retailers based on year-over-year net sales, a beauty brand found itself at the top of the rankings for the first time. This is the eighth year that Total Retail has produced the list and subsequent report. Coty generated a 75.9 percent year-over-year…

Collaborative Partnerships: Retail’s Evolving Business Model
October 26, 2018 at 1:47 pm

Between constantly evolving competition and higher customer expectations, brands are feeling pressure to find innovative ways to delight their customers. From this pressure, a new trend in the retail business model surfaced with the emergence of creative partnerships. Kohl's partnership with Aldi supermarkets looks to “right-size” its locations and get creative with shared real estate.…

QVC, HSN to Combine Business Units, Cut 2,000 Jobs
October 18, 2018 at 12:54 pm

Qurate Retail Group (QRG) announced several initiatives designed to better position its HSN and QVC U.S. businesses for long-term growth. Most important is the formation of an integrated business unit called QXH, which Qurate said will ensure an aligned approach to the U.S. market. As part of the transformation, Qurate will eliminate 350 positions by the…

Walmart Acquires Online Lingerie Retailer Bare Necessities
October 16, 2018 at 3:26 pm

Walmart announced last week that it has acquired lingerie and sleepwear retailer Bare Necessities for an undisclosed amount. Bare Necessities will join the Walmart U.S. e-commerce portfolio. Founded in 1998, Bare Necessities offers more than 100,000 SKUs from more than 160 brands, including an extensive assortment of bras, swimwear, shapewear and sleepwear. Intimates is a category that…

DSW, Authentic Brands Partner to Acquire Camuto Group for $375M
October 11, 2018 at 1:53 pm

DSW Inc. announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the operations of Camuto Group, a footwear and accessory designer and developer responsible for the Vince Camuto brand and the footwear licenses for Jessica Simpson and Lucky Brand. In addition, DSW is teaming with brand development, marketing and entertainment company Authentic Brands Group (ABG) to acquire several intellectual…

Walmart to Acquire Women’s Plus-Size Clothing Brand ELOQUII
October 3, 2018 at 12:18 pm

Walmart announced yesterday that it's acquiring digital-native plus-size clothing brand ELOQUII for an undisclosed amount. TechCrunch reports the all-cash deal includes ELOQUII CEO Mariah Chase, her executive team and its 100 employees, who will continue to be based in Long Island City, NY and Columbus, OH. They’ll join Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce organization, reporting to Andy Dunn,…

Walmart: Abandon Earnings to [Re]Catch Amazon?
September 26, 2018 at 11:00 am

Walmart's success doesn't depend on earnings, but rather the story it tells. Amazon.com's revenue climbed since 1998, while net income stayed flat (per FactSet and Recode — see chart below), and Amazon stock rose 1500 percent in that time period. Walmart … welcome to the technology ball. The biggest earnings quarter to watch for Walmart…

Michael Kors to Buy Gianni Versace SpA for $2B
September 24, 2018 at 1:54 pm

Fashion brand Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is close to a deal to buy Italian fashion house Gianni Versace SpA for around $2.35 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The move would put one of the glitziest names in high fashion in the hands of a budding U.S. conglomerate better known for affordable luxury.…

David’s Bridal Acquires Digital Gift Registry Startup
August 30, 2018 at 11:31 am

Wedding retailer David’s Bridal has acquired Blueprint Registry, a Seattle startup that aims to simplify the gift registry process. In a press release, David’s Bridal called the deal an asset acquisition, though all 13 of Blueprint Registry’s employees will remain on board. Blueprint Registry Co-Founder Nevin Shetty told GeekWire that the company will remain independent, but it will…

Best Buy Acquires Health Services Company GreatCall for $800M
August 20, 2018 at 12:27 pm

Best Buy announced last week that it will pay $800 million to acquire GreatCall, a company that offers health and medical-alert services to 900,000 older Americans. GreatCall offers seniors several products, including portable medical-alert devices and easy-to-use mobile phones, that provide access to urgent-response teams, doctors and nurses, as well as offer reminders to take medications. The acquisition…