Mergers & Acquisitions

The Foundry Big & Tall Supply Co., a new specialty retail concept for big and tall men from J.C. Penney, made its retail debut in the Dallas area. Approximately 10 stores are expected to open in the Dallas and Kansas City, Mo., markets by the end of May. The company plans to expand the concept nationwide to 100 stores by 2013, reaching a total of 300 stores over the next five years.

Italian fashion house Prada said it will open stores across the Middle East as part of a joint venture with Emirates luxury retailer Al Tayer Insignia to develop a new retail network.

Walgreens has agreed to buy 10 Carle RxExpress pharmacies in central Illinois. The chain didn't disclose terms of the deal, but expects the sale to close by July. It will continue to run six of the pharmacies and will consolidate a seventh into the others.

Department store giant Bloomingdale's announced it will open three outlet stores this fall. The stores will be located at the Miromar Outlets in Estero, Fla.; Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Wrentham, Mass.; and Woodfield Village Green in Schaumburg, Ill.

Office Depot will be closing its nine remaining stores in Canada on June 11. However, the office supply retailer said it will continue to serve its customers through its Canadian website.

The U.S. Postal Service has introduced a new service in partnership with Hongkong Post "to foster growth in e-commerce." The new ePacket shipping solution features tracking and delivery confirmation in the Postal Service network for lightweight goods and merchandise ordered by consumers in the U.S. from merchants in Hong Kong.

eBay has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WHERE. Based in Boston, WHERE develops a range of location-based services, including mobile advertising and search and recommendation services.

Groupon’s purchase of Pelago, the parent company of Whrrl, offers an interesting glimpse into what the local daily-deals powerhouse might be up to next. With the acquisition, which was for an undisclosed amount, Groupon gets a team that’s been focused on consumer check-ins at local businesses and offering relevant suggestions — similar to the area that players like Foursquare and Gowalla are focused on.

Sony Electronics closed 11 stores in 11 states in March as the company opened a new store prototype in Los Angeles. The store closings bring Sony's store count to 45, including 29 standard locations and 16 outlet stores.

Just days before its $320 million purchase of Blockbuster is expected to close, Dish Network has assumed leases for as many as 600 retail locations of the video rental giant, leaving more than 1,000 stores possibly headed for the chopping block.