TOP NEWS
* Lululemon Athletica Inc. said CEO Laurent Potdevin had resigned, effective immediately, adding that Potdevin "fell short" of the athletic wear company's "standards of conduct" and a search for a replacement already was underway. S&P Global Market Intelligence was unable to immediately obtain comment from the company, but a source familiar with the matter said the departure stemmed from a number of situations in which Potdevin demonstrated "a lack of leadership." Lululemon's chairman, Glenn Murphy, will take over additional duties until the company can find a new CEO.
* Bon-Ton Stores Inc. listed several retailers and industry giants as unsecured creditors when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Milwaukee Business Journal reported, citing documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Creditors of the U.S. department store chain with an unsecured claim reportedly include The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., which is owed $5.066 million; apparel retailer Hanesbrands Inc., owed $3.629 million; and Keurig Green Mountain, owed $3.507 million. Other notable creditors on the list were Ralph Lauren Corp., Under Armour Inc., Skechers USA Inc., Fossil Group Inc. and Shiseido Co. Ltd.-owned Shiseido Cosmetics, the report said.
TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS
* New York-based apparel retailer J.Crew Group Inc. partnered with Zalora Group to expand its reach in the Southeast Asian market by selling a range of its products on the e-commerce company's portal beginning March, Inside Retail Asia reported.
MULTILINE RETAIL
* Hudson's Bay Co. appointed former CVS Health Corp. executive vice president and CVS Pharmacy president Helena Foulkes as its CEO, effective Feb. 19, while interim CEO Richard Baker will continue as the company's governor and executive chairman. Foulkes, who highlighted the Canadian company's "valuable real estate" and "innovative approach to M&A" in her statement, will oversee Hudson's Bay's global strategy and portfolio of more than 480 stores, including the company's e-commerce platforms, supply chain, logistics and technology.
E-COMMERCE
* Amazon.com Inc. said in an emailed statement to S&P Global Market Intelligence that it had "reached an agreement with the tax authorities" in France, which, according to media reports, had been seeking €200 million from the online retail giant. It did not provide details on the settlement. Amazon indicated that it had taken action to remedy the source of the complaint, which reportedly arose over the Seattle-based company's allocation of income between jurisdictions in the period 2006-2010.
FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING
* Kroger Co. agreed to sell its convenience store business, comprising 762 stores in 18 states, for $2.15 billion to EG Group, a privately held U.K. company, as part of the Cincinnati-based company's transformation plan. The food retailer in a joint statement with EG Group said proceeds from the deal would be used to repurchase shares and to pay down debt. The transaction is expected to close during Kroger's fiscal first quarter ending in May.
* A deal between Illinois-based agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. and New York-based grain company Bunge Ltd. could arrive in the coming days as the companies are in "advanced" talks, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Discussions between the two, which Bunge denied, may have focused on a North American partnership rather than a whole-company deal, according to comments made to Reuters at the time, noting that other bidders may still be interested in Bunge. ADM declined to comment, while Bunge did not immediately respond to S&P Global Market Intelligence's requests for comment.
* Food distributor Sysco Corp. reported that net income for the 13 weeks to Dec. 30, 2017, increased 8.9% year over year to $347.1 million from $318.8 million in 2016, outpacing the S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate of $338.9 million. On an adjusted basis, EPS totaled 66 cents, beating the S&P Capital IQ estimate for normalized EPS of 65 cents.
HYPERMARKETS AND SUPERCENTERS
* Walmart Inc.'s technology incubator, Store No 8, acquired virtual reality platform and content studio Spatialand for an undisclosed amount in a move to foster "immersive retail environments" for the store chain and create the third company in its portfolio. Katie Finnegan, principal of Store No 8, will have additional responsibilities as interim CEO of the business, while Spatialand head Kim Cooper and Store No 8 VR consultant Jeremy Welt will hold leadership roles as co-founders of the new virtual reality company.
HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL
* Rent-A-Center Inc. entered into a cooperation agreement with hedge fund sponsor Engaged Capital LLC, which owns 16.9% of the Texas-based company's outstanding common stock, ahead of its 2018 annual meeting of shareholders. Under the agreement, Rent-A-Center will nominate one independent director proposed by Engaged Capital to replace Rishi Garg for election at its annual meeting, while the firm will vote in favor of the company's previously announced proposal to declassify the board.
* Panasonic Corp. lifted its attributable net profit forecast for fiscal 2018 ending March 31 to ¥210 billion, a 31.3% increase from the previous forecast of ¥160 billion announced May 11, 2017, amid a weaker yen and improving profitability. Separately, the Japanese consumer electronics company said it would start to produce refrigerators in its newly built 14,000-square-meter plant in Panasonic Technopark in the Jhajjar district in the northern India state of Haryana beginning in March.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* U.K. retail sales rose 1.4% year over year in January, but with inflation squeezing household budgets, growth was fueled by spending on food, while sales of nonfood items remained weak, data released Feb. 6 showed. On a like-for-like basis, sales for the month increased 0.6% year over year, according to a report by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.
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