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IN BRIEF

Thomas Pink

Marshall Field’s, which is already host to a Thomas Pink boutique in its State Street store in Chicago, opened a 1,300-square-foot Pink inside its Troy, Mich., store in August.

Kroger

The Kroger Co. is expanding its Dillons division in the Omaha, Neb., area, where it has acquired three former Albertsons units for the purpose. Dillons operates about 100 stores in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Albertsons announced its exit from the Omaha market in June.

Ross Stores

Discount clothing retailer Ross Stores, operator of Ross Dress for Less, is launching DD’s Discounts, a new chain the company says it plans to expand to at least 500 units. (The double “d” stands for “deep discounts.”) DD’s will target households whose annual income averages between $30,000 and $40,000. (The patrons of Ross Dress for Less earn between $50,000 and $60,000 a year.) This year Ross plans to open 10 DD’s in California neighborhood centers and urban areas, in Fresno, Oakland, Sacramento and Vallejo.

Best Buy

Best Buy plans to open 38 stores in 22 states by the end of the year. The company currently operates about 600 stores across the country.

Kmart

Kmart Holding Corp. is selling 18 stores to The Home Depot for $271 million. The stores are in Tempe, Ariz.; Huntington Beach, Orange, Seaside and Thousand Oaks, Calif.; New Milford, Conn.; Coconut Grove and Jacksonville Beach, Fla.; Champaign, Ill.; Levittown, N.Y.; Broomhall and Hanover, Pa.; and Houston, according to published reports. Kmart also agreed earlier in the year to sell about 50 stores to Sears, Roebuck and Co. for about $621 million in cash. Home Depot has opened about 48 stores so far this year.

Wannado City

The first U.S. Wannado City, a Mexico-based children’s theme park, opened in The Mills Corp.’s Sawgrass Mills, in Sunrise, Fla. The companies plan to open more of these in Mills centers.

 

Crescent Jewelers

Citing five years of indebtness, Crescent Jewelers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Crescent operates 160 stores in six Western states, primarily California.

 

 

Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma launched an upscale home furnishings brand called Williams-Sonoma Home. The line includes European-inspired furniture, linens and lighting.

Hollywood Entertainment

Leonard Green & Partners’ planned $890 million purchase of Hollywood Entertainment, which owns the 1,950-store Hollywood Video chain, may not go through, Hollywood says, because the private equity firm lacks adequate financing. The parties announced the deal in March.

Neiman Marcus

An 80,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus department store will open in Simon Property Group’s SouthPark mall, in Charlotte, N.C., in the fall of 2006. Neiman Marcus currently operates 35 stores across the country.

Children’s Place

Talks continue for The Children’s Place acquisition of the 300-unit Disney Stores chain, the suitor says. Children’s Place announced its interest in buying the chain in June.

Schlotzsky’s

Sandwich chain Schlotzsky’s, owner and franchiser of 513 stores across the country, says it has filed for Chapter 11 protection from “millions of dollars in claims, judgments and debts.”

Sears

A third stand-alone Sears Grand store opened recently, a 165,000-square-foot store in Las Vegas. The other two Sears Grands are in the Chicago and Salt Lake City areas.

Wal-Mart

Stores in Arkansas and Texas are the launch sites of Wal-Mart’s first five 24-hour pharmacies. The discount giant also established a $500,000 foundation for racial minorities studying journalism in college, “to increase the level of diversity in newsrooms around the country.”

Anna’s Linens

Stores in Evanston, Evergreen Park and Northlake will mark the debut of Anna’s Linens in the Chicago area. The chain plans to open the stores, which span between 9,100 and 15,000 square feet, by the end of the year. Anna’s Linens operates 141 stores in 10 states, mostly in the South and Southwest.

H&M

In March H&M will open a store in Dublin, its first in Ireland. The company operates about 1,000 stores in 19 countries.

Duane Reade

Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm, closed on its $700 million purchase of the Duane Reade drugstore chain. The chain has 241 stores around the New York metropolitan area.

Frank’s Nursery & Crafts

Frank’s Nursery & Crafts has filed for Chapter 11 again. This is the second, and probably last, declaration of bankruptcy for the Troy, Mich.-based retailer. Frank’s emerged from its first filing in May 2002, but was unable to reverse declining traffic and same-store sales. Upon court approval, Frank’s will liquidate merchandise, real estate and leaseholds at each of its 169 locations. Kimco Realty, whose portfolio includes eight Frank’s stores, holds a large equity stake in the chain as well as a significant portion of its debt.

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