On September 17, 2025, it was reported, Top 100 retailer Providence Enterprises, which owns and operates Star Furniture in West Virginia and Ashley stores in five states in the Appalachians, recently acquired Johnson City, Tenn.-based Zak's Home. The deal, which came together quickly, was completed on Aug. 1; terms were not disclosed. With the addition of Zak's, Providence has 20 Ashley stores and one clearance center across West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio; four Star stores and a clearance center in West Virginia; and Zak's Home and a Zak's outlet in Tennessee. Bob Young, CEO of Providence Enterprises, said he had long been an admirer of the work done by Zak's and owners Scott and Jennifer Bowman, as he has had an Ashley store in Johnson City dating back to 2009 and had a few interactions with them over the years. When he learned that the Bowmans were interested in retiring, he made it a point to inquire. That collaboration has already been at work at Premarket. Young said Bowman introduced him to vendors he hadn't worked with before, which he feels will deepen the assortment in his Star stores, as Star and Zak's both operate in the middle-to-upper tiers. Additionally, Young said Bowman and Shane Sole, Providence's chief operating officer, have had some merchandising conversations and have found some commonalities there. Another area where synergies will likely exist is in distribution, as Providence picked up Zak's distribution center. And as operations consolidate and Zak's is fully incorporated into the Providence Enterprises business, Young said he believes it represents a great opportunity for the business and for the consumers in and around Johnson City.
On August 21, 2025, it was reported, Claire's has paused store closures in light of a deal, announced Wednesday, to sell its North America operations. The retailer had plans to shutter 700 stores and was mulling liquidation of its entire 1,500-store footprint in North America. An affiliate of private equity firm Ames Watson has agreed to acquire the tween accessories retailer, including its intellectual property, for $104 million in cash plus a $36 million seller note, per court documents. The firm will also assume certain liabilities, including cure costs, and pay some rent and wages for "a significant number of [Claire's] employees." Claire's filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. This deal will come as a surprise to some, given how Claire's struggled for months to find a buyer, before and after heading back to bankruptcy court this month. The retailer previously filed under Chapter 11 in 2018. With Ames Watson's agreement to acquire at least 795 Claire's stores in North America and potentially as many as 950 nearly all store employees plus many at the retailer's headquarters will keep their jobs, per court documents. The deal which comes with a "fiduciary out" if Claire's gets a better offer also allows the retailer to fully pay down its asset-based loan, per court documents. Ames Watson co-founder Lawrence Berger in a statement called Claire's an "iconic brand." The private equity firm also owns or has invested in Lids, Champion, South Moon Under and Fanatics, among other brands. The sale is subject to approval by courts in the U.S. and Canada and customary closing conditions.
On August 20, 2025, it was reported, after more than a decade, Target CEO Brian Cornell will exit the position effective Feb. 1, 2026. Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke has been tapped to take over the chief executive role. A COO replacement will be announced at a later date. After stepping down, Cornell will serve as executive chair of Target's board of directors. He helped Target become a more than $100 billion company and increased revenue by $34 billion in 11 years, per a statement from Christine Leahy, lead independent director of Target's board of directors. The executive joined Target in 2014, marking the first time the company hired a CEO externally. Cornell had most recently served as the CEO of PepsiCo Americas Foods division since 2012 and before that was the CEO of Walmart's Sam's Club. Going forward the company appears confident in Fiddelke's capabilities. "Over the last several years, the Board has been executing a deliberate and thoughtful CEO succession process, including an extensive external search and assessment of many strong candidates," Leahy said in the statement. "It is clear that Michael is the right leader to return Target to growth, refocus and accelerate the company's strategy, and reestablish Target's position as a leader in the highly dynamic and fast-moving retail environment. Michael's tenure gives him unmatched enterprise insight and a base of strong team trust. But what sets him apart is how he combines those strengths with a 'fresh eyes' mindset, challenging the status quo to evolve how the business operates, differentiates and delivers long-term value." Cornell's departure marks a turning point in Target's effort to return to growth and revive the "Tarzhay" brand.
On August 18, 2025, it was reported, online retailing giant Amazon widened the gap between itself and the other companies in the Top 25 Retailers, broadening its share to 24% and giving the direct-to-consumer (DTC). Amazon was one of just five companies that experienced an increase in furniture, bedding and accessories (FBA) sales in 2024, according to Furniture Today/Strategic Insights. Walmart, which includes sales from its Sam's Club warehouse division; manufacturer-branded retailer Ashley; TJX Cos., which encompasses T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Homesense stores; and warehouse club Costco, all experienced growth in the FBA segment. These five companies also represented five of top six retailers for 2024, with only No. 2 Wayfair seeing a slight drop in its sales. The DTC segment rose to almost $38 billion and nearly 36% of the total, with contributions after Amazon's $22.1 billion from Wayfair, ($7.8 billion); Qurate Retail ($1.6 billion), which includes video commerce sellers QVC and HSN; and Beyond Inc. ($1 billion). Lifestyle stores held onto the second largest share of the pie at 15.4%. However, this was down from last year, when the same five retailers Williams-Sonoma, Ikea, RH, Crate & Barrel and Arhaus accounted for 16.6% of the total. Absent from the roster of discounters is Big Lots, which began closing stores in 2024. In place of Big Lots, traditional furniture retailer Havertys was added to the Top 25. The consummation of the Mattress Firm/Tempur Sealy deal and the creation of the Somnigroup International, which encompasses both, will likely provide a numbers boost to the bedding specialty category. Likewise, the acquisition of Dufresne Spencer Group by Ashley Global Retail.
