Payless to close rest of its U.S. stores
NEW YORK -- Payless ShoeSource is shuttering all of its 2,100 remaining stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, joining a list of iconic names like Toys R Us and Bon-Ton that have been shuttered in the past year.
The Topeka, Kan.-based chain said Friday that it will hold liquidation sales starting Sunday and wind down its e-commerce operations. All stores will remain open until at least the end of March and the majority will remain open until May.
The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2017, closing hundreds of stores as part of its reorganization.
At the time, it had over 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries. It re-emerged from restructuring four months later with about 3,500 stores and eliminated more than $435 million in debt.
-- The Associated Press
Exit of FedEx executive jolts Wall Street
FedEx Corp. threw Wall Street for a loop, announcing the resignation of CEO Fred Smith's top deputy just weeks after he joined the company's board.
Raj Subramaniam will take over as president and chief operating officer March 1, replacing David Bronczek, the shipping giant said in a statement Thursday. Bronczek, 64, made a "personal decision" to retire, the company said. He had been with FedEx since 1976, serving in several key executive roles.
The sudden departure -- and a subdued sendoff from Smith -- immediately made waves on Wall Street. Bronczek had just been named to the board Jan. 28, a month after Subramaniam, 52, was promoted to lead FedEx Express, the company's largest business unit. The latest change vaults Subramaniam to the front of the line as heir apparent to Smith, 74, as FedEx contends with a slowdown in international markets and a lagging stock price.
"Something must have surfaced in the last two weeks to bring about this change. There's no other way it could happen," said Satish Jindel, founder of SJ Consulting Group. "It just doesn't seem normal. You don't appoint someone to the board and then in two weeks you say he's retiring."
The shares fell 2.5 percent to $179.30 Friday in New York. FedEx fell 24 percent over the 12 months through Thursday, compared with a 4.9 percent gain for rival United Parcel Service Inc.
-- Bloomberg News
Airline declares 'operational emergency'
Southwest Airlines Co. declared an "operational emergency" Friday because of an unusually high number of aircraft taken out of service for maintenance, and ordered all scheduled mechanics to show up for work or risk being fired.
Workers "alleging illness" will be required to provide a doctor's note on their first day back at work, the airline said in a memo. Some workers might be called in on overtime, the carrier said, and those refusing to report for duty could face firing.
"This is not the type of communication I (or any leader) want to issue, but it is necessary to get our aircraft back in service in order to serve our customers," according to the memo from Lonnie Warren, senior director of technical operations.
The number of planes taken out of service recently has more than doubled from the daily average of about 20, Southwest said in a statement, "with no common theme among the reported items." The Dallas-based carrier had 750 Boeing Co. 737 aircraft in its fleet at the end of 2018, and operational planners have been working to minimize the effect on customers.
-- Bloomberg News
Mexico sets Pemex aid at up to $5.5B
MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced a $3.9 billion bailout for the country's cash-strapped, state-owned oil company Friday and promised it an additional $1.6 billion in revenue, making it a rescue package of up to $5.5 billion.
Lopez Obrador has made rescuing Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, a centerpiece of his first 100 days in office, launching an offensive against fuel-theft gangs that drill illegal taps into Pemex pipelines. The extra revenue is expected to come from increased sales for the company as sources of stolen fuel dry up.
The government package includes assuming pension debt, injecting cash and cutting taxes for the company. But the assistance plan is tiny in comparison with the staggering $43.8 billion in debt the company has incurred since 2013.
Lopez Obrador sees the company, which was nationalized in 1938 by his hero, President Lazaro Cardenas, as a national symbol and engine for the economy.
-- The Associated Press
Toro to buy Ditch Witch maker for $700M
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Bloomington-based The Toro Co. has announced plans to purchase the Oklahoma-based company that manufactures Ditch Witch and other underground construction equipment.
Toro said in a news release Friday that it will pay $700 million in cash for The Charles Machine Works, a privately held company based in Perry, Okla.
The proposed sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
Toro chairman and CEO Richard Olson said The Charles Machine Works will strengthen Toro's portfolio that includes turf maintenance, snow and ice management, landscaping and construction equipment.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 02/16/2019