News Briefs

The sport of Pickleball is sweeping the nation, and a new club is soon arriving at the Randhurst Commons Shopping Center in the Chicago suburbs.

Utah-based indoor pickleball franchise The Picklr will open its new slub at the Mount Prospect, Ill. shopping center, located across from the Randhurst Village powercenter, in late summer of this year. Spanning over 42,000 sq. ft, the facility will feature 14 premium indoor courts, including 12 regulation courts and two championship courts, in addition to two warm-up/dink courts.

North Shore Pickleball Group will be opening additional Picklr locations in the North Shore and northern suburbs of Chicago in 2025. The Picklr already has a club open in Naperville, with Mundelein and Villa Park opening this summer.

The Mount Prospect announcement comes as other pickleball franchises, such as Chicken N Pickle and Ace Pickleball Club, continue to grow their footprints while the sport gains popularity.

“By bringing The Picklr to Mount Prospect the entire community – not just Mount Prospect itself, but also surrounding suburbs, will benefit from the best-in-class indoor pickleball experience offered anywhere,” said Ron Weiland, co-founder of North Shore Pickleball Group. “The Picklr takes indoor pickleball to the next level with state-of-the-art clubs, all-inclusive, one-price memberships, combined with a "player-first" optimal environment and unmatched programming for all ages, making The Picklr your best choice for indoor pickleball."

The Picklr operates more than 250 clubs total.

Batteries Plus has promoted its chief strategy officer to a new role.

The consumer and business specialty battery chain has announced that Jon Sica will now serve as chief operating officer. Sica joined Batteries Plus in 2019 as chief strategy officer, where he helped lead the chain’s expansion, before becoming chief business officer in 2021.

In his new role, Sica will oversee key areas of the business, including commercial sales and retail operations support. He joined the Batteries Plus team after serving a stint at Texas burger chain Whataburger, and previously spent nearly a decade at hunting and outdoors retailer Cabela’s in a number of positions.

"Jon's ability to build and empower strong, diverse teams has led to some of our greatest successes in the last five years," said Scott Williams, Batteries Plus CEO. "Great execution is key to our culture and results, and Jon is the perfect choice to guide the teams who are driving it every day.”

The specialty retailer’s current expansion plan is set to outpace the 30 new stores it opened in 2023. A majority of these new locations are in the South, including four in Texas, three in Georgia, and a store in Puerto Rico. The company also ended the year with 54 newly-signed franchise agreements.

Founded in 1988, Batteries Plus is headquartered in Hartland, Wisc., and operates over 800 locations nationwide.

Sam Ash Music is going dark.

The family-operated, 100-year-old music instruments retailer announced that, with a heavy heart,” it was closing all 42 stores nationwide.  The New York-based retailer said store closing sales started May 2.

“This unfortunate news also presents a fantastic opportunity for great deals across our premium selection of musical instruments & pro sound equipment,” the Ash family said in the announcement, which was posted on its website and Facebook page. “We will also be offering specials on samash.com during this time. Thank you for allowing us to serve musicians like you for 100 years.”

News of the store closings spread quickly on social media as fans posted fond memories of Sam Ash stores. 

Sam Ash was founded by immigrant Sam Ash, a violinist from Austria, who opened a store in 1924, in New York City. It has always been family-run, with the fourth generation now at the helm, and has stayed true to its longtime motto was “come in and play.”

Walmart is streamlining the process for customers to support local schools with their purchases.

In time for Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-10), Walmart shoppers can now give back to their school of choice by connecting their Walmart account within the Box Tops For Education app to earn cash for schools. (The Box Tops school fundraising program was founded by General Mills in 1996.)

Utilizing Box Tops' new "Connected Accounts" app feature, consumers can purchase products that participate in Box Tops for Education at a Walmart store or on its e-commerce site and automatically earn money for their selected schools without having to go through the usual process of scanning or submitting receipts.

"Since 1996, schools have earned nearly $1 billion through Box Tops for Education, and data shows a large amount of our program supporters are Walmart shoppers," said Lilly Moeding, Box Tops for Education brand experience manager. "Box Tops has always been one of the easiest ways to support schools and teachers, and we’re excited to make it even easier by partnering with Walmart on our new Connected Accounts app feature. "Now you can earn cash for your school every time you buy Box Tops products at Walmart — with no scanning required."

Headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates approximately 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries.

A longtime mall staple is going dark. 

Long-struggling teen apparel and accessories retailer  Rue 21 filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of  Delaware. It plans to close its 540 stores in the next four to six weeks and sell its intellectual property. 

Rue21, which previously filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and 2017, has hired Gordon Brothers to assist with the store closing sales. (As part of its 2017 bankruptcy, the chain closed approximately 400 stores.) 

In its filing, Rue 21 also said that its debtors have recently experienced operational losses resulting from, among other things, “under-performing retail locations, increased industry competition and the uptick in online shopping, inflation and macroeconomic headwinds, and challenges raising capital.”\

The company also said it tried to sell its business, but could not find a buyer willing to pay more than the projected assets that would come with conducting store closing sales and liquidating its assets. Rue 21 has of between $100 million and $500 million, and liabilities in the same range, according to court documents.

Rue 21’s filing comes two weeks after fashion retailer Express filed for bankruptcy with plans to close 95 namesake stores (including full-price and factory outlet stores) and all 10 UpWest locations.  Express operates a total of 450 locations. 

Based in Warrendale, Pa., Rue 21 is backed by financial firms Blue Torch Capital and Nut Tree Capital Management.

The Kroger Co. is investing in its hometown region.

The grocery giant plans to invest a total of $84 million to renovate 15 stores, including 12 in the Greater Cincinnati area, and open one new store, in Hamilton Township, Ohio. The renovations are scheduled to begin this year.

The 15 Kroger locations that will be remodeled are located in:

• Mt. Washington
• Sharonville
• Colerain
• West Chester
• Middletown
• Kings Mills
• Blue Ash
• Green Township
• Monfort Heights
• Fairfield
• Lebanon
• Two locations in Kettering
• Huber Heights
• Connorsville, Ind.

"This investment is yet another demonstration of the commitment Kroger makes each and every day to the customers and communities in which we serve," said Ann Reed, Cincinnati/Dayton division president, in a statement. "It also reconfirms our dedication to increasing career advancement for our associates, economic growth and supporting local producers who supply our stores with high quality products."