• Bloomberg reports that as Toys R Us faced near-certain death earlier this year, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, “which had already scooped up several troubled retailers, held advanced talks with Toys R Us about acquiring the chain and keeping open half its 800 U.S. locations.”
In addition, the story says, sources say that “Target Corp. also seriously pursued buying some of the retailer’s assets, including the parent registry and website of its Babies R Us brand … But those potential deals collapsed in February when the retailer’s senior creditors decided there would be a better return by selling off assets during a liquidation of the U.S. retail business.”
• The Washington Post reports that “KFC in Britain is experimenting with a vegetarian version of the founder’s famous fried chicken,” a decision linked to the company’s efforts to reduce the calorie counts of various meals, as recommended by UK health authorities.
“The menu revamp will apparently include a veggie interpretation of Col. Harland Sanders’s chicken … The faux-meat bird is expected to roll out later this year.”
The story notes that this represents a radical move to experiment with “the top-secret Original Recipe chicken, the one with 11 herbs and spices that (reportedly) only two executives have access to at any one time.” There also is no word whether the recipe could be rolled out elsewhere in the world if it is successful in the UK.
In addition, the story says, sources say that “Target Corp. also seriously pursued buying some of the retailer’s assets, including the parent registry and website of its Babies R Us brand … But those potential deals collapsed in February when the retailer’s senior creditors decided there would be a better return by selling off assets during a liquidation of the U.S. retail business.”
• The Washington Post reports that “KFC in Britain is experimenting with a vegetarian version of the founder’s famous fried chicken,” a decision linked to the company’s efforts to reduce the calorie counts of various meals, as recommended by UK health authorities.
“The menu revamp will apparently include a veggie interpretation of Col. Harland Sanders’s chicken … The faux-meat bird is expected to roll out later this year.”
The story notes that this represents a radical move to experiment with “the top-secret Original Recipe chicken, the one with 11 herbs and spices that (reportedly) only two executives have access to at any one time.” There also is no word whether the recipe could be rolled out elsewhere in the world if it is successful in the UK.
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