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LGP and TOPSHOP: Why we care.

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By now you've probably heard. LGP has bought a 25% equity stake in TOPSHOP in a move to expand presence in the US. The entire deal was for $805 million almost DOUBLE the amount dealmakers initially thought they were going to get. For fashionistas out there reading this, I'm going to back up and explain who and what LGP is. Leonard Green & Partners is a private equity firm that tends to make significant investments in retailers like Whole Foods, JCrew, Neiman Marcus, PETCO and The Container Store. The firm's involvement is MAJOR since a ton of British brands have tried to come state side, and have failed. For market followers there are two major take aways: 1) with this investment, TOPSHOP is now valued at $3.2 billion and 2) the company is now cash positive and ready to make siginificant investments/acquisitions in other of the Arcadia businesses/companies. In the last year Arcadia (the holding company of Sir Philip Green's companies including Miss Selfridge, Evans, Dorothy Perkins) has seen a pre-tax profit increase of 25%.

And since it's Throwback Thursday, check out an old report I did for the launch of the TOPSHOP store here in NYC. Good times.

HIP Retail Detail: US port strike ends, Philip Green to sell Topshop stake + GAP stock pulls down sector

L.A. Ports Strike Ends, Focus Shifts East (via WWD): http://www.wwd.com/business-news/government-trade/la-ports-strike-settled-6521728?src=nl/newsAlert/20121205-3

Gap Stock Pulls Down Retail Sector http://www.wwd.com/business-news/financial/european-markets-edge-up-6518624?src=nl/newsAlert/20121204-4

Best Buy Moving Dividend Payment up to December in Anticipation of Potential Tax Increases for 2013 (via Bloomberg Businessweek): http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-12-05/best-buy-moving-up-dividend-payment-date-to-dec-dot

#SNAPchallenge organic menu: not just beans and rice

S.N.A.P. = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

When I think of budget eating I think of two food items: rice and beans. The thought of eating two things I can't stand for seven days straight made me dizzy and nervous. After careful thought and planning I came up with a menu that was 1) all organic ingredients 2) 80% vegetarian 3) had equal parts protien, veggies and fruit. THE problem with budget eating (and eating in general) in this country is that no one wants to take the time to plan out their meals. Slow down people! COOK more. It's healthy, cheaper and better for you.

TUESDAY:

Breakfast: banana, tea

Egg, toast + glass of milk

Lunch: Tuna sandwiches

Dinner: Asian noodle dish x 2

WEDNESDAY:

Breakfast: banana chia seed porriage, tea

Steel cut oats w/ almond milk, agave + frozen blueberries

Lunch: Tuna salad (artichoke hearts, cannelli beans, olive oil, green beans, onion)

butternut squash soup

Dinner: left over Asian noodles

THURSDAY:

Breakfast: banana, tea

Egg, toast + glass of milk

Lunch: Tuna sandwiches/lunch meat sandwhiches

Dinner: Beef burgers, roast veggies

FRIDAY: Breakfast: banana + chia seed porriage, tea

Egg, toast, + glass of milk

Lunch: Tuna + quinoa salad with Siracha sauce

Dinner: Potato Latkes and homemade apple sauce

SATURDAY:

Breakfast: banana + tea

Lunch: Egg sandwich + cheese

grilled cheese w/ tomato soup

Dinner: left over asian noodles OR pasta + homemade sauce

SUNDAY:

Breakfast: banana + tea

Lunch: Blueberry muffins/ eggs

Dinner: Beef patties + baked french fries

MONDAY:

Breakfast: Steel cut oatmeal + frozen fruit

Lunch: Tuna sandwiches + soup

Dinner left over pasta + meat balls

TUESDAY:

Breakfast: banana + tea

Lunch: Lunch meat sandwiches

Dinner: leftovers/soup

Bite on a budget: organic eating on $4 a day #SNAPchallenge

Let's be clear. I'm not here to judge what people eat. I'm fully aware that it's not easy to eat healthy when you are dealing with work/school/kids/husband/wife/life. But when Mayork of Newark, New Jersey Cory Booker announced he was planning to spend only $4 a day on food for a week (the same amount food stamp recipients get) as part of the #SNAPchallenge, I decided to one up him. MY plan was to spend $4 on food a day while ONLY eating organic food. What's more, I was going get my food at Whole Foods ($WFM)- easily one of the most expensive grocery stores in New York City. The point of me doing this wasn't to complain about not being able to drink my usual soy chai latte from Starbucks (which costs me $4.40 every morning) or worse, try and portray myself as some food martyr. Nope. I wanted to show everyone that if you had to live on only $4 a day, you could do it in a healthy way. Here's the list of items purchased:

Almond milk (Whole Foods Brand): $1.99 4 cans of Whole Foods brand tuna: $1.69 Imagine soup: 2 for $4.00 .5lbs of steel cut oats .25 lbs of quinoa 1.8 lbs of bananas at .89 cents 2.56 lbs of butternut squash @ $1.29 4 granny smith apples @ $2.99 per pound Box of shitake mushrooms Jewel yams (sweet potatoes) $1.99 per lbs .67 lbs of grass fed beef $6.69 6 cage-free eggs $2.19 2% milk @ $1.29 Andrew and Everrett Provolone cheese Wholefoods organic english muffins $2.99 Frozen edamame $2.49 Frozen organic wild blueberries $2.99 365 Whole Foods brand 2% milk

Total amount spent: $57.59 (the amount two adults living on food stamps for a week). I went over budget by 19 cents, but didn't realize being a member of the Wellness Club + using your own bag to carry groceries + giving back the glass milk bottles for deposit put our household under budget by $10. Cool, right?

Don't know what to tip this season? Read/watch THIS.

Going over budget for me is like a holiday tradition in itself.Every December since I've started working I put aside a certain amount of money to spend on dinners out, gifts, travel and of course tipping. Without fail, I ALWAYS go over budge. Now when I say "tipping" this isn't referring to servers at restaurants, cafes and bars. But since we are on the subject, you should always tip minimum 20% (or tax x 2) regardless of where you are in the country. In this case, "tipping" means that added cash bonus you give to the people who help you the most during the year. Kids baby sitters, hair/beauty technicians, mechanics, doormen (if you live in an apt), housekeepers (if you are lucky enough to have one) and teachers/trainers. With the economy on shakey ground, and uncertainty creeping into our bank accounts, the last thing you want to do is be a grinch- however, you also don't want to bankrupt yourself. Hence, the dilemma. I had the opportunity to break down my guidelines given the tough economy with Savannah Gutherie on the Today Show last Thursday. Check it:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Who is on your list to tip this year? Let's discuss!

Black Friday 2012 TV + Radio schedule

Whenever I have a TV or radio appearance the first thing I hear is this: "Why didn't you tell me? I would have tuned in!" This is mostly from family members who don't follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pintrest + refuse to use e-mail or cell phones. So to make life easier (and to spare you the incessant twittering + facebook updates/calls/smoke signals asking you to tune in), here is my schedule of appearances for the week which is taken from my weekly email to a group of tech savvy close friends and family. I hope you get a chance to watch and as always feel free to join the Black Friday discussion by emailing me or sending me a note on Facebook/Twitter. Or better yet, go analog and CALL ME. Sheesh. Wednesday November 21nd @ 11:30 am ET on MSNBC: Pre-Black Friday- what you need to know, what numbers is the National Retail Federation expecting for online and offline sales AND what is going on with that Wal-mart labor dispute?

Thursday November 22nd @ 7:00am ET on MSNBC: Cyber Monday- with so many retailers trying to take market share away from Amazon, how much to online sales really count? What can we expect for post Black Friday?

Friday November 23rd @ 5:30 am ET on CBS WOR 710 AM talk radio: Black Friday? More like "Black Quarter." Why retailers feel the need to start promotions in October and will that help sales?

THEN @7:15 am ET on FOX 5 Good Day NY: Mobile shopping and Black Friday: The best apps to use while trolling through the stores.

AND RIGHT AFTER THAT HIT: @ 8:30 am ET on MSNBC: Black Friday- how much are "Fiscal Cliff" and Super Storm Sandy fallout going to have an impact on shopping and consumer sentiment looking forward?

Saturday November 24th @7:20 am ET and 1:20pm ET on MSNBC: "3 Big Money Headlines." Can you guess what we are going to talk about? Black Friday, housing starts and $AAPL stock volatility.

Black Friday starting with Best Buy

Oh hi. Yes I know I've been away from the blog for a while and with good reason. With Black Market Billions off to an awesome start, I've been asked to write more books (3 to be exact). I've also been soul searching. Details for all projects including my "summer of Hitha" TK, but first let's get to Best Buy. This is a retailer I've been following closely since 2010. Why? Because it was once the star of the S&P and one of the bellwether retail stock. Um, not any more. Former Best Buy CEO, Brian Dunn made some pretty crap choices in the merchandising, product mix and overall sales strategy of the store. The result? Shoppers now go to Best Buy (which was once a destination to PURCHASE all things electronic and tech) to price compare. Sales have been slowly dropping off. And internet superstore Amazon is taking market share away from Best Buy. So here's a question- do you go to Best Buy only to price compare? If you do you aren't alone and Best Buy executives are finally cluing in. Here's the thing- they don't think there is anything WRONG with the idea of "showrooming." In fact, when new CEO Hubert Joly presented his five step plan to get the company back on track at the investor day, showrooming was one area he wanted to focus on. Question is-- will it help or is it a case of "too little, too late?" The awesome Jeff Macke host of Yahoo! Finance show Breakout and I agree- the concept of a showroom is quickly becoming a thing of the past. And Best Buy better realize that-- FAST.