Retailer briefs: Lowe’s acquisition, J.C. Penney staffing

• Lowes to expand its California footprint
Lowe's agreed to buy Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. for $205 million, as the California-based Orchard filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday (June 17).

Under the agreement, Lowe's would acquire at least 60 of Orchard's 91 stores, with an option to buy the rest.

The hardware-and-garden chain, based in San Jose, Calif., employs about 5,400 people on the West Coast and carries about $230 million in debt. It was spun off by Sears Holdings Corp. in 2012.

The deal calls for Lowe's to serve as a so-called stalking-horse bidder in an auction of Orchard's assets. Such a bidder agrees to buy assets for a certain price that others can later top. The opening bidder usually gets a fee if it ends up losing at the auction.

If completed, the deal would help Lowe's expand its footprint in California, where the majority of Orchard's stores are located.

• J.C. Penney seeks to increase staff visibility
Before the back-to-school shopping season next month, store workers at J.C. Penney will be asked to don red branded lanyards and the company also is considering changing the relaxed dress code.

CEO Mike Ullman told Bloomberg, “We want to make sure there is no doubt who works for us.”

The 20 or so store workers armed with tablet checkout devices in each store will now wear a gray sash that serves as a holster. The chain is also adding signs explaining how to check out to avoid confusion in what the retailer hopes is a busy back-to-school season.