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Genesco closes 25 stores as footwear retailer seeks to boost profits

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Genesco closes 25 stores as footwear retailer seeks to boost profits

Retail footwear veteran Genesco Inc. is shuttering more than two dozen underperforming stores as part of a broader push to reduce its physical footprint, cut overhead and boost overall profitability.

The Nashville-based parent company of Journeys, Johnston & Murphy and U.K.-based Schuh closed 25 retail stores during its second quarter of fiscal 2027. 

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With three new openings, the net reduction brought its total store fleet down to 1,186 – a 5% drop in total retail space from the same period last year. The quarterly cuts were led by teen retailer Journeys, Schuh and Johnston & Murphy, with 17, six and two closures, respectively. 

LULULEMON BILLIONAIRE CHIP WILSON, WIFE DIVORCING AFTER 20-PLUS YEARS WITHOUT PRENUP: REPORT

Mimi Vaughn, president and chief executive officer of Genesco Inc.

Mimi Vaughn, president and chief executive officer of Genesco Inc., stands for a photograph in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (Eilon Paz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Genesco says its reduced square footage is part of a deliberate operational pivot. Net sales dropped 3% to $530 million, but management cited store closures, reduced promotional discounting and license transitions as intentional moves that sacrificed top-line revenue to secure healthier margins.

Genesco Inc. Journeys distribution center

Genesco is the parent company of Journeys, Johnston & Murphy and U.K.-based Schuh. (Eilon Paz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The lower store count and a disciplined pull-back on price cuts helped adjusted gross margins expand 140 basis points to 47.2%.

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Meanwhile, flagship brand Journeys posted a 2% gain in comparable sales, marking its eighth consecutive quarter of growth, while Johnston & Murphy comparable sales grew 4%. Genesco also significantly cleaned up its balance sheet, slashing total debt from $71 million a year ago to $15.8 million.

BUC-EE’S CEO SIGNALS EXPANSION SHIFT AWAY FROM BLUE STATES THAT ‘DON’T APPRECIATE’ CHAIN

Genesco Inc. Journeys distribution center in Lebanon, Tennessee

Genesco says its reduced square footage is part of a deliberate operational pivot. (Eilon Paz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Beyond shutting doors, the retailer is aggressively targeting operational costs. A company-wide efficiency push – fueled by store remodeling, automation, and AI integration – is projected to save between $40 million and $50 million through fiscal 2029.

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With strong back-to-school demand lifting Journeys’ sales to mid-single-digit growth in August, Genesco raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to the high end of its $2 to $2.40 per share range. For investors, the company’s 25 store closures represent a tactical trim, exchanging sheer size for a leaner, higher-margin operation.

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Fox News host Maria Bartiromo disputes termination

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Maria Bartiromo disputes reports of Fox News termination

Host Maria Bartiromo poses as New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo visits “Mornings With Maria” at Fox Business Network Studios on October 29, 2025 in New York City.

Roy Rochlin | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Maria Bartiromo is disputing reports that she was terminated from her longtime gig as a host of various segments for cable TV networks Fox News and Fox Business.

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“The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false,” her attorney said in a Friday statement. “Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.”

Fox News, in response to Bartiromo’s comments Friday, said its brief statement from a day earlier “speaks for itself.” 

On Thursday, Fox Corp.’s Fox News Media announced Bartiromo had parted ways with its networks.

“We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,” Fox News said in Thursday’s statement, without providing reasoning or cause for her departure.

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Various media outlets have since reported that Bartiromo was fired for violating company policy.

A former CNBC anchor, Bartiromo led the daily show “Mornings with Maria,” as well as the Friday program “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street,” on Fox Business Network. She also led Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” The conservative network Fox News is the top-rated cable TV news channel in the U.S.

Bartiromo was one of the Fox News anchors named in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case in which the company accused Fox of making false on-air allegations that Dominion had helped rig the 2020 presidential election when Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.

While Bartiromo was scheduled to testify as a witness if the lawsuit went to trial, Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle the lawsuit in 2023. Fox faces a similar ongoing defamation lawsuit with Smartmatic USA, in which Bartiromo is also a defendant.

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U.S. defense, energy add to Detroit automakers rivalry

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U.S. defense, energy add to Detroit automakers rivalry

The GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle was engineered to meet U.S. military specifications. It is based on the automaker’s off-road Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize truck architecture.

GM Defense

DETROIT — General Motors and Ford Motor have rivaled each other for more than a century in racing, vehicle sales and many other automobile-related activities.

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But their latest battlegrounds have moved to actual battlefields and the U.S. energy grid.

Ford joined GM this year in seeking U.S. military contracts after the Trump administration approached U.S. companies about assisting the military with their expertise in mass manufacturing. The automakers’ efforts so far are largely focused on military vehicles, but could grow with time.

Simultaneously, both companies are entering the energy storage system, or ESS, market amid an expected growing need related to rising consumer energy costs and data centers. Energy storage systems use a lot of the same underlying technology as electric vehicle batteries to store power for homes, businesses and even utilities.

Both markets are viewed by Wall Street analysts as new potential growth areas for the automakers. At one point, it was thought new opportunities might come from all-electric vehicles, but Ford and GM have since lost billions of dollars on those efforts.

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“They’re looking for new verticals,” Morningstar senior equity analyst David Whiston told CNBC. “Ford’s following GM’s lead into defense, and energy makes a lot of sense because you have all this EV capacity that now you don’t need. So instead of selling those factories, it’s a way to try and capitalize on the data center boom.”

The two markets are expected to be small portions of the companies’ focus and revenue for the foreseeable future, but they could help the automakers diversify their operations and complement their core businesses as new vehicle sales slow in the U.S.

“It’ll be hard to move the needle here massively, given the auto business’s top line, but it certainly can be helpful,” Whiston said.

Energy storage

The global ESS market is estimated to grow from $668.7 billion in 2024 to $5.12 trillion by 2034, according to research and consulting firm Global Market Insights. As part of that, the firm expects to see a significant expansion in the U.S.

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“We’re seeing this huge projection of growth, and it’s already started growing,” Devon Wilson, vice president of sales and marketing at LG Energy Solution’s U.S. energy storage division, said during a recent event. “There’s a massive amount of just fundamental electricity need within the country.”

GM and Ford are attempting to capitalize on such expected growth to fill a void. The companies invested billions of dollars in plants to produce battery cells to meet EV demand that didn’t materialize.

GM’s energy business does not currently offer its own ESS, but its military division does and its Ultium Cells joint venture in Tennessee produces cells for its partner LG Energy Solution for storage.

Long-term, GM could move further into ESS, including developing next-generation sodium-ion batteries with Denver-based startup Peak Energy. Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery and sustainability, said he believes that technology can reshape grid-scale energy storage.

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Why automakers are betting big on energy storage

“We’re developing the cells right now. The performance on these cells is tremendous,” Kelty said. “The ESS market is a very attractive market. It’s a big market. It’s growing very quickly, and it’s something that we can contribute to.”

GM also has a partnership with Redwood Materials for reusing its large EV batteries for energy storage systems. GM also offers EV charging and ESS for residential use through its energy unit.

Meanwhile, Ford said in December that it plans to spend $2 billion to launch an energy business, including converting a Kentucky battery factory it had recently built with partner SK On to make units for energy storage by late 2027. It also plans to devote some factory space to make cells for residential storage at a factory in Marshall, Michigan.

“Investors see value in Ford’s ESS business,” Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco said in an investor note in June. He’s also called it an “underappreciated driver” of a path to profitability for Ford’s Model e electric vehicle business.

Ford Energy is part of the company’s Model e electric vehicle segment, which has guided for $4 billion in losses in 2026 before reaching breakeven by 2029. A key turning point is expected to be the company’s ESS business coming online in 2027.

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The Ford BlueOval Battery Park under construction in Marshall, Michigan. The plant will produce lithium-ion phosphate batteries for electric vehicles and smaller batteries for household use.

Jim West | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors on the automaker’s second-quarter earnings call in July that it’s in the “third inning” of selling out the 20 gigawatt hours of production capacity for ESS after announcing a five-year framework agreement with renewable-energy service provider EDF Power Solutions North America.

Defense industry

GM is years ahead of Ford when it comes to the U.S. defense industry. GM resurrected its defense unit in 2017 after a 14-year hiatus.

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It has worked with the U.S. military on many projects, but the automaker was recently awarded a contract by the U.S. Army to build infantry squad vehicles, or ISVs, that it said could exceed $1 billion, depending on congressional appropriations.

While the contract amount is small compared with the company’s $48 billion in revenue during the second quarter, the opportunities for the automotive industry in U.S. military operations are expected to grow.

“Leveraging the capabilities, the scalability and the manufacturing abilities that come with all of the automotive companies and their tiered supplier is a huge benefit,” Alfred Grein, executive director for research and technology integration for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center, told CNBC.

GM said it expects its 2026 defense revenue to grow to almost $700 million and is targeting positive results on an earnings before interest and tax basis this year, while also building a backlog of future business.

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“We are also working with Lockheed Martin and other leading companies to expand speed, scale and resilience in the defense industrial base,” GM CEO Mary Barra told investors in July. “Over time, all of this should make GM Defense a more meaningful and diversified contributor to our earnings.”

GM Defense’s next-generation prototype tactical vehicle.

Courtesy image

Grein, who manages the technology of manned and unmanned ground systems throughout the U.S. Army, said the Trump administration has made it easier for new companies, including automakers, to be granted such contracts. He also said domestic manufacturing in the U.S. is critical.

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“Obviously, the concern about foreign entities’ involvement in particularly Department of Defense product becomes more and more crucial,” Grein said.

GM and Ford were included in a group of companies that were awarded prototype contracts to produce heavy infantry squad vehicles, which are bulkier versions of what the companies have worked on previously.

Ford has not released many details about its U.S. defense efforts. The automaker on Wednesday, though, announced a tie-up with General Dynamics Land Systems and engineering firm Ricardo to compete for a next-generation vehicle for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence’s Light Mobility Vehicle program.

The defense efforts of GM and Ford are the latest in a long line of such initiatives, including, most notably, the “Arsenal of Democracy” during World War II in which the companies worked with the U.S. and the Allied nations to provide military supplies to fight Nazi Germany.

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“We already dominate in that market in the commercial world. We want to offer the U.S. government the same advantages that our commercial customers get,” Farley told investors in July. “It’s a great opportunity for us. … We are discussing, continue to discuss, additional defense-related projects with the U.S. government.”

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Campbell’s to promote Rao’s, launch broths in 2027

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Building straw homes could help tackle UK housing shortage, study suggests

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Researchers at the University of Bath say the biggest barriers are not material scarcity but current systems and policy

English Heritage volunteers help re-thatch one of the reconstructions of a Neolithic house in Wiltshire

Straw could be used to help build more houses in the UK according to new research(Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

The UK could meet its housing targets by building houses using straw, according to a new study.

According to researchers at the University of Bath, Britain could build 300,000 new homes each year by swapping high-carbon building materials for straw without running out of supply.

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The UK produces around 9.9 million tonnes of straw every year – far more than would be needed as a construction material to meet the government’s targets.

The study found that agricultural straw – a co-product of cereal farming – could replace high-emission materials such as concrete and steel, while storing carbon in buildings.

Despite being a renewable and low-carbon building material, very little straw is currently used in British construction. In the UK, less than 20 new homes a year are built with straw.

It is mainly used as livestock bedding and feed, or ploughed back into fields to improve the soil. It’s also used for energy generation, horticulture, and sometimes mushroom cultivation.

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“The key barrier to adopting straw houses is not the availability of the raw material, but the need for stronger supply chains, clearer regulation, and greater acceptance in the construction industry,” the University of Bath said.

The study shows that scaling up straw construction could cut emissions from building construction while also storing between 1.8 and 3.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

Researchers analysed how straw is currently used and tested multiple scenarios for redirecting its supply into construction.

They found that diverting straw from other sectors, such as reallocating the supply from bioenergy or industrial uses, would provide enough material to build up to 300,000 low-rise buildings, and just 60 per cent of the straw left in fields would be needed to satisfy this demand.

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Growing more straw on currently unused land could supply enough material for around 163,000 homes, with diversion from other industries needed to meet housing targets, the study said.

The research found barriers include a lack of established supply chains between farms and building sites; a limited pool of specialised builders familiar with straw-based construction; and slow uptake due to builders, lenders and insurers looking to minimise the risk of alternative materials.

“The findings suggest that straw provides a clear opportunity for the UK to cut construction emissions while accelerating homebuilding significantly; however, coordinated policy support, regulation and market incentives are needed to unlock straw’s true potential,” the University of Bath added.

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Hunter Biden announces $LAPTOP meme coin launch on Base blockchain

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Hunter Biden announces $LAPTOP meme coin launch on Base blockchain

Hunter Biden is teasing the launch of a cryptocurrency meme coin inspired by his notorious laptop as his next business venture.

“$LAPTOP September 9,” Biden wrote Monday on X, sharing a video of media reports referencing infamous computer that was left at a Delaware repair shop before its contents were released in an October surprise during the 2020 presidential election.

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$LAPTOP will launch Wednesday on the Base ledger under Coinbase Global, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

HUNTER BIDEN ART SALES DRAW SCRUTINY FROM GOP LAWMAKERS

Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden is launch a new meme coin $LAPTOP being released Wednesday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Biden teased his latest financial foray back in June in an X post, where he denounced many of President Donald Trump’s initiatives and called them a distraction.

“Things we’re told to fight about: Me. Laptop. Vaccines. Transgenders in sports. Pronouns,” Biden wrote on June 5. 

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“Fiat is a sham, the banking class is corrupt, decentralized digital currency and the blockchain are the inevitable future, and the incumbents will fight it to the death,” he added in a reply.

WHAT ARE MEME COINS? THE HIGH-RISK CRYPTO ASSETS EXPLAINED

Bitcoin and binary code

Representation of Bitcoin is seen with binary code displayed on a laptop screen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland, on Aug. 17, 2021. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Meme coins are not backed by underlying protocols or utility, deriving value almost entirely from social media hype, viral trends and speculative sentiment, making them unpredictable assets where prices can crash as quickly as they surge.

There will reportedly be 1 billion $Laptop tokens issued, with 30% held by Biden and the founders and locked for six months, fully vesting in two years. Another 20% of the tokens will be distributed in two batches to holders who lost money on Trump’s $TRUMP meme coin, as well as subscribers to Biden’s Substack.

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The other half billion tokens will go to liquidity and operations (20%) and 30% to a deflationary “event burn” on 30 real-world triggers over a specified timeframe — including whether a Democrat wins the 2028 presidential election, Bitcoin reaches a new all-time high, or $LAPTOP’s valuation flips $TRUMP, according to the Journal.

In a July Substack, Hunter Biden detailed the story of his infamous laptop and how it chronicled his struggles with addition.

COINBASE SHARES SOAR AMID GROWING DECENTRALIZED FINANCE INTEREST

Elon Musk shows off DOGE shirt

Elon Musk has been a leader of the meme coin craze with the DOGE coin before bringing the Department of Government Efficiency to President Donald Trump’s White House. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

“So. The laptop. Here is what was on it. Twenty years of my life, or a version of it,” he wrote on X. “Messages sent at hours that don’t belong to anyone sober. Photographs I would never have taken in daylight. A record of every way a body can fail its owner when the owner has stopped trying to help. None of it is a single dramatic moment. It is accumulation, the slow daily work of an addict doing the thing that is killing him because the alternative feels like dying faster.”

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“All of that was on it,” he said. “I am not denying any of it.”

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GBTC GRAYSCALE BITCOIN TRUST ETF – USD ACC 60.90 -0.83 -1.34%
COIN COINBASE GLOBAL INC. 184.64 -8.06 -4.18%
META META PLATFORMS INC. 616.77 +6.09 +1.00%
DJT TRUMP MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY GROUP CORP 9.02 -0.50 -5.25%

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“That is not a small thing to say,” he added. “I have spent years in rooms where men and women with far less scrutiny than I have faced tore themselves apart trying to account for what they did in the middle of their disease.”

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UK’s third-biggest taxpayer to leave for Greece

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UK's third-biggest taxpayer to leave for Greece

Chris Rokos, the hedge fund billionaire ranked third on The Sunday Times list of Britain’s top taxpayers after paying £330m last year, has decided to leave the UK for Greece and plans to open an office in Athens, according to reports first published by Bloomberg.

His representatives declined to comment, and his reasons for the move are not publicly known.

Greece allows foreigners who meet certain criteria to pay a flat annual tax of €100,000 (£86,000) on all overseas income, however much they earn.

Rokos’s departure follows that of the steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who moved his tax residency to Switzerland after the abolition of non-dom status, as Business Matters has reported.

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A government spokesperson said: “The UK remains an attractive destination for talent and investment.” The spokesperson added that “the chancellor has made wealth creation one of his top priorities” and that the UK has “a competitive and stable tax system, deep capital markets, world-class universities and a highly skilled workforce”.

Dan Neidle, the founder of the think tank Tax Policy Associates, told the BBC’s Today programme that the £330m in tax revenue the UK could lose was “quite a lot of money”. “It is enough to fund 4,500 teachers… we have entire taxes that raise less than £330m,” he said. “He will probably pay almost nothing in Greece, and we can’t compete with that.”

Neidle said there were “no easy answers and no good statistics” on the question of ultra-wealthy taxpayers leaving the UK. The Treasury has some estimates of the number of wealthy people departing, he said, but otherwise there are few facts about the true scale of the revenue loss. “We have lots of anecdotes… what we don’t really have is data,” he said.

He said the government needed to “give certainty” to ultra-wealthy people living in the UK, arguing that repeated changes to the non-dom regime, which was abolished and replaced with a residence-based system from 6 April 2025, and reports of a possible wealth tax did not help. “Stop rumours, stop tinkering,” he said.

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Rokos’s decision comes ahead of the chancellor John Healey’s first budget on 28 October. In an interview with the BBC on 7 September, Healey did not rule out tax increases, with a recent rise in government borrowing costs adding pressure on the public finances.

He refused to comment on any decisions about tax, promising only to “balance the books” and “control public spending”.

In March 2026, Rokos said he would donate £190m to the University of Cambridge, which described the sum as “the largest single donation made to a British university in modern times”. The money will be used to create a school of government named after him, with the aim of training leaders of the future, and it is set to open in autumn 2026.

Announcing the gift on 31 March, the university said Rokos had agreed an initial £130m, with further gifts of up to £60m to be matched by Cambridge. Its announcement described him as the founder of Rokos Capital Management, which manages more than $22bn, and a founding partner of Brevan Howard Asset Management.

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Despite the donation to Cambridge, Rokos is an Oxford graduate, having studied mathematics at Pembroke College. He attended a state primary school before winning a scholarship to Eton College.


Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

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The Easy Home Buyer Builds a Homeowner First Culture Through Trust and Accountability

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The Easy Home Buyer Builds a Homeowner First Culture Through Trust and Accountability

The Easy Home Buyer has grown in a business where speed often gets the most attention. Cash offers, fast closings, and as-is sales are usually the visible parts of the company’s work. Chad Young has tried to build something less visible but more lasting: a culture that teaches its team to understand the homeowner first.

That distinction matters. Many sellers who contact a direct home buyer are not simply comparing numbers. They may be facing an inherited property, divorce, foreclosure, costly repairs, a tenant problem, or a family transition. Some need someone to explain whether a cash sale is even the right option.

Young’s view is direct. The Easy Home Buyer should be “advisors first and house buyers secondly.” That idea has shaped hiring, training, leadership development, vendor relationships, and the way the team communicates with sellers across the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area.

A Business Built Around Listening

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The Easy Home Buyer began with Chad and Bree Young after years of operating Young’s Quality Cleaning. That earlier business taught them the satisfaction of improving neglected spaces and seeing a finished result. In 2020, they bought their first home to renovate and resell. The process gave them a new way to apply the same instinct: solve a practical problem, improve a property, and leave something better behind.

Company materials describe the first seller, Penny, as an important part of that origin story. She needed to move back to Seattle after a difficult season, and she wanted a simple way to leave her house behind. The transaction mattered, but the conversation mattered more. Chad listened, asked what would help, and came away with a deeper understanding of what the company could become.

The lesson was straightforward: sellers often need relief before they need a sales pitch. They need someone to ask the right questions, explain the tradeoffs, and respect the decision that follows. That lesson became one of the quiet building blocks of the company’s operating culture for its team as it grew locally.

Advisors First, Home Buyers Second

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Young does not believe every homeowner needs a cash offer. That principle is central to the company’s culture because it changes the starting point of every conversation.

Instead of leading with a purchase price, the team is trained to ask questions. What is the seller’s timeline? What condition is the home in? Is the homeowner trying to avoid repairs, settle an estate, resolve a title issue, or move quickly because of a life change? Could listing the home make more sense? Would another option produce a better outcome?

Young has said the company wants homeowners to have enough information to make a qualified decision. That includes explaining when an as-is cash sale may produce a similar net result to a traditional listing after repairs, commissions, closing costs, taxes, and other fees are considered. It also includes acknowledging when a direct sale is not the best path.

That approach places education before conversion. It also requires discipline. A company cannot claim to be homeowner-first if every conversation is treated as a transaction to be won. The Easy Home Buyer has built its reputation around the belief that the right recommendation may sometimes be the one that does not lead to a purchase.

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Hiring For Character Before Skill

For Young, culture starts before a person is hired. He believes skill sets can be trained, but character cannot be manufactured after the fact.

That belief affects the interview process. The company looks for emotional intelligence, steadiness, and the ability to communicate with people who may be under pressure. Experience in real estate can help, but it is not treated as the only measure of fit. In a business built around sensitive conversations, the wrong temperament can create problems no script can fix.

The Easy Home Buyer’s team often enters situations where people are overwhelmed, frustrated, embarrassed, or unsure whom to trust. A seller may be dealing with deferred maintenance. Another may be sorting through a family estate. Another may be managing foreclosure or divorce. The employee sitting at the kitchen table has to know more than numbers.

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That is why Young places such weight on character. A person can learn how to estimate repairs, review comparable sales, or explain a closing timeline. It is harder to teach patience, tact, and judgment to know when a seller needs space to talk before decisions are made.

Training People For Hard Conversations

The Easy Home Buyer also supports its team through leadership coaching. Young has brought in coaches to speak with staff about emotional intelligence, difficult conversations, empathy, and tact. The goal is not to make employees sound polished. It is to help them communicate in the way each homeowner needs to be addressed.

This matters because direct home buying can involve high-stakes conversations. The seller is often making a decision tied to memory, family, money, and pressure. A rushed answer can make the process feel impersonal. A vague answer can create mistrust. A defensive response can turn a difficult moment into a worse one.

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Leadership coaching gives the team a shared language for those moments. It reinforces company values and gives managers a way to develop people beyond technical ability. Over time, that training helps create a more consistent customer experience.

Technology That Protects The Human Element

Young sees technology as useful, but not as a substitute for human contact. The Easy Home Buyer uses AI and other tools to improve response times, prepare documents, check for errors, and keep internal processes moving. In that sense, technology helps the company become more organized and responsive.

Yet Young’s view is that technology should create more room for people, not less. If software reduces administrative work, team members can spend more time understanding a seller’s needs. If documents are reviewed faster and more accurately, the team can focus on the conversation rather than the paperwork.

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The company’s business still depends on the face-to-face element. Young has described sitting across from homeowners at their dinner table as part of the foundation of the company. Technology can support the process, but it cannot replace trust built in person.

Accountability As A Service Standard

When asked what makes a successful real estate investment company from the homeowner’s perspective, Young gave a simple answer: do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it.

The Easy Home Buyer’s core value of “Full Ownership” connects with that idea. Accountability is not only about fixing mistakes after they happen. It is about taking responsibility for the process from the beginning. It means being clear about what the company can do, what it cannot do, and what the homeowner should expect next.

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The company’s other values support the same direction. “You Matter More” keeps the seller at the center. “Everyone Wins” pushes the team toward fair outcomes. “Continual Improvement” creates room to listen and adjust. “Be a Blessing” reflects the company’s intent to leave a positive mark on each interaction.

Problem Solving Beyond The Cash Offer

Young describes problem solving as the definition of what the company does each day. Few properties come with identical circumstances. Some homes need major repairs. Others involve squatters, messy title issues, difficult timelines, or family members who complicate the sale.

After hundreds of local transactions, The Easy Home Buyer has learned that solving the homeowner’s problem may require more than buying the house. One recent example involved a seller whose relative was living in the property and would not leave. The team helped move the relative into another company-owned home on a short-term lease, provided moving assistance, and connected him with a property management company to help find a longer-term rental.

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Local Relationships With A Purpose

The Easy Home Buyer’s relationships with attorneys, contractors, title companies, and other local professionals also serve homeowners. Young has said the company’s volume and vendor relationships can help it close faster and keep renovation budgets lower. Those savings can affect the strength of the offer and the certainty of the process.

Local experience matters, too. The company presents itself as family owned and locally operated, with roots in the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane area. That local identity shapes how Young talks about the work. These are not distant markets on a spreadsheet. They are neighborhoods where team members live, raise families, and plan to stay.

A Culture Built To Serve Homeowners

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The Easy Home Buyer’s growth has not moved it away from its original mission. Chad Young has built a company that hires for character, trains for empathy, uses technology with restraint, and measures service through accountability. The model still involves buying and renovating houses, but the larger culture is built around helping homeowners make informed choices. That is the point Young continues to reinforce: the company can grow, handle more complex projects, and serve more people without losing the human standard that made the work matter in the first place.

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NSE IPO likely to open on September 18, list on September 25: Sources

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NSE IPO likely to open on September 18, list on September 25: Sources
The nearly Rs 30,000-crore initial public offering (IPO) of the National Stock Exchange is likely to open for public subscription on September 18, and list on September 25, sources said on Tuesday.

The price band for the IPO is expected to be announced on September 15, followed by the anchor book on September 17, they said.

The public issue is likely to remain open on September 18, September 21 and September 22.

There is no official announcement on this issue calendar by the bourse.

The issue, which could raise around Rs 30,000 crore, is set to surpass Hyundai Motor India‘s Rs 27,870-crore offering in 2024 to become India’s largest IPO, the sources said.
The IPO will comprise an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 148.9 million equity shares of face value Rs 1 each, representing nearly 6 per cent of NSE’s paid-up equity capital.
There will be no fresh issue of shares, meaning the exchange itself will not receive any proceeds from the offering, they said.
The proposed timeline has so been fixed to ensure that NSE shares debut before the 16-day lunar period ‘Pitru Paksha’ begins on September 26, they said.

The IPO has been in the works for nearly a decade and received crucial regulatory clearance from Sebi earlier this month, paving the way for the exchange’s long-awaited market debut, the sources said.

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NSE is India’s largest stock exchange by trading activity and operates the benchmark Nifty 50 index. It is also the world’s most active derivatives exchange in terms of the number of contracts traded.

According to reports, Bank of Baroda is likely to divest 35% of its holding in NSE or 76,90,375 shares via the IPO.

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