International Business

New York City -- Athletic goods and footwear company Asics has opened an ultra-modern flagship in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The two-level store, located next to the city's legendary Vondelpark running center, has a sleek, futuristic design and offers several exclusive services, including advanced biomechanical and running analysis systems. Click here to see photos.

Santa Monica, Calif. -- Privately held European women’s apparel retailer, Desigual, said it has leased nearly 6,400 sq. ft. on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica from landlord Promenade Gateway, an affiliate of Maxxam Enterprises.

The store will serve as Desigual’s flagship West Coast location. The retailer currently has more than 170 retail locations and approximately 450 shop-in-shops in major department stores across Europe and Asia.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Looking to foray into online sales, Meijer is launching a new grocery service for its customers.

MeijerDoorstepGrocer.com will offer customers thousands of grocery and drug store items, many of them available in single-pack or smaller sizes. Meijer initially will offer about 5,000 items on its website. With no minimum order requirement for delivery, the company said, but for a limited time, customers have the opportunity to save on orders that exceed $100. Shipping costs start at $7.95.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. --  It turns out the announcement earlier today by Walmart that Duncan Mac Naughton would serve as head merchant of the company’s U.S. division was but one component of a more extensive shakeup at the company.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Less than three months after joining Walmart’s merchandising organization as an executive VP, Duncan Mac Naughton on Friday was elevated to the role of chief merchandising officer for the U.S. stores division.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. reported that its first quarter net income rose nearly 44%, beating expectations, to $346.6 million in the period ended Jan. 2. That's up from $241.5 million a year earlier. Although the company expects its base of customers to keep growing, it offered a tepid full-year forecast, saying higher commodity costs could eat into its profit.

Revenue rose nearly 8% to $3 billion. Same store sales rose 7%, driven by a 5% boost in traffic and 2% higher average transaction. The figure rose 8% in the United States and 5% abroad.

New York City -- The Home Depot  has closed its last store in Beijing, highlighting the difficulties that some western companies face when trying to transplant foreign business models into China.

Home Depot, which has closed five stores on the mainland in the past two years, is struggling to find the right business format for one of the world’s most difficult home-improvement markets, local analysts said.

Richardson, Texas -- Wingstop is expanding throughout the Baltimore-Washington corridor. The company, which has experienced more than seven years of same store sales increases, recently signed a development agreement to open 20 stores in the area over the next several years.

Business partners Rahim Kurji and Bidjaan Kassam have signed a 20-store development agreement and expect to open four locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., this year.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Donuts has signed agreements with four franchisees to develop 16 restaurants in Tampa, Orlando and Tallahassee over the next several years.

Dunkin' Donuts development throughout Florida is part of a steady and strategic growth strategy, which includes expanding in existing markets while entering new cities across the country.

Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid used the term "growth trifecta" to describe its 2010 performance -- strong sales, strong margins and strong earnings.

The company reported fourth quarter net income of $75.7 million, up 24.9% from $60.6 million reported for the same period last year.

Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were $1.46 billion, up 3.4% from $1.42 billion reported for the same period in 2009. 

For the full year, the company reported net income of $292.8, up % from $285.5 reported in 2009.