International Business

London -- A Friday report by the United Kingdom’s The Independent newspaper said that San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma is planning a U.K. launch in 2012.

The report said that the company has appointed a U.K. retail property agent and plans to open its first store in the first half of next year.

Plans call for a London debut and the report said the retailer is seeking 5,000-sq.-ft. to 8,000-sq.-ft. spaces.
 

Los Angeles -- Westfield Group shopping center owner said in a statement that it has agreed in principle to joint-venture with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey the new retail precinct at the site of the New York World Trade Center.

Westfield, upon completion of the deal, would manage and lease out the retail space expected to open in early 2015.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. reported Thursday that it scored record results in the quarter ended July 3, prompting the retailer to accelerate its 2012 new store opening targets to 800 net new stores globally.

Starbucks grew profits 34% in the third quarter, to $279 million from $208 million in the year-ago period. Sales rose 12% to $2.9 billion from $2.6 billion, topping Wall Street estimates.

Same-store sales globally surged 8%, buoyed by a 6% increase in traffic and a 2% increase in average ticket.

NEW YORK — Liz Claiborne, the parent company behind such premium brands as Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and Lucky Brand, department store-based brands including Kensie and the licensed DKNY Jeans and DKNY Active brands and its own retail brands, reported second quarter net sales of $556 million, an increase of 3.5% from the second quarter last year. 

Rome -- Gap said Friday that it will debut its first Gap flagship store in Rome on Via del Corso, the city’s premier shopping district, on July 30.

The opening in Rome is part of Gap’s ongoing international growth strategy; it opened its first Gap and Banana Republic stores in Milan in November 2010.

Four additional Gap and Banana Republic stores are slated to open in Italy this year. The company also recently introduced its outlet concept to the country and said it expects to open additional stores in Italian outlet centers.

Amazon.com generates about three times the number of unique visitors each month that Walmart.com does, according to online measurement firm comScore, and all that traffic is allowing Amazon.com to generate record sales.

Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke was on Capitol Hill this week making the case for modernizing the U.S. tax code even as Democratic and Republican lawmakers continued to engage in brinksmanship over what all agree is a disturbing level of national indebtedness. Duke testified before the United States Senate Committee on Finance, which was holding hearings on CEO perspectives on how the tax code affects hiring, businesses and economic growth. A transcript of his prepared remarks appears below:

TOPEKA, Kan. — The desire for affordable, stylish shoes is something shared by U.S. and international consumers alike, which is why Collective Brands' Payless ShoeSource unit has been able to build a successful franchise business overseas. The company announced Thurday the opening of its 100th franchise store, which is located in Cirebon, Indonesia.  The store represents the 7th store in Indonesia to date.