International Business

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — After nearly four hours of music, cheering, celebrity appearances and brief presentations by senior executives, Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke wrapped up the company’s annual shareholders’ extravaganza Friday morning by sharing five priorities associated with serving what he called the next generation of customers.

Hong Kong -- Italian fashion house Prada, which is preparing for an initial public offering of about $2 billion in Hong Kong, said it plans to use most of the proceeds on expansion and renovation of its stores over the next 18 months.

The Milan-based company said it plans to add a net total of about 80 directly operated stores by the end of January 2012, most of them in the Asia Pacific region, where it sees "substantial potential for growth," Prada said in the a regulatory filing.

Given all the talk of EDLP at Walmart’s annual shareholders’ meeting, it was understandable the company chose Maki Nakamura, chief merchandising officer at Walmart Japan, as the recipient of the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Walmart’s Seiyu stores in Japan have been implementing every day low prices for several years, and the company’s patience has finally paid off with improved business results in what has been a challenging market.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores on Friday morning kicked off its annual shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., by announcing a $15 billion stock buyback.

Among the early speakers was Doug McMillon, chief of Wal-Mart Stores' international division, who told the audience that the chain is building sales around the world by using the same retailing style that company founder Sam Walton developed.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. announced it has acquired full ownership of Starbucks stores in the China provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei in an agreement with Maxim’s Caterers Ltd., the coffee company’s joint-venture partner. As a result, Starbucks said now has full control of more than half of the Starbucks retail stores in Mainland China as it looks to accelerate growth in the future.

Atlanta -- LaVida Massage said Wednesday it has named Duane Goodwin and Terry Sharp as Master Developers in the state of Georgia.

Goodwin and Sharp, both former Home Depot senior executives based in Atlanta, will be charged with spearheading the regional growth and the development of several centers in Atlanta and throughout Georgia.

New York City -- New York City remains the world’s most expensive retail destination as retailers focus on the major fashion capitals pushing global rents in prime locations even higher, according to the latest CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Global Retail MarketView.

The average rent for space along Fifth Avenue from 49th Street up to 59th Street hit $1,900 per square foot in the first quarter. Hong Kong and Sydney came in second and third place in the rankings, with average per-square-foot rents of $1,697 and $1,301, respectively.

New York City -- A report released Wednesday by CB Richard Ellis found that New York City remains the world’s most expensive retail destination as retailers focus on the major fashion capitals, pushing global rents in prime locations even higher.

According to the latest CBRE Global Retail MarketView, the improving economy has had a measurably positive impact.