Strategy

New York – Alsea, Latin America's biggest restaurant operator, will invest $110 million over the next three years in 220 new Starbucks cafes in Mexico and Argentina, Reuters reported.

Around $75 million of the investment would be put into some 170 new stores in Mexico, which is Starbucks' fastest-growing Latin American market, with the balance going to its number two regional market Argentina, according to the report.

Currently, Argentina and Brazil have about 50 Starbucks stores each.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Café has announced expansion plans for Portland, Ore., Minneapolis-St. Paul and Orlando, Fla.

The targeted expansion calls for 18 new locations in Minneapolis-St. Paul, 18 in Orlando and 11 in Portland. Corner Bakery Cafe is currently evaluating potential franchisees for each market.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will not face class-action gender-discrimination claims in a federal court lawsuit in Texas, Bloomberg reported. U.S District Judge Reed O’Connor has dismissed the Texas class complaint, finding that the lawsuit was filed too late.

The suit, which alleged the retailer discriminated against women in pay and promotions in the company’s Texas region, sought to represent all women hourly and salaried workers, below store managers, employed by Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club in the region.

New York -- Maefield Development, Infinity Urban Century, The Witkoff Group and New Valley, an investment unit of Vector Group LTD announced that they have completed the $430 million acquisition of their Times Square Gateway Center development site. The purchase clears the way for construction of a 340,000-sq.-ft., 36-story, multi-use development that will anchor the northern end of Times Square, with a new retail experience, a hotel tower, and the nation's largest single LED screen.

San Jose, Calif. -- Togo's is aggressively targeting Oregon for expansion. The sandwich chain has fueled its development plans based on recent success of its Oregon franchisees.

The company aims to open 25-30 restaurants throughout Oregon in cities such as Portland, Eugene, Hillsboro, Bend, Medford, Salem, Klamath Falls, as well as Vancouver, Wash., over the next several years.

Seattle -- Nordstrom plans to open a Nordstrom Rack on Long Island, N.Y., at Manhasset Center, which is owned and operated by Kimco Realty Corp.

The approximately 32,000-sq.-ft. store will be the retailer's third Nordstrom Rack location on Long Island and is scheduled to open in spring 2013.

The new two-level Nordstrom Rack will move into the former Filene's Basement location at Manhasset Center and will occupy space on both the ground and second level.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express announced that David Kornberg has been promoted to president. He will have responsibility for both the men's and women's merchandising and design functions.

Kornberg was most recently executive VP men's merchandising & design, a position he held since 2007.

Chicago -- Claire's Stores announced the opening of the first Claire's store in El Salvador. The store is located in the Metro Center Mall in the city of San Salvador.

Claire's partnered with Coquerias S. A. for the new store. Coquerias S.A. is also Claire's franchise partner in the Guatemala market.  

With the opening in El Salvador, the Claire's brand now reaches 34 countries globally.  

Minneapolis -- Target announced plans to open a store in Staten Island, N.Y., in July 2013. The 150,000-sq.-ft. store will be located at the Richmond Shopping Center.

In addition, Target said it will open its second CityTarget store in the city of San Francisco, in October 2013. The new, 119,000-sq.-ft. CityTarget will be located at the southwest corner of Geary and Masonic Streets. On Oct. 10, the retailer opened the doors to the city’s first-ever Target store, also a CityTarget, at the Metreon.

New York -- Murphy Oil is splitting in two in order to better focus on the separate tasks of exploration and production, and the sale of gasoline and other goods through its retail locations, the Associated Press reported.

Murphy USA will become a separate company focused on selling fuels. Murphy USA operates retail gasoline stations in 23 states. Murphy USA will also operate seven fuel distribution terminals and ethanol production facilities in North Dakota and Texas.