Corporate Governance

Seattle – Starbucks wants customers to feel wonderful this holiday season. From now through Jan. 5, 2015, customers who pay using a Starbucks Card or Starbucks mobile app, can enter the Starbucks It’s a Wonderful Card Ultimate Giveaway.

The omnichannel promotion offers the chance to win one of 482,000 instant prizes, and 10 customers in the U.S. will win the prize of Starbucks for Life, which is one free food or beverage item from participating stores every day for the next 30 years.

Houston - Mattress Firm Holdings met Wall Street expectations with its financial performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. In addition, the company increased its guidance for store growth in the fiscal year 2014, and now plans to have opened a total of 200-220 new stores and acquire 665 stores by the end of the fiscal year.

The new store total includes 163 stores opened and 619 acquired so far this year.

Portland, Ore. – Consumers have trust in well-known brands online, possibly to the detriment of themselves and their employers and to and the benefit of cybercriminals. According to a new survey of 2,011 U.S. and U.K. consumers from security solutions provider Tripwire, more than 40% of consumers believe emails from “trusted brands” are safe to click, and nearly a quarter (24%) anticipate doing at least part of their holiday shopping while at work.

Survey findings include:

Evansville, Ind. – Net income dipped to $10.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from $10.9 million the same period the prior fiscal year. Net sales fared better, climbing 7% to $254.69 million from $235.77 million, ahead of previously issued guidance.

Hollywood, Fla. – Altpay, a startup mobile payment company that released its patent-pending technology in April 2014, has received a $1 million equity investment from two family office investors. Altpay markets its mobile payment service in the U.S. to regional and mid-market retailers, including supermarkets, grocers, pharmacies and convenience stores.

Milwaukee - Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Point Loomis Shopping Center located in Milwaukee. Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison purchased the 160,533-sq.-ft. center.

Point Loomis Shopping Center is located at the southwest corner of 27th Street and Loomis Road in Milwaukee, and features Kohl’s, Pick ‘n Save, and Chase Bank.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Philadelphia - Investors are feeling bullish on upcoming retail opportunities in Philadelphia, and it’s evident as JLL’s Capital Markets experts announced the sale of One and Olney Square on behalf of BLDG and The Feil Organization. Wharton Realty Group purchased the center.

Anchored by ShopRite, the community shopping center totals 339,784 sq. ft. and includes tenants such as Dollar Tree, Modell’s and Burger King.

Huntsville, Alabama - GBT Realty Corp. announced the expansion of Strong Station, a 180,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood center in Huntsville, Alabama, currently tenanted by Academy Sports + Outdoor. Nearly 96% leased, the $16-million Phase II adds 95,000 sq. ft. of retail on nine acres to the east of the existing sporting goods store.      

Daytona Beach, Florida - One Daytona, the proposed mixed-use and entertainment destination across from Daytona International Speedway in east Central Florida, began early site work November 24, according to joint-venture owners International Speedway Corp. and Jacoby Development. The work underway includes phase one infrastructure improvements by P&S Paving.

Chicago - Overall marketing and advertising budgets at leading U.S. retailers will rise by 1.% this year, compared to a decline of .98% in 2013, with 72% of retailers expecting to spend about the same amount on marketing and advertising compared to last year, according to the BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, by BDO USA.