Corporate Governance

Successful leaders and companies bring more than unique products or services to market — they consistently tap into 10 key growth enablers outlined in a new book by veteran CPG executive and growth strategist Dan Mack.

Purchase, N.Y. — National Realty & Development Corp. (www.nrdc.com) has promoted Dovid M. Spector and Greg A. Oshins have been promoted to the executive team.

Spector has been promoted to senior VP, leasing. He began his career with NRDC in 2002 as a leasing representative and served as Director of Retail Leasing for the pat six years. Prior to joining NRDC, Spector worked in the Real Estate Business Development division of Morgan Stanley.

By Tom Stockham, [email protected]

Remember the days when stores differentiated themselves against the competition on service? When consumers sought out expert product recommendations from knowledgeable sales associates? And bought from the one who worked hardest to help them find just the right product for their needs?

Matthews, N.C. – The board of directors has increased the amount of the regular quarterly dividend payment to $0.31 per share, an increase of 19.2% from the preceding quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share. The increase will be effective with the declaration of the next quarterly dividend.

St. Louis – Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. reported declining year-over-year revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 in a partial preliminary earnings release.

On a preliminary basis, Build-A-Bear reported total fourth quarter revenues of $107 million, down 9% from $118.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Preliminary fiscal year revenues were down slightly to $378 million from $380.2 million.

Seattle – The Starbucks mobile app reportedly stores customer passwords in a way that leaves them vulnerable to hackers. According to CNN, the app, which allows mobile payment, stores passwords in plain text, meaning a hacker could gain access to one without knowing a smartphone’s PIN code.

Washington, D.C. - Slipstream, a new coffee and cocktail business with its flagship location set to open along 14th Street in Logan Circle in Washington, D.C., will open in spring 2014. Slipstream will focus on service,e as well as the journey of coffee from source to sip and will complement the coffee with crafted cocktails in the evening.

Atlanta — Moe’s Southwest Grill has signed a deal to bring 18 new restaurants to Sacramento and Santa Cruz over the next seven years. This is the franchiser’s first push into California.

HKM II is the franchise group behind the California expansion. HKM II owns 42 quick-serve burger restaurants throughout Northern California, Southern Nevada and Arizona.