Rutter's

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.

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. — Teen retailer Wet Seal continues to urge its shareholders to reject efforts by Clinton Group to replace the company’s current experienced directors with Clinton Group’s hand-picked nominees who lack relevant experience.

New York -- The Wet Seal Inc. encouraged its shareholders on Wednesday to reject efforts by its third-largest investor, Clinton Group, to gain control of the board, Reuters reported. The company's board has eight seats, of which one is vacant.

Clinton, which holds approximately 7% of Wet Seal, said retailer earlier in the day backtracked on an offer, made via an investment banker, for four directors to resign in exchange for the activist investor ending its move, according to the report.

London -- A Thursday report by Reuters said that British sports retailer Sports Direct will buy 60 stores from struggling competitor JJB Sports.

Citing an unnamed source, Reuters reported that JJB said it is close to appointing KPMG as administrators to sell its assets and brands after failing to receive an offer for the entire company.

JJB operates 180 stores. Sports Direct is majority-owned by Mike Ashley, owner of the Newcastle United soccer club. He will pay about $48 million for the 60 stores.

New York -- Wet Seal Inc. sent a letter to its shareholders saying activist investor Clinton Group is looking to replace most of the retailer's board with its own nominees, Reuters reported.

Wet Seal urged its shareholders to reject Clinton's five-member slate, according to a filing with regulators on Sept. 24, the report said.

Delray Beach, Fla. -- Starboard Value disclosed on Monday that it has taken a 13.3% stake in Office Depot. According to a report by Reuters, the activist hedge fund now becomes the office supply retailer’s biggest shareholder.

In a letter to Office Depot CEO Neil Austrian, Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith called for lowering expenses to improve performance.

New York -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in the wake of investor pressure, according to Reuters.

The report was based on a source familiar with the matter who did elaborate on the nature of the pressure was or name the investors. But CNBC tweeted that Goldman was hired to help keep activist Relational Investors at bay.

Bangladesh, India -- A Tuesday report by Reuters said that the Indian joint venture of Wal-Mart Stores and Bharti Enterprises has announced plans to open three to five cash-and-carry/wholesale stores in India by the end of the year.

The partnership currently operates 17 wholesale stores in India. 

Foreign ownership regulations in India do not allow global hypermarket and supermarket chains to open retail stores in the country, but they are allowed to operate wholesale operations.

New York -- New York State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Oing on Thursday denied Macy's Inc.’s attempt to block J.C. Penney Co. from proceeding with plans to sell a number of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia home goods products in its stores.

In January, Macy’s sued Martha Stewart Living to stop it from executing a sales agreement with J.C. Penney. Macy’s claimed it had the exclusive right to sell Martha Stewart products in certain categories,  including bedding and cookware.

New York -- Walgreens will launch a loyalty card on Sept. 16, Reuters reported.

The move follows the chain’s long insistence that it did not need a loyalty card, even as rival CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp had their own successful well-established programs. The CVS ExtraCare loyalty program claims more than 70 million households as members.