Starbucks Coffee Co.

By Katherine Oberle and Monica Sloboda, [email protected], [email protected]

On November 18, 2010, the U.S. Green Building Council announced the long-awaited launch of its newest green building rating system, LEED for Retail. There are two distinct certification tracks available, LEED for Retail: New Construction and LEED for Retail: Commercial Interiors. 

Being supplied by 100% renewable energy sounded like a lofty goal when it was identified as one of Walmart’s top three sustainability priorities in late 2005, but as other retailers have demonstrated, it is an attainable goal.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said it has leased retail space in St. Petersburg, Fla., to Keva Juice, which will open at Marketplace Shopping Center.

Keva Juice has leased 1,302 sq. ft. and is slated to open this spring.

The 90,296-sq.-ft. shopping center is anchored by a newly opened LA Fitness. National retailers at the center also include Starbucks, The UPS Store, Jenny Craig, and BB&T.

West Palm Beach, Fla. -- Boca Raton, Fla.-based Woolbright Development announced that it has acquired Village Commons shopping center, located in West Palm Beach, Fla. 

Woolbright will oversee the center’s leasing, property management, construction management, marketing and promotions.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. reported that its first quarter net income rose nearly 44%, beating expectations, to $346.6 million in the period ended Jan. 2. That's up from $241.5 million a year earlier. Although the company expects its base of customers to keep growing, it offered a tepid full-year forecast, saying higher commodity costs could eat into its profit.

Revenue rose nearly 8% to $3 billion. Same store sales rose 7%, driven by a 5% boost in traffic and 2% higher average transaction. The figure rose 8% in the United States and 5% abroad.

Seattle -- Starbucks announced the launch of mobile payment in all U.S. company-operated stores, allowing customers to pay for in-store purchases with select smart phones. The company said test markets in Seattle, Northern California, New York and more than 1,000 Starbucks in domestic Target stores have successfully used the program.