Starbucks Coffee Co.

New York City -- Walgreens’ Duane Reade division on Wednesday will open its most ambitious and elaborate store to date, a flagship in downtown Manhattan. The 22,000-sq.-ft. drug store, located at 40 Wall Street, will have an upscale focus, and feature a number of exclusive services and amenities aimed at the Wall Street clientele.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. launched an application Wednesday that lets customers purchase goods with their Android smartphones. The company already has similar applications nationwide for BlackBerry and iPhone and iPod touch in January.

The application also allows customers to load their Starbucks loyalty card accounts, check card balances and find stores nearby, and it notifies customers of promotions and other discounts.

PLANO, Texas — Things just got a whole lot more interesting in the mid-tier department store space now that JCPenney has hired former Apple executive Ron Johnson to be its CEO. Johnson is a former Target merchandising executive who for the past 11 years oversaw the growth of Apple’s wildly successful and widely heralded retail operation.

Tampa -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said it has leased retail space in Tampa, Fla. at Town Square Center to Great Clips.

The salon has leased 838 sq. ft. and is slated to open for business in summer 2011.
 
The 44,380-sq.-ft. shopping center is anchored by Petco alongside national retailers such as Starbucks, Panera Bread, Verizon and Pier 1 Imports.
 

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. announced it has acquired full ownership of Starbucks stores in the China provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei in an agreement with Maxim’s Caterers Ltd., the coffee company’s joint-venture partner. As a result, Starbucks said now has full control of more than half of the Starbucks retail stores in Mainland China as it looks to accelerate growth in the future.

New York City -- Seattle’s Best Coffee LLC, a division of Starbucks Corp., has asked a bankruptcy judge to reject Border Group’s request to end the companies’ licensing agreement.

Borders is not entitled to cancel the agreement and continue to use Seattle’s Best’s trademarks and products, the coffee company said today in a court filing. Seattle’s Best also disputed Borders’s claim that terms of the agreement are excessive.

By Diarmuid Mallon, [email protected]

Houston -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said it has leased space to two new restaurants in Houston at Fort Bend Center.

Baskin Robbins has leased 1,280 sq. ft., and The Fish Place has leased 1,380 sq. ft. of space. Both restaurants are slated to open in July.

The 97,000-sq.-ft. shopping center is anchored by Kroger alongside national retailers such as LA Fitness, Starbucks, Wendy’s, and Cato.
 

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW announced Tuesday that it has Todd S. Cordell as senior VP human resources, effectively immediately.

Cordell will be responsible for all HR activities in support of DSW Stores, DSW.com, and the DSW Leased Business Division. 

Cordell was previously VP human resources for Starbucks Coffee Co.

Vancouver, Wash. -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said it has leased retail space to Pita Pit and Yolicous, which will open in a 2,032-sq.-ft. space this summer at Orchard Market Center, Phase II, located in Vancouver, Wash.

The 178,000-sq.-ft. shopping center is anchored by Wholesale Sports and LA Fitness, alongside national retailers such as Jo-Ann, Office Depot, Petco and Starbucks.