Starbucks Coffee Co.

By Victor Ho, CEO, FiveStars

Sam’s Club’s decision to open at 7 a.m. on Black Friday is a definite "swim upstream" move on the part of the warehouse club operator given retail industry trends and Walmart’s decision to offer its Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Co. on Thursday started will accepting Square’s mobile payment application, Square Wallet, in approximately 7,000 U.S. Starbucks stores.

The new application, which allows customers to pay at Starbucks and explore nearby businesses, browse menu information, store hours and transaction history on their phone, is in addition to Starbucks own mobile payment applications on iOS and Android.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Co. reported a higher-than expected net income of $359 million for its fourth quarter, compared with $358.5 million in the year-ago period. The company also raised its earnings estimate for the next fiscal year.

Revenue rose 11% in the fourth quarter, to $3.36 billion. Same-store sales rose 6%, fueled by higher customer traffic.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. -- Mid-America Asset Management Inc. said it has signed eight restaurant leases Greater Chicagoland shopping centers that the company represents. The leases total more than 42,000 sq. ft.

For Dempster Plaza in Niles, Ill., Mid-America leased 9,600 sq. ft. to Asia restaurant Niles Buffet, which will open in a former Old Country Buffet space in March 2013. The 180,000-sq.-ft. center is anchored by Home Depot, Portillo's and Jewel/Osco.

New York -- Winick Realty Group said that discount chain Deal$ has signed a lease for 10,624 sq. ft. at 301 West 145th St., located on the southeast corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

The store, which is scheduled to open in spring 2013, sits at the base of The Langston Condominium, a sold-out, 179-unit luxury residential building that already houses retail tenants such as Bank of America, Starbucks and New York Sport Club.

Deal$ is an affiliate of Dollar Tree Stores.

Mumbai -- Starbucks Coffee Co. on Friday entered its 61st country with the opening of its first store in India, in a historic building in southern Mumbai. The store is owned and operated by Tata Starbucks Limited, the 50/50 joint venture between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages Limited. The company plans to open two additional stores in Mumbai next week before launching in New Delhi in early 2013.

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.