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As if competing against Target, Best Buy and Amazon.com isn’t challenging enough, nationwide the fast-food “strike” which took place Thursday offered a glimpse of the type of headline-grabbing, disruptive activities Walmart can expect from its opponents this holiday season.

Waban, Mass. – Amazon.com was the top-ranked company across 19 industries in the 2013 Web Experience Ratings from Temkin Group. Amazon.com had a score of 77%, almost 21 percentage points higher than the retail industry average.

Other retailers in the top 10 included eBay, tied for fifth place at 70%, and QVC, tied for eighth place at 69%. Taco Bell and Kmart earned ratings that were at least 15 points below the retail industry average. Old Navy was the only retailer to have a double-digit score increase from last year.

Irvine, Calif. – Taco Bell plans to discontinue all kids’ meals and toys at its U.S. restaurants. The fast-food chain will start removing the items from its menu at stores this month at anticipates to have eliminated all kids’ meals and toys in the U.S. by January of next year. Menu items from kids’ meals will remain available for individual purchase.

Greg Creed, CEO of Taco Bell, said kids’ meals are not part of the company’s long-range strategy and have an insignificant impact on overall sales.

Aston, Pa. -- Action Services Group, a national retail and commercial lighting, sign and electrical maintenance and service company announced a service agreement with Morgan’s Foods Inc., operator of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut Express and A&W restaurants under franchises licenses, to perform sign and exterior lighting service and maintenance for 73 of their franchise units.

Waban, Mass. -- Chick-fil-A, Dunkin' Donuts, Sonic Drive-In, and Little Caesar's earned the top spots in the fast food sector of the 2013 Temkin Experience Ratings. At the other end of the spectrum, KFC and McDonalds were the lowest-rated fast food restaurants. The fast food industry earned the second highest average rating out of 19 industries, falling only behind the grocery sector.

Hackensack, N.J. -- Crossroads Cos. said that frozen yogurt franchise RCD Frozen Treats will open a 1,750-sq.-ft. store at Riverfront Plaza, located in Hackensack, N.J.

RCD Treats is a franchise of Go Greenly.

Riverfront Plaza is a 130,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood shopping center anchored by ShopRite. Other national retailers and service providers at the center include Chase Bank, GNC, H&R Block, KFC, Radio Shack, Subway, Supercuts, Taco Bell and Verizon Wireless.

Dallas -- Real estate investment firm The Cogent Group said Tuesday that it has acquired 15 KFC properties in North Carolina. The properties are leased to a franchisee.
 
The 15 units are located in prime retail corridors in the North Carolina Triad market consisting of Greensboro, Winston Salem, and High Point, with above average unit sales. The properties are subject to long-term triple net leases having an initial term of 20 years, plus renewal options.
 

Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners named Staples president and COO Mike Miles to the role of advisory director.

Miles spent the past decade at Staples and his last day will be February 2, 2013. In his new capacity at Berkshire, Miles is tasked with sourcing new investment ideas and serving as an operating advisor to Berkshire’s portfolio of companies.