Retail

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. — Inland Real Estate Corp. has acquired the 227,540-sq.-ft. Goldenrod Marketplace in Orlando, Fla., for $20 million. The initial payment will be approximately $16 million, with the balance to be funded based on future tenant occupancy.

Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team brokered the sale in cooperation with The Shopping Center Group brokered the sale on behalf of a private development group.

Matthews, N.C. – The board of directors has increased the amount of the regular quarterly dividend payment to $0.31 per share, an increase of 19.2% from the preceding quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share. The increase will be effective with the declaration of the next quarterly dividend.

Seattle – The Starbucks mobile app reportedly stores customer passwords in a way that leaves them vulnerable to hackers. According to CNN, the app, which allows mobile payment, stores passwords in plain text, meaning a hacker could gain access to one without knowing a smartphone’s PIN code.

The Container Store has kicked off a new purpose-driven marketing campaign focused on its values-based approach to business and conscious capitalism with full-page national newspaper ads as well as videos on the company’s new YouTube Channel.

St. Louis – Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. reported declining year-over-year revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 in a partial preliminary earnings release.

On a preliminary basis, Build-A-Bear reported total fourth quarter revenues of $107 million, down 9% from $118.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Preliminary fiscal year revenues were down slightly to $378 million from $380.2 million.

Washington, D.C. - Slipstream, a new coffee and cocktail business with its flagship location set to open along 14th Street in Logan Circle in Washington, D.C., will open in spring 2014. Slipstream will focus on service,e as well as the journey of coffee from source to sip and will complement the coffee with crafted cocktails in the evening.

Walmart’s reputation took another hit this week when major media outlets pounced on a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board claiming the retailer illegally retaliated against workers who participated in protests at stores.

Camdenton, Mo. – The Cellular Connection, a 300-unit national operator of Verizon Wireless stores, has selected RetailNext to develop staffing models, help with store design by analyzing customer’s path to purchase, and monitor traffic and conversion rates to help gauge the success of advertising campaigns. This will include testing and optimizing store layouts and product placements for their interactive touch screens, device wall, KidZone, and smart accessories (e.g. headsets, speakers, etc.) in order to offer customers the best in-store experience.