Convenience Stores

Los Angeles -- The Coffee Bean & Tea Left said that Bill Robards has joined the company as VP of store development. He will be responsible for delivering upon the brand's extensive growth and expansion plans in the United States.

Dollar General chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling was elected chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) to fill a position held the past two years by Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

Dreiling’s appointment was announced at RILA’s semi-annual board of directors meeting held Sunday in Naples, Fla. Steinhafel will continue to serve as a member of organization’s executive committee.

Michaels may have been the victim of an attack on its data, but it wasn’t going to wait to find out the way Target and Neiman Marcus did before warning customers.

In a statement laced with the word, “may,” Michaels said it recently learned of possible fraudulent activity on some U.S. payment cards that had been used at its stores, which it said suggested the company may have experienced a data security attack.

In recent years, customer engagement has become much more of a mission-critical function for retailers. While nobody would argue that retailers must engage their customers in a way that recognizes the disruptive effects of leading-edge technologies like social and mobile, there is a priority that looms even larger. Namely, data security.

Insecure Data Creates Insecure Customers

Tri-Land Properties is demonstrating the power of value added retail real estate investing with its extensive renovation of Fridley Market at the intersection of University Avenue and I-694 in Fridley, Minn.

Tri-Land is a full-service, real estate development and redevelopment company focused on the successful acquisition, development, renovation and management of community centers ranging in size from 100,000 sq. ft. to 750,000 sq. ft.

New York — Covo Trattoria has leased restaurant space at 3660 Broadway at the intersection with West 151st Street, a prominent corner in the Hamilton Heights district of Upper Manhattan. The space includes 1,500 sq. ft. on the ground floor and a full basement. Covo Trattoria anticipates opening in the spring.

The eatery has two existing locations in West Harem. At the Hamilton Heights location, Covo Trattoria will join neighbors The Grange, The Chipped Cup, Harlem Public and The Heights Tavern.

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Although Starbucks’ profit in the first quarter rose a better-than-expected 25% to $540.7 million from $432 million in the year-ago period, same-store sales missed Wall Street expectations.

Same-store sales rose 5%, beneath Wall Street expectations of 5.9%. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 29, 2013 rose 12% to $4.24 billion from $3.79 billion.

Same-store sales in the Americas region also rose 5%, while analysts had expected a 6.4% increase.