Convenience Stores

KATY, Texas — CBRE’s National Retail Investment Group has closed on the sale of Highland Knolls Shopping Center in Katy, Texas, to Revesco Properties. The 87,469-sq.-ft. grocery-anchored shopping center is 94.6% occupied.

Halifax — Walmart Canada on Friday opened its first supercenter in Atlantic Canada, in the Halifax Shopping Centre Annex in Halifax.

The store is one of 37 supercenter projects planned for the company's current fiscal year, which ends January 31, 2014. The projects, which were announced earlier this year, include building new stores and expanding, remodelling or relocating existing stores and represent an investment of more than $450 million in the Canadian economy.

Walmart knows it isn’t going to win any supermarket industry prizes for store experience, not when operators such as Whole Foods and Publix are involved, but not leading the pack on price is a different matter.

Canton, Mass. — Dunkin’ Brands Group, parent of Dunkin’ Donuts, beat Wall Street expectations by more than doubling its second-quarter profit. The company reported a profit of $40.8 million for the period ended June 29, up from $18.5 million a year ago. The year-earlier period included a $20.7 million increase in a litigation reserve.

Revenue increased 5.9% to $182.5 million from $172.4 million. U.S. same-store sales rose 4% at Dunkin' Donuts shops and improved 1.6% at Baskin-Robbins shops.

Seattle — Starbucks Corp. reported strong results for third quarter fiscal 2013, with net revenues, same-store sales and operating income all increasing substantially from the same quarter a year earlier.

Net earnings grew 25%, from $333.1 million to $417.8 million.

Net revenues totaled about $3.7 billion, up 13% from $3.3 billion. Same-store sales increased 8% globally, driven by 9% growth in U.S. stores.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin’ Donuts announced  that it has signed its first Southern California multi-unit store development agreements,  with four franchise groups for a total commitment of 45 locations. 

The first restaurants are expected to open in 2015 in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Some non-traditional Dunkin' Donuts locations may open over the next several months. 

Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer has opened a 190,000-sq.-ft. supercenter at the Gateway Marketplace shopping center located in the Michigan State Fairgrounds.

The new supercenter includes a grocery and full-service pharmacy with a drive-through.

New York -- Five individuals have been charged with running a sophisticated, worldwide hacking organization that the U.S. Department of Justice called the largest hacking and data breach scheme ever prosecuted in the United States. The victims in the scheme included such retailers as J.C. Penney, 7-Eleven Inc., Carrefour and Hannaford Brothers Co.