Retail

Panama City -- Starbucks Coffee Company has entered its 15th Latin America market.

The coffee giant — together with Premium Restaurants of America, its long-term strategic licensing partner in Central America — has opened its first store in Panama, making it Starbucks 15th market in Latin America and 67th worldwide.

Cincinnati -- Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II, Inc. announced it has acquired Plano Market Street in Plano, Texas, and The West Acres Shopping Center in Fresno, California, for a collective $57.1 million, totaling more than 253,038 sq. ft.

Plano Market Street is a 169,624 sq. ft. grocery store-anchored shopping center in Plano, Texas, just outside Dallas. The center is 94.2% leased, anchored by Market Street and retailers World of Beer, Tony & Guy, and the Little Gym.

New York -- The founder of the now defunct same-day delivery service Webvan is back — this time with a robot-powered would-be competitor to Amazon Prime, reports ReCode.  

Louis Borders is developing a $99 shopping club that plans to offer same-day delivery of groceries and other merchandise from participating retailers. But it’s the back-end of the operation that is so interesting.

Hangzhou, China – The apparel selection on Alibaba Group’s Tmall.com third-party marketplace is getting a lot bigger.

Tmall has formed strategic partnerships with more than 160 brands from 110 global apparel chains.  It will work with apparel brands in areas of new product launches, online-to-offline initiatives, data-driven operations, digital marketing campaigns and other services to enhance consumer shopping experiences.

Columbus, Ohio - L Brands Inc. continues its winning ways.

St. Petersburg, Fla. – HSN Inc. had a mixed second quarter, meeting Wall Street profit projections but falling short of sales estimates.

HSN’s net income totaled $41.6 million, up 2% from $40.9 million the same period the prior year.

Net sales grew 4% to $885.6 million from $855.2 million, including an 11% increase in digital sales.

Batavia, Ill. – Aldi wants you – if you are someone looking for a store-level retail job.

The rapidly growing discount supermarket retailer will host hiring events throughout the U.S. during the month of August for more than 2,500 positions.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Trademark Property Co. announced its Waterside mixed-use development, located in Fort Worth, Texas, will be the first ground-up project developed as part of Trademark’s Conscious Place initiative; a stakeholder-driven development model that aims to ensure that its properties are more than just places of commerce, but also places of community and meaning.