Distribution

New York -- Kate Spade New York announced Thursday that it will buy its Japanese JV partner Sanei International’s 51% share in Kate Spade Japan.

The move, said Kate Spade, is part of an aggressive international push that includes recent store openings in the United Kingdom, Dubai and Kuwait, as well as further expansion into Brazil with additional store openings in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo planned for this summer.

St. Louis -- Save-A-Lot announced plans for a new 250,374-sq.-ft. food distribution center in Pompano Beach, Fla.

The center located is expected to open by the end of fiscal year 2013 (FY13 ends February 23, 2013) and employ more than 30 employees initially, with the potential for hiring additional employees once the facility is at full capacity. The project is the result of collaboration with KTR Capital Partners and Butters Construction.
 

ST. LOUIS — Save-A-Lot is poised for substantial growth in South Florida when it completes its new distribution center in Pompano Beach. The 250,374 sq. ft. DC is expected to open by February 2013 and will and employ more than 30 employees initially, with the potential for hiring additional employees once the facility is at full capacity, the company said. The project is the result of collaboration with KTR Capital Partners and Butters Construction.

Bellevue, Wash. -- Coinstar, best known for its Redbox movie rental and its namesake coin-counting kiosks, and Seattle’s Best Coffee, part of Starbucks Coffee Co., have entered into an agreement to roll out Coinstar's new Rubi coffee kiosk in groceries, drug stores and mass merchants. The kiosks will feature a variety of Seattle's Best Coffee beverages.

The rollout will begin this summer, with approximately 500 kiosks expected by the end of the year and thousands of machines in place during the next several years.

Washington, D.C. -- The number of retailers that fell victim to organized retail crime groups increased in the past, according to the National Retail Federation’s Organized Retail Crime Survey.

Of the 125 retail companies surveyed for NRF’s eighth annual survey, a record-setting (96%) said their company has been the victim of organized retail crime in the past year, up from 94.5% last year. Another 87.7% said ORC activity in the United States has grown over the past three years.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Supervalu banner Cub Foods has partnered with a local produce grower to provide year-round local produce to locations throughout the Twin Cities.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Surging profits and a 6.7% first quarter same-store sales increase prompted Dollar General to raise its full-year profit forecast by three cents.

Dollar General shows no signs of slowing down this year after posting first-quarter results that saw the company’s total sales increase 13% to nearly $3.5 billion and net income increase 36% to $213 million. The 6.7% comp increase was driven by an increase in customer traffic and average transaction size, according to the company.

New York -- The Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Party City Holdings Inc., Rockaway, N.J., in a deal valued at $2.69 billion.