News Briefs

85°C Bakery Cafe has reached a new store count milestone in the United States.

The Taiwan-born bakery chain  opened its100th U.S. location on Sept. 18 at Parker Commons in Aurora, Colo., a suburb of Denver. The opening also marks the brand’s first cafe in the Centennial State.

Founded in 2003, 85°C opened its first U.S. cafe in 2008 in Irvine, Calif., and says its goal is to reach 150 U.S. locations by 2030. The chain operates more than 1,000 locations worldwide.

Each 85°C location features an in-shop bakery with more than 50 varieties of pastries baked fresh hourly and cakes created by the brand’s pastry teams, alongside handcrafted, made-to-order coffee, milk tea, boba, smoothies and more. Longtime menu favorites include Milk Pudding Bread, Choco Bun, Marble Taro and the signature Egg Tart.

[READ MORE: South Korean chain Twosome Place to make U.S. debut]

85°C founder Cheng-Hsueh Wu launched the chain after visiting a cafe at a five-star hotel and questioning why high-quality pastries and beverages were priced beyond everyday reach, according to the company.

“Reaching 100 locations in the U.S. is an important milestone for 85°C and a reflection of the communities that have embraced the brand since we first entered the U.S. market,” said Dave Lazaro, marketing director of 85°C Bakery Cafe. “Our goal has always been to deliver high-quality coffee, bread and cake at prices that make 85°C part of our guests’ everyday lives. As we continue to grow, we’re excited to introduce that experience to even more communities across the country.”

Primark is doubling down on its new Georgia footprint. 

The global value-fashion retailer will open its second store in Georgia on Sept. 24 at the Augusta Mall in Augusta. The opening will give Primark a total of 48 total U.S. locations.

The Augusta Mall location will feature 28,000 sq. ft. of retail selling space. Its opening follows Primark's first Georgia location at Sugarloaf Mills in Lawrenceville, which opened earlier this month. 

"Primark is excited to have such a busy month in Georgia as it opens not one but two new stores in the state," said Kevin Tulip, president of Primark US. "We can't wait to open doors and offer area residents Primark's signature combination of trending style and everyday essentials, all at affordable prices." 

The entry into Georgia comes as Primark continues to enter new markets. It recently opened its first store in Minnesota, at Mall of America in Bloomington. And in July, it opened its first store in Indiana, at Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis.

[READ MORE: Exclusive: Primark unveils Manhattan flagship]

Primark has more than 500 stores across 19 countries in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East. 

McDonald’s is marking its 50th consecutive quarter of dividend increases.

The company's board on Friday declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.93 per share of common stock, a 4% increase over its previous quarterly dividend. The new payout, which is equal to $7.72 a year, represents a 3.1% annual yield based on the company's Thursday closing price of $248.48.

With the increase, McDonald’s is part of an elite group — known as “Dividend Kings” — of fewer than 60 U.S. public companies that have raised their annual dividend for at least 50 consecutive years.

"This milestone is the result of decades-long commitment to maintaining our financial discipline and rewarding our shareholders," said Ian Borden, executive VP and global CFO. "It is also a reflection of the consistent hard work and partnership of our crew members, owner-operators and suppliers.”

The dividend is payable Dec. 15 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 1.

[READ MORE: McDonald's USA names new president]

For its second quarter, McDonald’s total revenue rose 4% to $7.1 billion. Net income totaled $2.36 billion, up from $2.25 billion the previous year. The company has more than 45,000 locations in over 100 countries.

[READ MORE: Albertsons lets advertisers measure in-store incremental sales]

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Companies operates stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 22 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, ACME, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market.

Consumers are leaning into artificial intelligence tools for online shopping – but verified human reviews are still critical to trigger a purchase.

That’s according to new research from user-generated content (UGC) platform Bazaarvoice and agentic marketing platform Bluefish, which found nearly two-thirds (62%) of shoppers said compared to six months ago, their trust in AI recommendations has increased, with over a quarter (26%) saying it has increased significantly.

When asked what makes them trust an AI product recommendation most, 57% of consumers point to authentic reviews and star ratings over any other source, more than brand reputation, price or the AI's own explanation. Fifty-seven percent also said it's very important to know that an AI tool actually sourced its recommendation from real customer reviews and photos, while a third (33%) said it's somewhat important.

The research found that nearly six-in-10 (59%) AI-cited product detail pages have 100 or more reviews, while 92% have ratings of four stars or higher, and 65% display a review summary at the top.

[READ MORE: Acosta Group: Generative AI moves into the mainstream — even boomers are using it]

“The data confirms what we've seen across the market: verified consumer voices are now not only one of the top currencies AI recommendation engines use to guide shoppers, shoppers are also actively demanding it,” said Brenda Tuohig, senior VP of strategic partnerships at Bazaarvoice. “With consumer trust in AI search rising alongside the prioritization of crawlable UGC, tracking your AI visibility without a way to rapidly publish structured reviews leaves your brand exposed.”

Scrubs and Beyond is leaving physical retail.

The company, which sells uniforms for health care professionals, is closing its 115-plus stores across 30 states. Scrubs & Beyond, which acquired Uniform City and Line Uniform in 2013, is the largest retailer of health care apparel and accessories in the United States, according to its website.

The company announced the news on its site, stating: “All stores closing" and  "20-40% off.”  It noted that the discounts are available in-store only. Many locations have already begun going-out-of-business sales, reported TheStreet.com.

“At this time, we’re unable to provide an additional comment regarding the closure of our retail locations,” the company said in a statement to The Street. “Scrubs & Beyond has made the strategic decision to wind down its brick-and-mortar retail locations and continue serving customers primarily through our online store.”

Scrubs & Beyond is part of Kindthread, which also owns three other uniform companies: Chefwear, Landau and White Cross.