The National Grocers Association (NGA) has shared the winners of the 2026 Creative Choice Awards, recognizing top marketing and merchandising programs in the independent grocery industry. The awards, supported by Cheez-It and Unilever, will be presented during The NGA Show, which runs Feb. 1-3 at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. A Unilever […]
Author Archives: Shelby Report Staff

The Shelby Report newsroom covers the grocery industry for retailers, wholesalers and suppliers. Staff reports include store openings, executive appointments, company announcements and industry event coverage. Since 1967, The Shelby Report has covered supermarkets, grocery chains and independent grocers through five regional editions.
RSA America Expands Support Team, Previews AI Platform At The NGA Show
RSA America has strengthened its retail customer support operations, introduced new artificial intelligence-driven capabilities and will debut a fully integrated in-store kiosk at The NGA Show Feb. 1-3 in Las Vegas. The Chicago-based digital marketing solutions provider also promoted Mark Osborne from VP to SVP of retail execution. Osborne leads customer launch strategy, ad planning, […]
Smartway Deploys AI Waste-Reduction Tech Across 39 Vallarta Supermarkets
Smartway, a France-based food waste technology provider, completed deployment of its artificial intelligence-powered waste management system across 39 Vallarta Supermarkets locations in six months, marking the company’s entry into the North American market. The rollout included 34 stores in five weeks across center store grocery, deli, frozen and dairy departments. The deployment followed a three- […]
Taylor Bros. Construction Builds Business Through Meijer Grow Program
Taylor Bros. Construction Co., a Columbus, Indiana-based construction company, has expanded its operations through participation in the Meijer Grow program, which supports local businesses within the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer’s footprint. Taylor Bros., established in 1933, previously worked on Meijer stores through other general contractors. “We were part of the team, just not working with […]
Walmart Raises Pharmacy Technician Pay, Creates 3K Leadership Roles
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart has elevated 3,000 pharmacy technician positions to pharmacy operations team lead roles with increased pay and created expanded earning potential for techs across nearly 4,600 locations nationwide. The pharmacy operations team lead positions pay an average of $28 per hour, with the possibility to earn up to $42 per hour plus bonus […]
NFRA Announces Second Class Of First Penguin Leadership Program
The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) has announced the 30 participants for its 2026 First Penguin Leadership Program. The year-long offering aims to address a growing industry need for structured, cross-sector leadership development that builds strategic perspective, strengthens collaboration and accelerates readiness among rising talent in dairy and frozen foods. It recognizes those […]
ECRS Launches CATAPULT Fuel For Independent Retailers
Boone, N.C.-based ECRS has released CATAPULT Fuel, a fuel management system that integrates operations into the company’s CATAPULT point-of-sale platform. The system allows independent retailers to manage fuel operations through CATAPULT Web Office, creating a single unified platform for store and fuel management. The release marks a departure from complex fuel software systems that require […]
Grocery TV Adds 3 Execs As In-Store Retail Media Accelerates
Grocery TV has appointed Neil Murphy as SVP of retail partnerships, Steve Sapp as SVP of media partnerships and Chris Lee as chief technology officer, the New York-based in-store retail media platform announced Jan. 28. The leadership hires arrive as Grocery TV has grown its retailer-owned network 33 percent over the past year, to more […]
The Wonderful Company Awards $1.5M In Grants To Central Valley Nonprofits
The Wonderful Company has announced the latest recipients of its Central Valley Community Grants program, awarding more than $1.5 million in funding to 43 organizations across California’s Central Valley. The grants support initiatives focused on health and wellness, education, recreation, community beautification, art and social services in communities where more than 3,000 Wonderful employees live […]
Food Lion Holds Grand Opening In Statesville, NC
Food Lion opened its fifth store in Statesville, North Carolina, on Jan. 18, marking more than five decades of service to the community. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at 7:45 a.m. at the 1909 E. Broad St. location. The first 100 customers received a mystery gift card valued up to $200 and a free reusable […]
ShopRite To Open New Supermarket Feb. 4 In Manahawkin, NJ
Saker ShopRites will open a larger, expanded location Feb. 4 at 733 Route 72 West in Manahawkin, New Jersey. The new store is more than double the size of the Stafford Square location it is replacing and marks a addition to the Manahawkin Commons shopping center. Members of the Saker family and local officials will […]
Amazon To Close Go and Fresh Stores, Open 100+ Whole Foods Locations
Amazon is closing all its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores to focus on online grocery delivery and Whole Foods Market expansion, with various locations converting to Whole Foods stores. In addition, the Seattle-based company plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years and will expand same-day […]
Albertsons Cos. Names Pinkham EVP, Chief HR Officer
Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Companies has appointed Allison Pinkham EVP and chief human resources officer, effective Feb. 16. Pinkham brings more than 25 years of executive leadership and human resources experience to the retailer. She most recently served as chief human resources officer and executive committee member at Galderma, a global dermatology category leader. In that […]
ReposiTrak, NGA Expand Partnership With Scan-Based Trading Endorsement
Salt Lake City-based ReposiTrak has expanded its partnership with the National Grocers Association (NGA), which selected the company as its endorsed partner for traceability, compliance management and scan-based trading. The announcement builds on NGA’s 2022 decision to name ReposiTrak as its exclusive traceability and supplier compliance partner. The new endorsement adds scan-based trading solutions to […]
BJ’s Wholesale Club Opening Second Small-Format Market
BJ’s Wholesale Club is set to open its second BJ’s Market location on Jan. 30, marking the expansion of the retailer’s small-format concept designed to offer warehouse club value in smaller, more convenient locations. The 55,000-square-foot store – at 14595 South Military Trail in Delray Beach, Florida – is about half the size of a […]
Instacart Expands ARS Partnership With Omnichannel Technologies
Instacart has expanded its partnership with Allegiance Retail Services to deploy omnichannel retail technologies across ARS’s network of more than 125 independently-owned supermarkets in the Northeast. The expansion includes the introduction of Instacart’s AI-powered Caper Carts at select Foodtown stores, alongside new capabilities designed to unify Allegiance’s digital, loyalty and in-store experiences. Storefront Pro – […]
Violet Foods Acquires Muir Glen Organic Tomato Brand From General Mills
Violet Foods, a portfolio company of Amphora Equity Partners, has acquired the Muir Glen brand of organic tomato products from General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition marks a significant expansion for Williamstown, New Jersey-based Violet Foods, which owns a portfolio of brands, including Sclafani, Fattoria Fresca […]
U.S. Convenience Store Count At 151K, Down From Last Year
There are 151,975 convenience stores in the United States, a slight decrease of 280 stores (0.2 percent) compared to the year prior, according to the 2026 NACS/NIQ TDLinx Convenience Industry Store Count. While the overall store count dipped, the number of convenience stores selling fuel increased by 768 stores (0.6 percent) to 122,620, the highest […]
The Save Mart Cos., Keurig Dr Pepper Raise $650K For Hunger Relief
Modesto, California-based The Save Mart Companies and Keurig Dr Pepper raised more than $650,000 for food banks across California and western Nevada through their Friends Feeding Friends holiday hunger relief campaign. The campaign combined more than $533,000 in shopper donations with $120,000 in corporate contributions. The Save Mart Companies and Keurig Dr Pepper each gave […]
Grocery Outlet Provides 2M Meals Through Feeding America Holiday Campaign
Grocery Outlet raised enough funding through its holiday campaign with Feeding America to provide two million meals, the Emeryville, California-based extreme value retailer announced Jan. 26. The initiative ran from mid-November through Dec. 31. Customers donated at checkout, and store operators chose which local food bank or community organization to support. Grocery Outlet matched a […]
