by Kristen Cloud/staff writer Ted Mason, executive director of the Kentucky Grocers Association and Kentucky Association of Convenience (KGA/KACS), isn’t hearing much from the group’s members these days, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Mason considers the relative silence a positive sign that Kentucky’s economy, specifically its retail industry, is on the […]
Category: Bonus Content
Posted in, Independent Store News, Market Profile, Shelby Signature Content, Southwest, Store News
Odell Bringing Back Stores For Communities After Buyer Goes Bankrupt
by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor “Somebody told my wife the other day that we had flunked retirement, because I’m 82 and my wife is right behind me,” said Leroy “Perk” Odell, owner of Super’s stores in Akron, Wiggins, Haxtun and Walden, Colorado. Perk and Betty Odell are back in the business so that communities in Colorado […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, National, The Independent Perspective
Four-Star General, Stanley McChrystal, To Deliver 2016 NGA Show Keynote
The National Grocers Association (NGA) said Tuesday that retired Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal will present the opening keynote address at the 2016 NGA Show, to be held Feb. 28-March 2 in Las Vegas. McChrystal, a four-star general and former Green Beret, led the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in Iraq during the Persian Gulf Wars […]
Posted in, Bonus Content, Independent Store News, Market Profile, Shelby Signature Content, The Independent Perspective, West
Independent Spotlight: Foods Etc IGA, Susanville Supermarket IGA More Than Grocery Stores
Dennis Darling started bagging groceries at his local independent grocery store while still in high school. It’s where he says he not only discovered a career but met his wife of 41 years, Ruth. At the store, he was promoted quickly up the ladder and started managing for that same company at age 23. Eventually, […]
Posted in, Bonus Content, National, Shelby Signature Content, The Independent Perspective, Women In The News
As First Woman Supermarket Manager, Carole Bitter Has Led Industry For Women
Carole Bitter grew up in a time when opportunities in management for women in the grocery industry did not exist. Even as the daughter of supermarket owners, she never considered running the family business because the heir apparent was a male cousin. Bitter’s grandfather came to the U.S. from Austria-Hungary at the turn of the […]
Posted in, Beverage News, Center Store, Grocery Industry, Market Profile, Shelby Signature Content, Southeast
Tennessee Food Retailers Face Challenges In Readying For Wine Sales Next Year
by Kristen Cloud/staff writer A referendum to allow food retailers in Tennessee to sell wine passed everywhere it was on the ballot last year. While getting that referendum on the November ballot was a long and oftentimes arduous process, the challenges aren’t over. Grocery stores in the 78 municipalities where wine sales will be allowed in […]
Posted in, Grocery Industry, Grocery News, Independent Store News, International Foods, National, Shelby Signature Content
AWG Continues To Strengthen Focus On Hispanic Business
by Kristen Cloud/staff writer It would probably be an understatement to say that Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) puts a special focus on its Hispanic business. The Kansas City, Kansas-based wholesaler has been growing its Hispanic segment over the last four years and has seen a more than 500 percent increase in sales, according to Carlos […]
Posted in, Market Profile, Midwest
Show Me State Grocers Have A Trusted Friend In The State House
by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor Dan Shaul is state director of the Missouri Grocers Association (MGA) and last year added another impressive title: Missouri State Representative, 113th District. The experience has given him, in his words, the opportunity to see “how the sausage is truly made.” The knowledge he is gaining and relationships he is building […]