Following months of rebuilding after tragedy struck in September 2023, Mama Geraldine’s Cheese Straws and Bodacious Snacks is back in business. Cathy Cunningham, company founder, talked about her journey with The Shelby Report at the 2024 IDDBA Show. At a dinner last fall with some girlfriends in downtown Jasper, Georgia, Cunningham said she received a call […]
Category: Bonus Content
Posted inMarket Profile, Independent Store News, Rouses Market, Southeast
Focus On Local, First-To-Market Approach Sets Rouses Apart Along Gulf Coast
Louisiana-based Rouses Markets is one of the fastest-growing family-owned companies in the country. It also is one of the top privately held companies and largest employers along the Gulf Coast. Founded in 1960 by Anthony J. Rouse Sr., the company has expanded from its humble roots as a single store operator in Houma, Louisiana, to […]
Posted inAssociation News, Guest Contributors, National
EBT Chip Cards: What Grocers And POS Providers Need To Know
In an effort to modernize EBT and reduce fraud, multiple states are planning to migrate their EBT cards from magnetic stripes to EMV chip cards. Starting with California and Oklahoma, states are planning to issue chip cards beginning as soon as August 2024. It is important that POS systems are tested to ensure uninterrupted processing […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Hy-Vee, Market Profile, Midwest
Hy-Vee Continues To Grow Business Units Across Operating Area
Home state grocer Hy-Vee has been making news with its proposed growth into the southern U.S. But it’s also growing in the Midwest. The West Des Moines-based company, which has 550 “business units” – primarily retail stores – in its operating area, recently grew to nine states with the biggest acquisition in company history. Its […]
Posted inAssociation News, Guest Contributors, West
New Research Shows Effect Of WAFC Programs
Sponsored content By Pat Posey, chief operating officer of the Western Association of Food Chains Talk to graduates of the WAFC’s Food Industry Management and Retail Management Certificate programs, and you will hear story after story of life-altering personal and professional growth. We know these inspirational anecdotes are the rule, not the exception — and […]
Posted inMeat/Seafood/Poultry, Feature, Southwest
John Soules Foods Helping Retailers Differentiate
The Shelby Report recently caught up with John Soules, co-CEO of John Soules Foods. Established in 1975, the Tyler, Texas-based company is a formulator, manufacturer and marketer of ready-to-cook and fully cooked beef and chicken products as well as fully cooked breaded chicken. It has production facilities in Tyler, Texas; Gainesville, Georgia; and Valley, Alabama. […]
Posted inGrocery Store Equipment, Dollar General, Feature, Food Lion, National
Self-Checkouts A ‘Double-Edged Sword’ For Grocery Customers, Retailers
Self-checkouts in grocery stores present both benefits and challenges for the retailers that utilize them. In the benefits column, they allow customers buying just a handful of items to not get in a line behind someone doing two weeks’ worth of shopping. They also lessen the labor and eventually payroll burden for retailers, many of […]
Posted inCorporate Store News, Aldi, Feature, Southeast
Aldi Gaining Steam Across Southeast
Shaun O’Keefe, Aldi regional VP based out of the company’s Jefferson, Georgia, distribution center, conducted a tour for journalists in mid-July at the company’s store on Peachtree Road in Atlanta’s Buckhead area. Aldi currently operates 81 stores in Georgia, with 50-55 of them in the Atlanta area, depending on your definition of what the Atlanta […]