Shelby Originals | In-Depth Food Industry Stories & Analysis
Posted inRecommended Reading, Beverage News, Grocery News, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, Shelby Content, Southeast

Recommended: Wine And Liquor Sales On Sunday? Tennessee Lawmakers Are Trying To Make It Happen

Tennessee lawmakers are renewing a push to allow wine and liquor sales on Sunday, a move that could spur opposition from the state’s liquor retailers. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gerald McCormick of Chattanooga, would align hours of liquor and wine sales with beer sales. Under current law, both grocery stores and liquor stores are not allowed […]

Posted inIndependent Store News, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, Market Profile, Midwest, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Store News

Born On One Coast & Based On The Other, Cohn Wholesale Serves Small Towns In Between

Editor’s note: This story is part of the Dakotas Market Profile, which can be found in the February 2018 print edition of The Shelby Report of the Midwest. by Terrie Ellerbee/editor—Midwest and Southwest The Cohn name likely is familiar to some in the Midwest, where Cohn Wholesale once operated 20 stores. The family business, however, began in […]

Posted inRecommended Reading, Corporate Store News, Equipment & Technology, Grocery Store Equipment, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, Online Grocery Technology, Shelby Content, Southwest, Store News

Recommended: Walmart—Why We’re Helping More Customers Scan And Go

By Justin Rushing Walmart Communications Our customers have made it clear: They want more ways to save time and money. For many, Scan & Go is doing just that, and now we’re helping even more customers across the country save time with this fast, simple and easy way to check out. That’s right. We’re expanding […]

Posted inShelby Content, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Industry News, Shelby Signature Content, Store News, West

URM Stores Continues To Strengthen Its Value Proposition For Retailers

Ray Sprinkle has been at the helm of URM Stores Inc. in Spokane, Washington, for four years now. During that time, the retailer-owned co-op has enjoyed some bright spots, like sales growth and a frozen and refrigerated warehouse expansion, while also weathering some storms, including a data breach. The future looks to be mostly sunny, […]

Posted inMarket Profile, Bakery News, Grocery News, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Industry News, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Southeast, Store News

Georgia Independent’s Own-Recipe Fried Peanut Clusters Spawn A Thriving Second Business

by Lorrie Griffith/editor–Southeast West Foods, an independent grocery store in the rural southwest Georgia town of Edison, has been making and selling fried peanuts to its customers for many years. The store’s owner, John West, who bought the store from his dad, Richard, back earlier in this decade, said the peanuts have always been a […]

Posted inMarket Profile, Association News, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, Northeast, Shelby Content

New Maine Food Group Executive Director Working To Join Retailers And Producers

by Mike Berger/editor-Northeast Christine Cummings, new executive director of the Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association (MGFPA), will be returning to her position in January after maternity leave. She joined the association in 2017 and was promoted to executive director in June. She is excited about the growth of the association, the rise of Maine […]

Posted inShelby Content, Amazon Fresh, Home Page Latest News, Shelby Signature Content, Southeast, Whole Foods

Year In Review 2017: Top Stories In The Southeast

New competition—namely Lidl—garnered the most press in the Southeast edition this year. The merger of Amazon and Whole Foods Market also ­generated a good bit of speculation about what that might mean for the grocery industry. A number of top-level executive changes took place among the region’s grocers this year. Many also fine-tuned formats, undertook […]

Posted inCorporate Store News, Aldi, Amazon Fresh, Costco Wholesale, Home Page Latest News, Midwest, Recommended Reading, Shelby Content, Store News, Whole Foods

Recommended: Kroger’s Battle Plan For Whole Foods, Amazon, Costco, Walmart And Aldi

To arm itself against competition from the merged Whole Foods/Amazon behemoth, Kroger has reshaped its strategy to make it leaner and more accessible, moves that will have a big impact on how you shop. There are plenty of challengers who’d like a piece of your food budget, but Kroger still dominates the Lexington grocery market. […]

Posted inROFDA Reports, Amazon Fresh, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Industry News, Northeast, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Special Section, Store News, Whole Foods

At Hanover Co-op Food Stores, ‘Local’ Actually Means Local

Associated Grocers of New England member If you’ve ever seen a picture postcard of a quaint New England town, then you have a pretty good idea about the communities Hanover Co-op Food Stores serves, according to Allan Reetz, director of public relations. The 81-year-old co-op operates four retail stores in the Upper Connecticut River Valley, […]

Posted inIndustry News, Equipment & Technology, Grocery Store Equipment, Guest Contributors, Home Page Latest News, National, Shelby Content

The Right Coin Management Strategy For Grocers: Turn Hidden Costs Into Profits

by Jim Weaks/ VP, Cummins Allison The grocery industry is constantly changing. Grocers must adapt to changes in consumer behaviors and expectations, online competitors luring away once-loyal shoppers and economic uncertainty that threatens already razor-thin margins. With that in mind, the pressure is on to control costs and find new ways of increasing profitability. Fortunately, […]

Posted inFood Service News, Corporate Store News, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, Recommended Reading, Shelby Content, Southeast, Store News

Recommended: Lowes Foods Opens First Charleston-Area Supermarket In Summerville

Holly Famulari can’t wait to come to work every day. The cake “wizard” (decorator) at the new Lowes Foods supermarket dances and waves a wand in front of the store’s cake-making corner when the music begins to play for a game of cake walk. “You work, but you have so much fun doing it,” said […]

Posted inMarket Profile, Home Page Latest News, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Store News, West

Arizona Enjoying Economic Rebound, Business-Friendly Climate

by Lorrie Griffith/editor–West Arizona has rebounded strong economically over the past year, with its unemployment rate down to 4.5 percent vs. 5 percent the prior year and about 80,000 jobs added. Added fuel for optimism is a more business-friendly climate at both the state and federal government levels, Tim McCabe, president of the Arizona Food […]

Posted inRecommended Reading, Amazon Fresh, Corporate Store News, Grocery News, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, Marketing News, Midwest, Shelby Content, Store News, Whole Foods

Recommended: Kroger Is Challenging Amazon And Walmart In Advertising

When Amazon entered the grocery business with the acquisition of Whole Foods this year, it was thought to be a supermarket killer. The grocery business was already facing competition from general retailers like Walmart that operate on larger scales and offer lower prices, and invading European grocers like Aldi and Lidl, before the mammoth conglomerate […]

Posted inShelby Content, Grocery News, Home Page Latest News, Midwest, Organic Natural, Recommended Reading

Recommended: Doorganics Grocery Delivery Service Expands To Metro Detroit

Doorganics is expanding service from Grand Rapids to metro Detroit starting Wednesday. The grocery delivery company, launched as a startup in 2011, will begin shipping throughout metro Detroit and expand its service reach, including to the city of Detroit, throughout the first quarter of 2018, founder and CEO Mike Hughes said. The growth of the […]

Posted inRecommended Reading, Corporate Store News, Grocery News, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, National, Shelby Content, Specialty, Store News

Recommended: Lidl Hits The Brakes On N.J. Grocery Store As Other Store Plans Scrapped

Plans by German discount grocer Lidl to begin construction on its second New Jersey store have stalled as the company hits the brakes on several proposed locations in other states. Lidl, which operates about 10,000 stores globally, entered the U.S. market in June with several store openings in the southeast as part of a plan […]

Posted inRetailer of the Year, Amazon Fresh, Corporate Store News, Southeast, Whole Foods

Southeast Retailer Of The Year: Lowes Foods

Giving Customers What They Want Since 1954 Lowes Foods began in 1954 as a single store in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, and, over those 63 years, has grown into a nearly 100-store chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Now based in Winston-Salem, the grocer grew rapidly during the 1960s, ’70s and early […]

Posted inSouthwest, Corporate Store News, Executive News, Home Page Latest News, Industry News, Retailer of the Year, Shelby Content, Shelby Honorees, Store News

And Then There Were Two: Texas Now Has Dallas And Houston Kroger Divisions

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a Special Section honoring Kroger as our Southwest Retailer of the Year. See the complete story in the December edition of The Shelby Report of the Southwest. The Kroger Co. has served Texas grocery shoppers since 1958. In August 2015, Kroger split its Southwest division into two. Now there […]

Posted inWoman Executive of the Year, Corporate Store News, Home Page Latest News, Shelby Honorees, Southeast, Store News

Southeast Woman Executive Of The Year Meg Ham & Food Lion’s 60th Anniversary

Results-Driven Yet Humble, Ham Leads Food Lion Forward Food Lion President Meg Ham is The Shelby Report’s Southeast Woman Executive of the Year for 2017. Ham will celebrate 30 years with Food Lion’s parent company, Delhaize America (now part of Ahold Delhaize) next year. She joined the company in 1988 and has held a range of […]

Posted inFood Industry Hall of Fame, Albertsons, Amazon Fresh, Anniversary Issues, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Store News, West, Whole Foods

Bristol Farms’ 35th Anniversary & Kevin Davis, Food Industry Hall Of Fame Inductee

Bristol Farms was founded in November 1982 by two men whose careers had been in the meat business. Irv Gronsky and Mike Burbank were moving toward retirement age and so decided to sell their high-end meat business that supplied restaurants and butcher shops. But they weren’t quite ready to stop working altogether, so they decided […]

Posted inDeli News, Bakery News, Grocery News, Grocery Store Layout, Home Page Latest News, Independent Store News, Industry News, Organic Natural, Produce News, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Store News, West

Bristol Farms Celebrates Grand Opening Of New-Concept Store

Bristol Farms recently celebrated the grand opening of its prototype store on Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California. It is the first major design departure for Bristol Farms in its 35-year history and is “a store that we’ve been dreaming up for a decade,” Kacie Davis, owner of KMDesign Co., which implemented the design, told The […]