Arizonans living in the Phoenix area now have access to five more Akos Med Clinics, located in Safeway stores in Scottsdale (2), Ahwatukee, Chandler and Laveen. Five other locations, which opened last November, are in Gilbert, Phoenix, Glendale, Mesa and Tempe. An 11th clinic will open in Casa Grande later this month and a 12th in Boise, […]
Category: Industry News
Albertsons Cos. Using Microsoft Cloud And AI To Transform Shopping Experience
Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos. is using cloud solutions from Microsoft Corp., including Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, to provide new experiences to customers and employees. By leveraging Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform, Albertsons Cos. will be able to reduce friction in the shopping experience. “We are reimagining the future to serve customers in a way […]
Souto Foods Opens New Warehouse In Norcross, Georgia
Souto Foods Wholesale & Distributors opened its new warehouse in Norcross, Georgia, this week. Sebastian Souto, president of the company, told The Shelby Report that the warehouse has nearly 60,000 s.f. of space, with 10,000 s.f. of that refrigerated. The facility can be expanded by another 30,000 s.f. as needed, he said. “We are looking to […]
Lipari Foods Completes Its Acquisition Of Troyer Cheese
Lipari Foods, a Warren, Michigan-based distributor, manufacturer and importer of perimeter-of-the-store, specialty and branded food products, has acquired Troyer, which consists of Troyer Cheese Inc., Troyer Bros. Trucking Ltd. and Amish Wedding Foods Inc. Troyer, founded in 1959, is a specialty food distributor, manufacturer and processor in Millersburg, Ohio. The collective companies are engaged in […]
A Look At Some Best Practices For Retailer Labor Productivity
It is critically important for retailers to monitor the productivity of their associates. Labor productivity measures the output of store associates over a specific period of time. Tracking measures such as sales per labor hour or scans per minute will ensure that a retailer is getting the most of his/her labor dollars. Low productivity rates […]
Kroger And Ocado Add Two More Sites For High-Tech Customer Fulfillment Centers
The Kroger Co., America’s largest grocery retailer, and Ocado, one of the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailers, have selected Central Florida and the Mid-Atlantic as the newly-named regions for their next two customer fulfillment centers (CFC). “Kroger is excited to partner with Ocado—one of the most innovative, advanced companies in the world—to redefine the […]
Craft Joins Bashas’ As Procurement, Marketing And Merchandising VP
Bashas’ Family of Stores has hired Barry Craft as VP of marketing, merchandising and procurement for more than 100 grocery stores in Arizona. After a transition period, Craft will take over responsibilities from Phil Hawkes, a longtime Bashas’ veteran who is retiring. Craft comes to Bashas’ with a supermarket background in merchandising, marketing and category […]
Krasdale’s New President Sees Challenges, Opportunities Ahead
Krasdale Foods promoted Steve Silver to the role of president in January 2019 as part its succession plan. Silver, who has been with Krasdale for 37 years, continues to serve as COO and as a member of the board of directors. He does not expect much of his day-to-day responsibilities to change with his new […]
AWG’s Shopper Engagement Platform Drives Sales For Retailers
The Shopper Engagement Platform (SEP), the in-house loyalty and data marketing program for Kansas City, Kansas-based Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), has engaged more than 300 of its retailers on the program. A first to market in-house program for grocery wholesalers in the U.S., SEP is aimed at enabling independent retailers to utilize data, digital coupons […]
United Fresh Launches 2019 Produce Industry Compensation Survey
The United Fresh Produce Association has launched its 2019 Compensation Survey for the fresh produce industry. The data collected will be published in a research report designed to assist produce industry employers in understanding critical compensation benchmarks. The survey collects compensation and benefits data from produce companies for more than 30 full-time positions in the […]
Seal The Seasons Launches Locally Grown Frozen Fruit In The Midwest
Seal the Seasons, a national brand selling locally grown frozen fruit, is partnering with Meijer as the first Midwest retailer to carry its products. Seal the Seasons partners with farmers on a region-by-region basis to buy its fruit in season, freeze and package it, and sell it in nearby grocery stores. Seal the Seasons was […]
Wegmans, Publix Again Named To ‘Best Companies To Work For’ List
For the 22nd consecutive year, Wegmans and Publix have been named one of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, ranking No. 3 and No. 12, respectively. Publix jumped from No. 47 last year. Publix also ranked No. 1 on the inaugural list of Fortune’s “Best Big Companies to Work For,” featuring only seven companies with more than […]
Grocers Need to Plumb Their Data To Better Understand Shoppers
by Sy Fahimi/SVP-Product Strategy, Symphony RetailAI Grocery retail is going through a significant reinvention as we continue to move into the era of the consumer. Retailers can succeed in 2019 by keeping data at the core of every practice in order to better understand their shoppers. Historically, retailers have large amounts of data, such as […]
Digital Goodie Appoints Moris Chemtov As Global CEO
Digital Goodie, a global e-commerce company with U.S. offices in Sterling, Virginia, has appointed Moris Chemtov as its new global CEO. Chemtov will work out of the Helsinki, Finland office and will partner with Deputy Managing Director Jani Jääskeläinen to navigate the next phase of the company’s growth and expansion. Jääskeläinen will retain his role and […]
Independent Grocery Stores Experience ‘Significant Growth’ With Mercato
Mercato, an online ordering and delivery marketplace for independent grocers, is helping food retailers “significantly increase” online sales, with some more than tripling year-over-year, the company says. Mercato analyzed year-over-year and fourth quarter 2018 sales for retailers on the Mercato.com platform and found there were sharp increases ranging from 45 percent to 400 percent, with additional increases […]
Associated Supermarket Group Establishes Loyalty Marketing Program
Associated Supermarket Group (ASG), based in New York, and Wonder Rewards have entered a partnership that establishes “Wonder Rewards” as a loyalty marketing program for ASG’s banner stores and independents. Wonder Rewards was formally introduced at the Feb. 7 ASG Retailer Summit as part of “What’s New for 2019 in Technology” for driving sales, profitability and improving […]
Kroger Introduces Mobile Payment Solution And Rewards Debit Card
The Kroger Co. is introducing Kroger Pay, a mobile payment solution that combines a customer’s payment and loyalty card information to create a faster checkout experience. The company also is launching a new Kroger Rewards debit card. “Kroger is redefining the customer experience by creating innovative ways to pay at our stores and online,” said Gary Millerchip, […]
Tillamook Unveiling New Packaging And Logo For 100th Anniversary
The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) turned 110 years old on Feb. 13, 2019. The farmer-owned co-op, located on Oregon’s Pacific Coast, will mark the occasion by rolling out what it says is a “bolder, friendlier and more consistent look” across its entire line of dairy products. The new logo will appear on all company […]
Tasty Social Network Unveils Limited Edition Ice Cream
Tasty, the social food network of New York, is bringing “creative twists on classics” to the frozen aisle with the launch of Tasty Ice Cream. This month, four flavor combinations will start hitting shelves. Once the ice cream sells out, it is gone because Tasty Ice Cream is offering exclusively limited edition flavors. This launch marks […]
Blueberries Gain American Heart Association Heart-Healthy Certification
As American Heart Month kicks off, the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council has announced that blueberries now are certified as heart-healthy through the American Heart Association Heart-Check Food Certification Program. The Blueberry Council and its grower members can use the official heart-check mark on blueberry packaging and throughout online, print and other promotional materials and activities. The American Heart […]
