Vallarta Supermarkets, a Hispanic supermarket chain, opened its 50th store this week, located in Pasadena, California. The new supermarket in in the Renaissance Plaza Shopping Center on the southwest corner of North Fair Oaks Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard. It previously was occupied by a Vons Supermarket. The remodeled 50,000-s.f. facility was built with an […]
Category: Industry News
Fifth Florida Sprouts Set To Open Next Year In Valrico
Sprouts Farmers Market soon will finish construction on a new location in Valrico, Florida. The new store will be the retailer’s fifth in the state and will help meet the “growing local demand for fresh, natural and organic foods at great prices,” the company says. The 30,000-s.f. store will be located at 3315 Lithia Pinecrest […]
7-Eleven’s ‘7Rewards’ Program Expands To More Than Beverages
7Rewards, 7-Eleven‘s mobile customer loyalty app that earns users a free beverage for every six cups purchased, has expanded to enable customers to earn reward points for hundreds of other 7-Eleven product purchases. After extensive successful testing in Canada, the updated 7Rewards app has landed in the U.S. 7Rewards recently expanded its program so customers could […]
ROFDA Fall Conference: ‘Bold Moves’ Needed In New Era Of Grocery
How does an independent grocer leverage e-commerce in this “new era” of grocery retailing? That is the question Steve Bishop, managing partner, Brick Meets Click, attempted to answer at the ROFDA Fall Conference. While e-commerce is a small percentage of sales today, it is a disproportionately important part of the business. Bishop said Amazon’s acquisition […]
Hormel Foods Completes Acquisition Of Columbus Manufacturing Inc.
Hormel Foods Corp. has closed on its acquisition of Columbus Manufacturing Inc., a deli meat and salami company, from Chicago-based Arbor Investments. According to Hormel Foods, the addition of the Columbus brand strengthens its position as a total deli solutions provider while enhancing its other deli brands, such as Hormel, Jennie-O, Applegate and Di Lusso. The purchase price is approximately $850 […]
Albertsons Cos. Partnering With Instacart At 1,800+ Stores
Albertsons Cos. has entered into an agreement with on-demand grocery delivery service Instacart to offer same-day deliveries in as little as an hour. When the platform is fully developed, Instacart customers will be able to choose from Albertsons Cos. banner stores across key market areas. “Instacart’s extensive delivery network combined with Albertsons Companies’ existing home […]
Industry Orgs Urge House To Pass ADA Reform Legislation
The National Grocers Association (NGA), a trade association representing the independent supermarket industry, and 28 state trade associations this week urged the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the ADA Reform and Education Act of 2017 (H.R. 620) in a letter sent to lawmakers. According to the organizations, the legislation would “protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits brought […]
Publix To Open Second GreenWise Market Location
Publix Super Markets has selected Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, as the second location for its new GreenWise Market concept, focusing on the specialty, natural and organic sector. Mount Pleasant lies immediately to the east of Charleston, and the selected site is located within the Indigo Square shopping center at the northwest corner of US Highway […]
Food Lion Unveils Deli Upgrades At Salisbury Store
Customers who shop at the Food Lion store located at 251 Faith Road in Salisbury, North Carolina, are noticing few changes. The store recently underwent a complete remodel of the deli department, “making it easier for customers to choose meals for their families with high-quality, quick, easy and affordable meal solutions,” the company says. From […]
Festival Foods To Open Newest Eau Claire Location This Week
Festival Foods will open its newest store at 2717 Birch Street in Eau Claire on Friday, Dec. 1. The Birch Street Festival Foods will offer a new meat service case, salad and soup bar, scratch bakery, wine and spirits department and catering services, as well as natural and organic foods and deli options. The store […]
AFPD, Local Businesses And Nonprofits Distribute Turkeys In Michigan
The Associated Food and Petroleum Dealers (AFPD) says it is one of the largest turkey drives in the country, having distributed more than 85,000 of the holiday birds since 1980. AFPD teams with local independent retailers and suppliers to bring free turkeys to families in need during the holiday season as part of AFPD’s Annual […]
New Mission Foods Plant Will Produce 30 Million Tortillas Per Day
Gruma S.A.B. de C.V., a producer of corn flour, tortillas and flat breads, has opened its new Mission Foods plant in Dallas, Texas. The plant, which will produce wheat and corn tortillas, tortilla chips and flat breads under Gruma’s Mission Foods brand, has the capacity to continue growing to meet future consumer demand, the company […]
Natural Grocers Sees 9 Percent Net Sales Increase In FY 2017
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. has released the results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Sept. 30 and provided its outlook for fiscal 2018. Highlights for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2017 compared to the fourth quarter and fiscal 2016 include: Net sales increased 9.7 percent to $198.5 million in the fourth quarter and increased 9 […]
Walmart Selects SAS Retail Services As A Preferred Service Provider
Walmart has selected SAS Retail Services, a provider of in-store merchandising services for retailers and consumer brands nationally, as one of five preferred service providers (PSPs). SAS will provide Walmart stores a range of services, including modular/category resets, display execution, stocking, product assembly, product recall, fixture/equipment installation, POS signage installation, quality control compliance and customer […]
Walmart Partners With Deliv For Grocery Delivery In San Jose
Last-mile logistics company Deliv is partnering with Walmart to power its same-day grocery delivery in the San Jose, California, area, expanding on the recent collaboration among Walmart, Deliv and August Home that enables delivery when customers are not home. “Customers are busier than ever. They’re looking for ways they can free up time on their calendars, […]
Smart & Final Sales Up 4.5 Percent In 3Q
Smart & Final Stores Inc., a value-oriented food and everyday staples retailer, has released its financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 8, and the news is largely positive. Highlights include: net sales increase of 4.5 percent to $1,457.4 million; comparable store sales increase of 1.5 percent; net income of $5.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share; adjusted net […]
Rouses Markets Opens 55th Store In Baton Rouge Shopping Center
On Wednesday, Nov. 15, Rouses Markets opened its 55th store, this one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the Bluebonnet Village Shopping Center at the northwest corner of Bluebonnet Boulevard and Perkins Road (7580 Bluebonnet Boulevard). The company has made a $3 million investment in upgrades since taking over the space in May. Along with conventional, […]
H-E-B Huntsville Preview Included Concert, $100K In Donations
H-E-B’s newest store opened to shoppers Nov. 15 in Huntsville, Texas. The day before, the grocer and H-E-B Chairman and CEO Charles Butt donated $100,000 to local nonprofits and invited the community to a concert at 6:30 p.m. that evening featuring Texas country singer-songwriter Kevin Fowler. The 82,000-s.f. store, located at 1702 11th Street, is […]
Amazon, Whole Foods Lowering Prices On Customer, Holiday Favorites
Whole Foods Market and Amazon are rolling out lower prices on additional best-selling grocery items and holiday staples at Whole Foods stores, including a new lower price on organic and no-antibiotic turkeys for all customers and a deeper discount for Prime members. According to the company, this offer is a sneak preview of the special […]
Mother’s Market Expanding Into Los Angeles Market With Two Stores
Mother’s Market & Kitchen, a natural and organic foods retailer based in Southern California, will be expanding into the Los Angeles market, adding two new stores in the cities of Signal Hill and Manhattan Beach. The Signal Hill store, which is under construction, will be located at 2475 Cherry Ave. It will serve as the […]
