Is Whole Foods Market being primed for a takeover? Perhaps. The Wall Street Journal and CNBC report that activist investor Jana Partners has built a nearly 9 percent stake in the Austin, Texas-based grocery chain and wants the company to “speed up its turnaround efforts while also exploring a possible sale.” “The activist investor has […]
Category: Industry News
Harvest And Sherwood Food Distributors Merge
Harvest Food Distributors and Sherwood Food Distributors have merged to form a nationwide protein and perishable food distribution network, servicing independent food retailers, regional and national chains, cruise lines and foodservice distributors from coast to coast. The merger of Harvest Sherwood brings together two family-owned companies to serve as a single, trusted partner for producers and […]
Affiliated Foods CEO Encourages Independents To Try Something New
Out in West Texas, deflation has hit the oil patch as well as the grocery business. In addition, the independent grocer now is being tasked with adjusting its tactics for a new generation of consumers: Millennials. Randy Arceneaux, president and CEO of Affiliated Foods in Amarillo, talked about these challenges and the opportunities they represent during his […]
Software Co. Releases S4Vision For Unified Customers
Software 4 Retail Solutions has released S4Vision for Unified Grocers customers participating in Unified’s “Scan Advantage” store data and analytics program. S4Vision is a self-service business intelligence platform that accumulates and analyzes real-time point-of-sale (POS) transaction data, giving store owners and managers actionable reporting and analytics on their desktop, tablet or smartphone. S4Vision connects store […]
Supervalu 2017 National Expo Plans Announced
Supervalu has unveiled plans for its fourth annual National Expo, which will be held July 25-27 at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota. The event will feature a day of educational seminars and workshops tailored to help independent grocery retailers serve their customers better, as well as access to more than 300 vendors across nearly […]
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market Confirms 18 New Stores
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market plans to open a number of new stores over the coming months. The Illinois-based chain currently operates more than 50 stores in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin. Fresh Thyme will open stores on: • April 26 at 2130 E. Kimberly Road in Davenport, Iowa; • […]
Two New Stores In The Works For PCC Natural Markets
Seattle-based PCC Natural Markets, the largest community-owned food market in the U.S., has two new stores on the drawing board. The first, in Burien, Washington, is expected to open in early 2018. The approximately 20,000-s.f. unit will be located in Five Corners Shopping Center at 15840 1st Avenue South and bring about 100 jobs to […]
McLane Co. Becomes Walmart’s Primary Candy, Tobacco Products Provider
Walmart has renewed its service agreement with McLane Co., a provider of grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions. As part of the extended agreement, McLane will continue to deliver to Walmart stores across the U.S., in addition to becoming the sole provider of candy and tobacco products to the majority of Walmart’s retail locations. In […]
Reasor’s Bakery, Deli Departments Recognized For Excellence
Reasor’s has won two national Excellence in Merchandising awards from Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) for its work in the bakery and deli departments. As Reasor’s wholesaler, AWG recognizes a select group of its retailers annually with the Excellence in Merchandising Awards. AWG currently is home to more than 3,800 independent grocery retailers in more than […]
Claus Out At Save-A-Lot As Former Lidl Chief Takes Over
Save-A-Lot CEO Eric Claus and Onex, the company’s controlling shareholder, have “mutually agreed to part ways” as the discount chain has appointed former Lidl leader Kenneth McGrath its new chief executive, effective April 21. “We want to thank Eric for his contributions to Save-A-Lot over the past year,” said Matthew Ross, chairman of Save-A-Lot’s board of […]
Northgate Executive: Expect Major Remodels, Expansions
Tom Herman says Northgate Gonzalez Markets has big plans. The chief experience officer for the 41-store Southern California chain reveals that the company intends to undertake “major remodels and expansions” this year. “Our strategy right now is we’re going back into some of our older facilities—either they’re smaller or older and can’t do the kind […]
Actor DiCaprio Joins Love The Wild As Investor, Advisor
Boulder, Colorado-based Love The Wild, purveyors of farm-raised, freshly frozen seafood kits, and champions for sustainable aquaculture, has added new investors to round out its previously announced Series A funding round. Joining Aqua-Spark, an investment fund that seeks to address the planet’s health and food security, and existing angel investors were individuals, including Academy-Award winner […]
Publix Sets Sights On Growing Its GreenWise Market Stores
Publix Super Markets plans to “reignite” its GreenWise store concept, the company said March 31. The first newly redesigned GreenWise will be located near Florida State University at the southwest corner of Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue in Tallahassee, Florida, and is expected to debut in late 2018. “We are committed to being the retailer […]
Supermarkets Rank Tops For Customer Experience
Publix, H-E-B and Hannaford deliver the best customer experience in the supermarket industry. That’s according to the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers. This year, supermarkets earned the two highest scores in the entire Ratings. With a score of 84 percent, Publix not […]
Vowell’s Market Place Launches ‘Shop, Drop & Roll’ Online Shopping Service
Mississippi’s Vowell’s Market Place is adding online shopping at its stores in Forest, Byram and Starkville. The service, named “Shop, Drop & Roll Powered by Rosie” will allow customers to shop online (excluding alcohol and tobacco products) in the stores and have those items available for pickup within three hours. The service launches April 5. […]
Who Is Most Likely To Grocery Shop Online?
Although online grocery shoppers can be found across all demographic groups, they are more likely to be younger men, age 18-44, according to a recent report on online grocery shopping by The NPD Group. Amazon Prime members and young adults are other groups more likely to grocery shop online, finds “The Virtual Grocery Store” report. The […]
Giumarra Forecasts Excellent Vidalia Onion Volumes This Spring
Vidalia onion season officially kicks off April 12, according to the Vidalia Onion Committee—and Giumarra Southeast says it is offering promotable volumes of the summer favorite, packaged in the Nature’s Partner brand. Shipments will begin the third week of April and continue through the end of July. “Growing conditions in South Georgia have led to […]
Key Trends Shaping The Future Of Grocery Retailing
The U.S. food retailing business has never been more competitive, and there are a number of trends putting pressure on food retailers of all stripes—from supermarkets whose bread and butter is groceries to supercenters and drugstores for which food is a smaller but still crucial part of the product mix. That’s according to “The Future of […]
Five Steps To Cut Spoilage And Reduce Losses
by Michael Falck/co-founder and U.S. president, RELEX Solutions Special to The Shelby Report According to a 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, shrink loss in fresh fruit, vegetables and meat items continues to increase despite advances in food technologies. In the same report, the USDA found that in 2011-12, the average loss estimate […]
Rosie To Serve As First Online Grocery Shopping Platform For Independents To Accept EBT/SNAP Payments
by Lorrie Griffith/editor-in-chief Independent grocers that use e-commerce provider Rosie’s app soon will be able to allow their shoppers to shop online and pay for SNAP-eligible items at-store using their EBT benefits. Jon Ambrose, co-founder and COO of Rosie, told The Shelby Report at his company’s booth at the recent NGA Show that Rosie has […]
