Ahold Delhaize this week reported strong second quarter 2017 results, driven by an improvement in sales and merger synergies resulting in higher margins, according to the company. Dick Boer, CEO of Ahold Delhaize, said, “We are pleased to report a strong set of results. Sales improved across the board and the group’s underlying operating margin increased […]
Category: Northeast
The Shelby Report of the Northeast covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
Multi-State Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Mexican Papayas
As of Aug. 4, 109 people—including many residents in the Northeast—had been infected with Salmonella strains. The CDC has linked the outbreak with papayas imported from Mexico. Victims have been reported from 16 states, including New York (36) and New Jersey (26), Pennsylvania (7), Maryland (6) and Massachusetts (3). Ill people also have been reported in Connecticut, […]
NACS Cites ‘Significant Flaws’ With Final Menu-Labeling Rule
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) have filed their comments with the FDA regarding menu labeling. The chief NACS concern is comparison of c-stores to chain restaurants. “The final rule contains significant flaws, many of which stem from that fact that the regulations appear to have been […]
Maine Legislators Override Governor To Up Smoking Age To 21
Next July, Maine will become the fourth state to increase its smoking age to 21. Maine legislators voted to overturn Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of the measure. LePage had objected to the bill, labeling it as trying to “engineer our lives.” He also said it wasn’t fair to ask 18-year-olds to join the military and […]
N.J. Ag Secretary Touts ‘Jersey Fresh Produce’ At ShopRite
New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Douglas H. Fisher recently visited the ShopRite store in Morris County to tout “Jersey Fresh Produce” and the many varieties of local produce available at the peak of this growing season. After visiting the ShopRite of Greater Morristown, Fisher traveled to Larchmont Farms in Salem County. “We are at the height of Jersey Fresh […]
Weis Markets Reports Second Quarter Gains
Weis Markets reported that its second quarter sales for the 13-week period, which ended July 1, jumped 20 percent to $876.6 million compared to $730.4 million for the same period in 2016. In the second quarter, the company’s operating income increased 15.2 percent to $27.7 million compared to $24.1 million for the same period in 2016. The company’s second quarter net income […]
Rutter’s Doubling Size Of Corporate Office Space
As part of Rutter’s strategic plan for growth, the Pennsylvania convenience retailer says it recently started construction to expand and double the size of its corporate office to 23,000 s.f. Total cost of the expansion project will exceed $2 million and is expected to be completed in February 2018. New stores and remodels, combined with the change […]
Cott To Sell Beverage Manufacturing Business To Refresco
Cott Corp. plans to sell its beverage manufacturing business to Refresco for $1.25 billion. The transaction includes Cott’s North America, U.K. and Mexico businesses. For more than 60 years, Cott Beverages has manufactured carbonated soft drinks, 100 percent shelf-stable juice and juice-based products, energy drinks, clear, still and sparkling flavored waters, sports drinks, new-age beverages, ready-to-drink teas, freezables and ready-to-drink alcoholic […]
Little Miss Cupcape Flourishes With Designer Cupcakes, A Retro Look And A Passion For Baking
by Mike Berger/editor–Northeast Taylor Stump knew early that she would own her own retail bakery. The challenge, then, was to differentiate her bakery from everyone else’s. She decided to devote much of her space to cupcakes, create a retro setting from the 1950s and ’60s and offer children’s birthday parties. Her company motto? “A Decadent […]
New Hampshire Grocers Launch Double Up Food Bucks Program
Select New Hampshire grocery stores are launching the healthy food incentive program, “Double Up Food Bucks,” in August. Double Up matches the value of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) spent on locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, helping low income families bring home more nutritious, fresh fruits and vegetables. Participating […]
Sovos Brands Completes Purchase Of Rao’s Specialty Foods
Sovos Brands, a food and beverage company formed by Advent International, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Rao’s Specialty Foods, a New York producer of Rao’s Homemade, a brand of pasta sauce. Rao’s Specialty Foods is the second acquisition in less than six months for Sovos Brands. Rao’s Specialty Foods joins Sovos’ portfolio of […]
Safeway Eastern Division Marking 87th Anniversary With Gas Promotion
Safeway Eastern Division stores in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Delaware and Florida will celebrate the company’s 87th anniversary throughout the month of August with a special anniversary sale featuring 4x Gas Rewards on top-selling items. When shoppers purchase Safeway Anniversary Sale items, every $1 spent on these items will earn four times the usual Gas […]
ShopRite Opens Newest Store In Plainview, New York
ShopRite has opened its newest full-service supermarket in Plainview, New York. The 68,000-s.f. grocery store also serves as a retail anchor for Country Pointe at Plainview, a development that will include a mix of housing and retail shops when completed. The Greenfield family, third- and fourth-generation grocers who own four other ShopRites on Long Island, operate […]
FDA To Pursue Lower Nicotine Levels In Tobacco Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced new tobacco and nicotine regulations with a goal of “better protecting children and significantly reducing tobacco-related disease and death.” The approach places levels of nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the center of the agency’s tobacco regulation efforts. The goal is to ensure that the FDA has the […]
Cumberland Farms Says It Saved Customers $75M Through SmartPay Program
Cumberland Farms says its customers have saved $75 million through use of the SmartPay program, which launched in January 2013. Available as both a free payment card and a mobile payment app, SmartPay Check-Link users automatically save 10 cents on every gallon of gas at any Cumberland Farms gas retail location throughout the Northeast and Florida. Cumberland Farms has made the […]
Stew Leonard’s In Danbury, Connecticut, Rolls Out Meal Delivery In Under An Hour
Stew Leonard’s in Danbury, Connecticut, has partnered with Vroom Service Now for delivery of the grocer’s meals in under an hour. “While the Leonards first started as milk deliverymen 100 years ago, offering home meal delivery is an exciting new chapter in my family’s fresh food business,” said Jake Tavello, store director of Stew Leonard’s […]
Snyder’s-Lance To Spend $20M On Hyannis, Mass., Plant Expansion
Snyder’s-Lance plans to expand its Hyannis, Massachusetts, Cape Cod Chips plant by nearly 40,000 s.f. The $20 million project will add to the plant’s manufacturing, warehouse and office and retail spaces. Cape Cod and Snyder’s-Lance recently filed project plans with the Cape Cod Commission. “Our company continually evaluates our operations to best use our investments and […]
Group Encourages Stores To Drop Ben & Jerry’s Unless Organic Commitment Is Made
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) reports that 10 of 11 samples of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream tested positive for glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup herbicide. OCA is calling for Ben & Jerry’s, a Vermont-based subsidiary of Unilever, to begin an immediate transition to using only organic ingredients, including milk, in its products or face a […]
Stop & Shop To Close Older Medford, Mass., Store; Adds New Unit In Conn.
Stop & Shop is closing a smaller, older store at 471 Salem Street in Medford, Massachusetts, in mid- to late August and expanding a larger store in that community. The grocery chain also recently opened a new store in Litchfield, Connecticut. The Stop & Shop store at 760 Fellsway in Medford remains open as it […]
Wegmans, Instacart Expand Same-Day Delivery From Pa., N.J. Stores
Wegmans Food Markets has expanded its same-day grocery delivery service through Instacart to select stores in southeastern Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley and southern New Jersey. The service allows Wegmans customers to complete their grocery shopping online and have their orders delivered to their doors in as little as an hour. Wegmans customers can fill their virtual carts by […]
