Trader Joe’s is adding two more Houston, Texas, area sites to its shopping list for store locations, according information on the Texas Comptroller’s website. The grocery store chain has received sales tax permits to open stores at 1440 S. Voss and 2922 S. Shepherd. The new locations will join a store under development in The […]
Category: Southwest
The Shelby Report of the Southwest covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
Posted in, Southwest
Whole Foods Same Stores Sales Increase Nearly 9%
by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor Whole Foods Market started off fiscal year 2012 with an 8.7 percent increase in sales in stores open one year or more. The Austin-based company expects same store sales to increase 9.4 percent in the second quarter. Even in stores 15 years old and older, Whole Foods saw same store sales […]
Posted in, Southwest
H-E-B Opens New Central Market Convenience Format
The Dallas News reports that H-E-B has opened a new mini Central Market in Dallas, Texas. The News says it looks “as if someone took the CM concept and squeezed it up and in: You’ll see most of the products found at the larger stores, but tighter stocks stacked high—a narrower trough of sweet potatoes, […]
Posted in, Market Profile, Southwest
2012 West Texas Profile: Grocery Traditions Alive and Well
[gn_note color=”#ff3333″] The 2012 West Texas originally ran in the February 2012 edition of The Shelby Report of the Southwest. Due to reader requests we will be posting our Profiles from each edition of The Shelby Report. The profile will be published on theshelbyreport.com one month after it has run in print.[/gn_note]by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor […]
Posted in, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest
Kroger, Teamsters Ratify Agreements
Kroger Co. associates working at four distribution centers and two dairy manufacturing facilities have ratified new labor agreements with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The new contract includes a master agreement that outlines healthcare and pension benefits and local supplemental agreements that cover wages for three years. About 1,400 employees of the Cincinnati-based grocery retailer […]
Posted in, Southwest
Texas Supermarket, Red Mango Partner on In-Store Yogurt Shop
United Supermarkets and Red Mango are embarking on a test of a store-in-store concept offering healthy frozen treats to United shoppers. United is slated to open its first Red Mango counter later this month at its Judge Ely Boulevard location in Abilene. Construction begins inside the store today, Feb. 13. This is the first Red […]
Posted in, Southwest
Michael Besancon Retires From Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market, a leading organic and natural foods supermarket, has announced that Michael Besancon, senior global VP of purchasing, distribution and communication, will retire from the company after more than 17 years of service. “Having worked in our line of business from soup to nuts, Michael is absolutely one of the most knowledgeable natural […]
Posted in, Southwest
Austin Bag Ban Could Cost Texas 8,800 Jobs, Group Says
An alliance of plastic bag manufacturers estimate that a bag ban in Austin, Texas, could cost the state 8,800 jobs, reports the Austin Business Journal. The Journal reports that the American Progressive Bag Alliance is against the city’s proposed ordinance to tax and ban single-use plastic bags that Mayor Lee Leffingwell has been pushing for. […]
Posted in, Center Store, New Products, Southwest
Hostess Rolls Out New Chocolate Creme Twinkies
Irving, Texas-based Hostess is giving consumers another way to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year with the launch of new Chocolate Creme Twinkies. Following a special limited-edition offering of the treat last spring, the golden cakes’ signature creme filling is getting a chocolate-y makeover just in time for the sweetest holiday of the year—and the flavor […]
Posted in, Market Profile, Southwest
2012 New Mexico Profile: Economy Picks Up Steam
[gn_note color=”#ff3333″] The 2012 New Mexico originally ran in the January 2012 edition of The Shelby Report of the Southwest. Due to reader requests we will be posting our Profiles from each edition of The Shelby Report. The profile will be published on theshelbyreport.com one month after it has run in print.[/gn_note] by Terrie Ellerbee/associate […]
Posted in, Midwest, New Products, Perishables, Southwest, West
Better Whey of Life Launches New Whey-Infused Greek Yogurt
Evanston, Ill.-based Tula Foods Inc.®, a healthy foods manufacturer, has launched Better Whey of Life® (BWoL), the first all-natural brand of Greek yogurt made with whey protein from grass-fed cows. Hitting regional shelves in Chicago, Denver and San Francisco are six “twist-on-the-familiar” varieties: blackberry pomegranate, strawberry goji berry, raspberry white grape, acai mixed berry, vanilla […]
Posted in, Southeast, Southwest, West
More Than 500 Walmart Women File EEOC Discrimination Charges
In a move to protect their right to pursue individual and class-action pay and promotion claims against Walmart Stores Inc., more than 500 former and current Walmart women employees who had been part of a national class-action lawsuit have filed a charge of discrimination against the retailer with the U.S. Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission […]
Posted in, C-Store News, Southeast, Southwest
7-Eleven Acquires 55 Sam’s Mart Stores in the Carolinas
Slurpee® drinks, Big Bite® hotdogs, Big Gulp® beverages and other convenient services are on their way to Charlotte. Dallas, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. has entered into an agreement with Sam’s Mart LLC to acquire 55 Sam’s Mart stores in North and South Carolina and convert them to 7-Eleven® stores this year. The transaction is anticipated to […]
Posted in, Southwest
Arizona Bill Requires ID to Get Food Stamps
Conservatives traditionally don’t like the idea of national identification cards, citing Orwellian “big brother” fears. Those same concerns aren’t always held when it comes to trying to keep illegal immigrants from getting jobs or welfare benefits, reports the Phoenix Business Journal. Some Arizona Republican lawmakers have introduced a new bill in the legislature requiring those […]
Posted in, Southwest
‘Supermarket Chef Showdown’ Set For FMI2012
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has announced the inaugural FMI Supermarket Chef Showdown™, a unique cook-off competition exclusively for culinary professionals in the food retail industry. The contest is designed to promote the value and culinary expertise present in supermarkets and grocery stores, and FMI predicts the competition will be a premier event for supermarket […]
Posted in, Southwest
FRESH By Brookshire’s Awarded LEED Green Building Certification
The Fresh by Brookshire’s store in Tyler, Texas, has earned LEED® certification in recognition of its energy-saving features, the first grocery store in East Texas to earn the certification. Brookshire’s new concept store achieved LEED status for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. The […]
Posted in, Center Store, Southeast, Southwest
Hostess Likely to File for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Hostess Brands Inc. is getting ready to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its second such filing, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Privately held Hostess has about $860 million in debt and has been squeezed by high labor costs and rising ingredient prices, the sources said. The Irving, Texas-based company, previously called Interstate Bakeries Corp., […]
Posted in, Albertsons, Market Profile, Southwest
Texas Roundup: Retailers Expand, Bring New Formats to Meet Needs
[gn_note color=”#ff3333″] The 2011 Texas Roundup originally ran in the November 2011 edition of The Shelby Report of the Southwest. Due to reader requests we will be posting our Profiles from each edition of The Shelby Report. The profile will be published on theshelbyreport.com one month after it has run in print.[/gn_note] by Terrie Ellerbee/associate […]
Posted in, Southwest
Walmart to Open Third Albuquerque Neighborhood Market
Walmart has signed a long-term lease to place one of its Neighborhood Markets in the site once occupied by a Wild Oats store in the Foothills Shopping Center at Juan Tabo and Menaul NE in Albuquerque, reports New Mexico Business Weekly The 34,000-s.f. anchor site in the Northeast Heights’ center will be the nation’s largest […]
Posted in, National, Southwest
AWG Sells HAC Stores to Employees
The management and employees of Homeland Acquisition Corp. (HAC), consisting of Homeland, United of Oklahoma, Country Mart stores in Oklahoma and Super Save stores in north central Texas, has completed an employee buyout transaction allowing employees to purchase the company, which operates 76 retail grocery stores, from Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), a retail-owned cooperative. The […]