Hawaii grocer Okimoto Corp. celebrated 75 years in business in 2024, built on a foundation of honesty, integrity, humility and unity. Led by the third generation – Kris, Kyle and Kit Okimoto – the company operates two stores on Oahu and one on Molokai. Kit Okimoto, who in addition to his CFO duties in the […]
Category: West
Posted inIndependent Store News, News, Northgate Market, West
Northgate González Market Opens New Store In La Mirada, CA
Northgate González Market opened a 29,800-square-foot store Jan. 14 at 12721 Valley View Blvd. in La Mirada, California, marking a homecoming to the community where owners the González family first settled after immigrating to the U.S. “For our family, La Mirada will always hold a special place in our hearts,” said Oscar González, co-president of […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Finance News, News, West
Afresh Appoints Litle Chief Revenue Officer To Scale AI Platform
Afresh has appointed Adam Litle chief revenue officer following the company’s largest year to date, with more than 70 percent year-over-year growth and usage across more than 12,000 grocery departments in North America. Litle joins a leadership team with deep experience operating enterprise software companies through periods of rapid growth. In the past year, San […]
Posted inProduce News, Finance News, National, News, West
Mission Produce To Acquire Calavo Growers In $430M Deal
Mission Produce Inc. (NASDAQ: AVO) and Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGW) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Mission will acquire Calavo in a cash-and-stock transaction. The transaction would give Mission entrée into the high-growth prepared food segment, complementing its avocado business with Calavo’s value-added, avocado-based prepared foods. In addition to a variety of ready-to-eat […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Feature, Finance News, News, West
Swiftly’s Audience Optimizer Offers Retailers Digital Tools For Success
The Shelby Report recently visited with Swiftly, a Seattle-based retail technology platform, to learn more about its new Audience Optimizer, a tool designed to help brick-and-mortar retailers transition their marketing efforts from traditional print circulars to targeted digital campaigns. Sean Turner, co-founder and chief technology officer of Swiftly, said the platform provides retailers with digital […]
Posted inExecutive News, Bakery News, News, West
Hendrix Honored As USC’s 2026 Food Industry Executive Of The Year
The USC Marshall School of Business has named Jeffrey Hendrix, senior executive at Bimbo Bakeries USA, as its Food Industry Executive of the Year for the Food Industry Management Program’s 2026 cohort. USC has recognized an exceptional food industry leader annually for nearly six decades. The honor goes to executives whose careers reflect strategic leadership, […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Finance News, News, Stater Bros. Markets, West
Stater Bros. Expands Partnership With Afresh
Stater Bros. Markets is scaling its partnership with Afresh Technologies, extending AI-driven inventory management beyond produce into additional fresh departments while implementing distribution center (DC) forecasting. The expansion follows strong results from the 171-store California chain’s recent produce deployment, which it said reduced shrink and improved product availability. The combined system connects real store demand […]
Posted inOnline Grocery Technology, Feature, News, West
Local Express Showcases Unified Commerce Platform
Local Express, an artificial intelligence-native unified commerce platform, highlighted its comprehensive technology solutions for grocery retailers during Grocery Shop in Las Vegas, emphasizing how the company has evolved from serving small-format stores to providing enterprise-level capabilities for retailers of all sizes. Maria Gallegos, chief marketing officer for Glendale, California-based Local Express, said the company is […]