Marketing

With word this week that Walmart will rebrand its small format Express stores under the Neighborhood Market banner, there will be plenty of interest in an upcoming presentation by the retailer’s vp of small formats.

Marc Lieberman, vp of small formats for Walmart U.S., is slated to speak at a Doing Business in Bentonville event on Thursday, October 9. at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, Ark., from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Retail industry veteran Marty Hanaka has joined Highland Consumer Partners as one of the firm’s operating partners.

Hanaka has held senior leadership positions with numerous retailers throughout his lengthy career. Most recently, he served as interim CECO of Guitar Center and from 2007 to 2012 he held the positions of chairman and CEO at Golfsmith. From 1998 to 2004 he served as CEO and chairman of The Sports Authority. Prior to that he spent three years as COO of Staples and also held senior leadership roles during a 20 year career at Sears.

Lancaster, Pa. -- Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, the 1, 600-unit global franchise, has entered into a partnership with Meijer. In August, Auntie Anne’s opened its first Meijer franchise location, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
 
Auntie Anne’s will continue to build its partnership with the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer with two stores currently in the pipeline. The first is slated to also open in Fort Wayne later this year, with an additional location planned for Michigan in 2015.
 

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has appointed Sue Pifer as VP of compliance and Tiffin Shewmake as the director of the Center for Retail Compliance (CRC).

“The experience and skills that Sue and Tiffin possess make them uniquely suited for delivering exceptional value to our member companies on a broad range of compliance issues. We are excited to have them join the RILA team,” said RILA president Sandy Kennedy.

New York -- The nation’s three largest off-price retailers (TJX, Ross Stores and Burlington) will see above-average growth, in the 6%-8% range, over the next five years, compared with 4% growth for the broader retail industry, according to a new report by Moody's Investors Service. The leaders in the space have thousands of vendor relationships and significant scale, so supply constraints aren't likely to hinder their growth, the report noted.

Kroger plans to open three new fuel center locations this week — in Abingdon, Virginia; Decatur, Georgia; and Louisville, Kentucky — that bring the company's fuel center locations total to 2,000.  

Kroger operates 1,275 supermarket fuel centers and 725 convenience stores with fuel. Combined, the company sells fuel in 37 states and is the third-largest owner-operator of fuel centers in the United States.

Cargill has been helping Unilever reduce its environmental impact, improve sustainability and grow its business through innovation. This work has resulted in Unilever selecting Cargill as its first-ever "Visionary" award winner during its fourth Partner to Win Supplier Summit.

In a time of evolution and change, when buzz terms like right-sizing and asset management dominate retail real estate conversations, an unwavering focus on the tenant is more important than ever before. Chain Store Age talked with Jeff Kuchman, Principal/Director Tenant Brokerage, Mid-America Real Estate Corp., based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, about the company’s tenant representation business and how it has continued to take center stage.