Strategy

New York -- Wegmans has confirmed plans to open a store in Alexandria, Va., in 2014, according to Washington Business Journal.

The store will be located in Hilltop Village, which is being developed by Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors. The project will feature some 250,000 sq. ft. of retail, anchored by the 143,000-sq.-ft. Wegmans, and 100,000 sq. ft. of office.

Schenectady, N.Y. -- Price Chopper Supermarkets/Golub Corp. announced that Sam Wagar has been promoted to the position of VP technical services, reporting directly to R. Gregory Zeh, Jr., VP Information Systems, CIO.

In his new position, Sam will be responsible for assessing, maintaining and recommending technology products and services to support the delivery of enterprise-wide technical services. He will oversee the corporate help desk, technical maintenance, technical operations, technical services and information integration.

Mahwah, N.J. -- Connecticut retailer Pilgrim Furniture City has expanded its relationship with TD Retail Card Services, moving from the company’s Renovate Card program to a branded private label card created specifically for Pilgrim customers.

New York -- Pervasive computing, the ability to digitally engage and interact (via your mobile devices) with enabled objects around you, ranks among the top technology trend that will impact businesses this year, according to PwC’s just released “2013 Top 10 Technology Trends for Business” report.

New York -- Shares of Safeway Inc. shares rose as much as 9% on Wednesday on rumors of increased buyout interest for its Canada operations by Canadian grocer Metro Inc. and Loblaw Companies Ltd.

On Tuesday, Metro announced it was selling off nearly half its stake in Couche-Tard Inc. for $482 million.

In December, Loblaw announced plans to spin off the vast majority of its property assets into a real estate investment trust.

When Target recently announced its new online price matching policy, I’m sure I wasn’t the only retail analyst whose first thought was: “This could be a pretty big deal.” While a number of retailers (including Target itself) have experimented with similar price-matching or pricing guarantee programs in the past, this new policy takes things to a new level.

Phoenix -- PetSmart on Tuesday announced its planned management succession plan. The company said that following its annual shareholders meeting on June 14, 2013, current president and COO David K. Lenhardt will be promoted to CEO and simultaneously join the board of directors. At that time, current chairman and CEO Bob Moran will vacate the CEO's chair and become executive chairman.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s announced that it plans to hire 45,000 seasonal workers at its U.S. stores, 13% more than a year earlier, and add 9,000 permanent part-time employees as the housing rebound spurs remodeling.

The permanent part-time positions include store associates focused on direct interaction and expertise for customers. Employees in the permanent positions will be scheduled to work during peak weekday shopping times.

New York -- Dollar General Corp. will open 635 new stores in 2013, creating some 6,000 jobs. The chain will also relocate 550 stores this year.

With the addition of these jobs in 2013, Dollar General said it will have created approximately 30,000 jobs in the last six years.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Jim McGinty, CFO of teen retailer, Hot Topic, has resigned from the company, effective March 29, the company announced Monday. George Wehlitz, VP, Finance, will serve as the interim CFO.

“We are grateful for Jim’s committed service to the company over the past 12 years and wish him well in the next phase of his career,” said Lisa Harper, chairman and CEO of Hot Topic.