Aldi, Inc.

In a blockbuster deal, online giant Amazon is acquiring Whole Foods Market in an all cash transaction valued at $13.7 billion, or $42 a share.    John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods, will remain CEO of the grocer after the deal closes. Stores will continue to operate under the Whole Foods banner, and the company's headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas.  

Consumers are very excited about shopping at German discount grocer Lidl — even though they have never set foot inside one of the company's stores before.    Lidl's upcoming entry into North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia could remove $1 billion in local sales in the medium term, according to a report by global consulting firm Oliver Wyman which surveyed consumers in the three states cited above. It reveals that consumers are overwhelmingly excited about trying Lidl.   

A German discount grocer has set its sights on becoming the third-largest American food retailer by store count, behind Walmart and Kroger.   

Lidl makes its long-awaited U.S. debut on June 15, opening the first three of 20 stores it plans to open this summer across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Mike Paglia, retail director of Kantan Retail, offers the following insights on the grocer's prospects in the United States:   

A 50,000-sq.-ft. former Rite Aid store in what was not long ago a rough-and-tumble area of the South Bronx has sold for $17.5 million.   The buyer, an affiliate of ABCAPSTONE plans to redevelop the building — now occupied by a Salvation Army Family Store — into as much as 100,000 sq. ft. of retail space.  

Although Walmart is an old-school retailer, it is not afraid to learn new tricks and to shift its thinking. This youthful and innovative approach has helped it deliver another solid set of results in a highly competitive market.  

German discount grocer Lidl is set to shake up the competition with prices that promise to turn up the heat on its U.S. competitors, who are already engaged in a price war.    Lidl on Wednesday revealed the locations of the first 20 stores it will open this summer in the United States, starting on June 15. (See end of story for listing). The stores — in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — are the first of up to 100 locations the grocer plans to open across the East Coast by next summer.