Sprouts Farmers Market

Perhaps no other retailer is profiting as well from Americans' changing eating habits than Sprouts Farmers Market, which reported record sales and earnings for the fourth quarter.

The Arizona-based grocer said that same-store sales during the period ended Jan. 3 rose 7.4%. Net income was $28.2 million and diluted earnings per share were 18 cents. Net sales were $3.59 billion, a 21% increase compared to reported net sales in 2014. Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.86, a 19% increase from 2014.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Inc. announced it facilitated the acquisition of 13 properties purchased in October by Inland related parties. The acquisitions total more than 1.65 million sq. ft. across nine states for a total purchase price of more than $432.2 million. The properties acquired include a student housing community, six shopping centers and single-tenant retail stores.

The 13 properties consist of:

While Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market struggle to eke out sales growth and profit, Sprouts Farmers Market is quietly emerging as a perennial winner in the grocery sector.

Sprouts reported its third quarter results this week, and the company's financials exceeded company guidance and even Wall Street estimates.

The grocery chain reported results for the 13-week third quarter ended Sept. 27 that included:

• Net sales of $903.1 million, an 18% increase from the same period in 2014

Amazon.com is priming consumers in southern California for fast delivery.

Amazon’s Prime Now one-hour delivery service, has expanded to Los Angeles and Orange County, including areas such as Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Silver Lake and Irvine.

To support this expansion of Prime Now, Amazon has established four Prime Now hubs in southern California to serve its Prime members with superfast delivery on tens of thousands of items including paper towels, chilled and frozen items like milk and ice cream, and televisions and Kindle devices.

Just in time for the holidays, Amazon.com has extended its addictive Prime Now service to Southern California by establishing four distribution hubs.

Supermarket anchors offer wide range of products and services

Grocery retailers have always served as ideal shopping center anchors, as they guarantee extra foot traffic by providing consumers with their daily needs.

Sprouts Farmers Market cited strong top-line sales growth as among the reasons for the retailer’s 4.8% comp increase for the first quarter.

Net sales for the first quarter ended March 29 were $857.5 million, a 19% increase compared to the same period in 2014. Net sales growth was driven by strong performance in new stores opened and a 4.8% increase in same store sales growth, the company said.

The CEO of Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. credits consumers’ increasingly strong “desire to eat healthier” with his company’s big sales surge in the fourth quarter.

The Arizona-based company posted sales of $734.6 million, an increase of 21%, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 28. Same store sales were up 8.5%.

Huntsville, Alabama - GBT Realty Corp. announced the expansion of Strong Station, a 180,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood center in Huntsville, Alabama, currently tenanted by Academy Sports + Outdoor. Nearly 96% leased, the $16-million Phase II adds 95,000 sq. ft. of retail on nine acres to the east of the existing sporting goods store.      

Phoenix, Ariz. -- Net income at Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. soared 79% to $26.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from $14.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier. A reduction in pretax losses helped boost net income growth.