Foodservice

On the heels of the biggest deal in its history, Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has entered into yet another deal to expand its U.S. footprint.   The retailer has signed an agreement to buy 53 stores in Louisiana, primarily in the Baton Rouge market, from American General Investments and North American Financial Group for an undisclosed price.    

Quik Mart Stores has made the move to LED lighting.      The Tucson, Arizona-based convenience store/gas station chain replaced the existing fluorescent and HID interior and exterior lighting with solid state LED lighting at 25 locations in the Tucson market.     The retrofit was completed by SCS Energy Solutions Corp.’s SCS Lighting Division, which also developed a solution for beverage and freezer cooler lighting, as well as enhancing existing merchandise displays.  

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is expanding its U.S. portfolio yet again.   In its biggest acquisition to date, the Canadian convenience store retailer has agreed to buy CST Brands Inc. for $48.53 per share in cash, with the total deal valued at $4.4 billion, including debt.   Couche-Tard operates more than 12,000 locations globally under several brands, including Circle K. Last year, Couche-Tard acquired The Pantry for about $1.7 billion, including debt, adding more than 1,500 stores to its U.S. footprint.

Fresh produce comes out on top as the most important feature to customers in their grocery store experience.   That’s according to a new report by Acosta, a full-service sales and marketing agency in the CPG Industry, in which fresh produce (89%) ranked as a more important feature than competitive pricing (86%) and product selection (84%).   

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is reportedly nearing a deal that would increase the ongoing consolidation in the convenience-store industry.   The Canadian convenience-store giant is in the lead to acquire CST Brands Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported.   CST, based in San Antonio, Texas, is a fuel and convenience-store chain with more than 1,000 stores in the southwestern U.S., New York and eastern Canada.   

When JLL took over retail leasing for 1407 Broadway, just south of Times Square in New York, it decided to break up the four existing retail pads on the ground floor into eight and emphasize food. That plan is now coming into fruition with the signing of Gregory’s Coffee, Juice Generation, Luke’s Lobster, and ‘Witchcraft as the first four tenants.  

Three current franchisee groups will introduce a total of 17 new Dunkin’ Donuts shops to the Atlanta area following deals signed with Dunkin’ Brands. Four of the units will be co-branded with Baskin-Robbins.  

Americans – in particular, some New Yorkers – can continue to run on Dunkin’, as the donut purveyor forged a partnership to offer delivery to select areas of Brooklyn and Manhattan.   Dunkin' Delivery will be offered through on-demand delivery service DoorDash, which through the DoorDash app or website will allow customers to order with a tap or click from home or work. Delivery time is 45 minutes or less.   

The first fully autonomous drone delivery to a customer home has occurred, and the retailer behind it is not who you would expect.   Leading convenience chain 7-Eleven partnered with independent drone delivery service Flirtey and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) to complete two deliveries from a store in Reno, Nevada on Sunday, July 10. 7-Eleven merchandise, including hot and cold food items, were loaded into a Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s house.

The Kroger Co. on Tuesday announced a series of management changes.    The retailer said Bill Breetz, president of its Houston division, will retire effective Aug. 26. Breetz began his Kroger career in 1972 as a bagger in Louisville, Kentucky., and went on to hold several leadership positions at the chain.      Marlene Stewart, who currently serves as president of the company's Dillons division, will succeed Breetz.