Convenience Stores

Moody's Investors Service has some good news for the U.S. supermarket industry.    Grocery stores’ operating profits will grow at a fairly healthy rate again this year after a disappointing 2016, according to Moody’s new report, "Companies Will Perform Better in 2017 as Deflationary Pressure Wanes. Profitability last year was crimped by an unprecedented level of deflation for an economy not in recession, the report noted, but as downward pressure on prices wanes, things will pick up in the latter half of this year.

That was fast.   The Kroger Co. wasted no time in naming a replacement for Jeff Burt, president of Fred Meyer Stores, who resigned on Monday, March 20, to head up Target’s grocery business.    Kroger tapped company veteran Joe Grieshaber as president of Fred Meyer Stores, immediately.  

A 30-year veteran of The Kroger Co. has joined Target Corp. to head up the discounter’s struggling grocery business.    Target has appointed Jeff Burt as senior VP, grocery, fresh food and beverage, effective April 10.   

Detroit is one of the most encouraging and intriguing stories to develop in the wake of the Great Recession. With investment, development, and redevelopment booming downtown, office and multi-family momentum has spurred a retail revival. The Motor City is revving its retail engine and is well on the way to arriving as a true retail destination for the first time in decades.   

Starbucks has debuted its in-store Reserve coffee bar concept in downtown Seattle.      The new store combines the educational aspects of the company’s Reserve Roastery format and its rare small-lot Reserve coffees within a traditional Starbucks setting, complete with such regular coffee and Frappuccinos.    It’s estimated that Starbucks locations with the Reserve bar will make up 20% of the company’s global store portfolio over time.   

New Jersey’s answer to Chipotle has signed a lease for another location in that state.   Bubbako’s Burritos, a made-to-order chain that got its start in the popular Jersey shore town of Point Pleasant, has signed a lease for a 1,900-sq.-ft. restaurant at Aldrich Plaza in Howell. Other tenants there include Bed, Bath & Beyond, Retro Fitness, and Boston Market.  

More omnichannel retailers offer buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) services to shorten their delivery windows. Yet, 60% of shoppers have yet to take advantage of the service.   That’s according to a new report, “Buy Online, Pick-up In-Store” from ChargeItSpot, which was based on responses from over 2,074 shoppers at 20 malls across the country.  

The Lone Star State and Golden State are ripe areas for grocery store expansion.    In 2016, more than 440 grocery stores opened in the United States, adding 18.8 million sq. ft. of space. And 27% of those stores opened in two states: Texas and California.   That’s according to JLL’s latest Grocery Tracker JLL’s latest Grocery explores four trends transforming the grocery shopping sector.    

Dollar General on Thursday reported better-than-expected fourth quarter sales and earnings and said it planned to raise compensation and increase training for store managers.   The discounter also said it plans to open approximately 1,000 stores and remodel or relocate 900 existing stores in fiscal 2017.   

1-800-Flowers.com’s latest business move puts the company in a strategic position to more cost-effectively expand its assortment.     The gifting retailer said Wednesday that Ferrero International S.A will acquire the company’s Fannie May Confections Brands, including its subsidiaries Fannie May Confections and Harry London Candies.