Convenience Stores

Making an even bigger push into private-label foods, Amazon launched a new line of natural snacks.   Already a player in non-food private label categories, including household goods and other items under the Amazon Basics and Amazon Elements brands, Amazon’s newest line, Wickedly Prime, is making a push into grocery — specifically among “foodies.” The line currently features popcorn, blue corn and sweet potato tortilla chips, and soft shell almonds.  

Convenience store operator QuickChek has stepped up its mobile efforts with a geo-marketing program that keeps the brand engaged with on-the-go mobile shoppers.    While QuickCheck’s customers were increasingly becoming mobile-influenced, the 140-plus store chain lacked a dedicated digital marketing team — making it impossible to connect with its shoppers.   

A Delaware developer’s plan to create a green space and shopping center in Lewes, Delaware, an idyllic shore town that was the site of the first European settlement in the state, has encountered a new obstacle.   After overcoming opposition by some residents to the commercial re-zoning of 11 acres in this town north of Rehobeth Beach, J.G. Townsend Jr. & Co. now must content with protestors who say that its proposed Gills Neck Village Center would desecrate a Native American burial ground.  

Early in the 20th Century, the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio was the largest in Texas, and it continued to be a renowned site in the city until brewing operations were shut down in the 1980s. It remained vacant until Rio Perla purchased it in 2001 and set about transforming it into the Pearl Brewery/Full Goods Warehouse, a 26-acre mix of residences, retail, offices, and gathering places.   

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will rule on the Walgreens Boots Alliance-Rite Aid merger before the Trump Administration takes office on Jan. 20, according to the New York Post. The newspaper added approval of the transaction is “not guaranteed.”   “It is most likely [FTC] Chairwoman Edith Ramirez addresses it before she leaves,” a source close to the situation told the news outlet, and not leave it to a Republican-led FTC.  

The comeback of downtown Detroit, led by the expansive District Detroit project under construction, was advanced this week with the opening of The Scott at Brush Park. The upscale, mixed-use development of Broder & Sachse Real Estate and Sachse Construction is located about eight blocks north of District Detroit on Woodward Avenue.   

Fred’s Inc. is playing defense.   The Memphis-based retailer on Tuesday adopted a shareholder rights plan, or “poison pill,” less than a week after news surfaced that an activist investor had amassed a big stake in the company. It also comes approximately one week after Fred’s announced it had agreed to purchase 865 divested Rite Aid stores as part of the expected Walgreens Boots Alliance-Rite Aid merger. The acquisition would more than double Fred’s store count.   

Walgreens Boots Alliance’s acquisition of Rite Aid took a big step forward with announcement of the divestiture of 865 Rite Aid stores to Fred’s Pharmacy for $950 million.   

Across the United States, cities have been experiencing a development resurgence. Legions of Americans are departing suburbia and returning to urban environments, with millennials leading the migration. Young adults are abandoning the suburban subdivisions they grew up in for denser, more vibrant urban settings. Consequently, once-empty lots, city blocks, and otherwise underutilized properties are being replaced with multi-use buildings that can accommodate new residences, office space, and retail.  

7-Eleven has completed 77 autonomous drone deliveries to customer homes in the United States.   Through its collaboration with Flirtey, a service that supports commercial drone deliveries to customer homes in the United States, the convenience store chain conducted regular weekend deliveries to mobile shoppers during November. A dozen select shoppers used a custom app to place orders, which were fulfilled from a dedicated 7-Eleven store, the company said.