Convenience Stores

PepsiCo is rolling out its Pepsi Interactive Vending machine pilot program -- allowing consumers to buy, gift and play games with PepsiCo beverages – at five General Growth Properties’ malls.

Columbiana Centre (Columbia, S.C.), Clackamas Town Center (Happy Valley, Ore.), Oglethorpe Mall (Savannah, Ga.), Oakwood Mall (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Park City Center (Lancaster, Pa.) will feature the interactive vending equipment with full touch-screen technology.

Atlanta -- The Sembler Co. said that Charlie Heard has joined the firm as VP development and southeast market leader for the company. He will be based in Atlanta.

Heard’s duties consist of pursuing new shopping center development opportunities in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.  He has been involved in development projects for retailers such as Publix, Kroger, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, CVS and Walgreen's and has worked with top-tier retailers on site selection across industry sectors.

New York -- Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group said it has secured a long-term lease for Chill Berry Frozen Yogurt at 2121 Frederick Douglass Blvd., between 114th and 115th Streets in New York City.

It is the second of two Harlem-based stores for the owners, with the first on Lenox Avenue and 131st Street.

Neighboring businesses along the corridor include Harlem Tavern, the 5 and Diamond, Jado Sushi, Posh Paws, Mod Squad Cycles and Best Yet Market.

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc. said Tuesday that it has opened a second Cleveland Nordstrom Rack store – at the Promenade in Crocker Park, owned and managed by Stark Enterprises.

The 34,000-sq.-ft. store is slated to open fall 2013 in a former Border’s space at the lifestyle shopping center located in Westlake, Ohio, and tenanted by Bed Bath & Beyond, H&M, Trader Joe’s, Victoria’s Secret and The Cheesecake Factory.

Commerce, Calif. -- Discounter 99 Cents Only said Tuesday it has launched an official search for a retail property on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., to open its first store on the iconic street.

"We are confident a Rodeo Drive store will be successful because our stores do well in affluent areas,” said Eric Schiffer, CEO. “In fact, our highest sales volume store is located only a few blocks from Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard.”

Of its 303 extreme-value stores in the U.S., 222 are in California.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Fred's will now offer Western Union prepaid cards at 645 stores in 15 states.

Available cards will include the MoneyWise and Gold Card MasterCards and the Western Union Telemundo MasterCard. All three of the cards can be used anywhere debit MasterCard is accepted, including at ATMs and for online shopping. Cards can be “topped up” or reloaded with cash at one of 45,000 Western Union Agent locations in the United States or at any Fred’s location that offers the cards.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Dollar General is the overall basket price leader, delivering a substantial savings to value shoppers, according to Kantar Retail's second annual opening price point survey. Walgreens, for the second year, had the most expensive total basket, driven by sharply higher edible and nonedible grocery baskets.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix has expanded its online deli service to 50 stores in select markets.

Publix customers may place their orders online or via mobile device by visiting www.publix.com/order. Once on the site, customers may select their desired deli custom sub, wrap and/or sliced meats and cheeses, specify pickup time and proceed with order placement. An order pickup number will be provided on the customer’s final order summary and emailed to them as well.

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. — Mars Chocolate already may have unveiled its lineup of new treats for Halloween, Valentine's Day, as well as the winter holiday season, but the company announced new items that will be added to its Easter 2013 lineup.

The new Easter 2013 lineup includes:

•  Snickers Peanut Butter Squared minis;

 

•  Dove Silky Smooth white chocolate eggs;

 

•  Twix minis filled eggs;

Family Dollar – like Dollar General – is opening stores as fast as it can and this week said it would add 500 new units ahead of what is expected to be an announcement by Walmart next week to accelerate growth of its own small format.