Convenience Stores

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General has pledged its support of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative, which promotes private sector employment for members of the military community.

New York -- Retailers’ growth plans are running about 5% ahead of year-ago projections, according to ChainLinks Retail Advisors’ Spring 2012 Retailer and Restaurant Expansion Guide.

New York -- Gregorys Coffee said Thursday it has executed a new lease at 878 6th Avenue (Between 31st and 32nd St.) in Herald Square, as part of the expansion efforts of the coffee shop chain throughout Manhattan.

The new site is scheduled to open its doors in June.

The two-story location will feature 1,000 sq. ft. on the second floor, set up as a training center.
 

New York City -- Dallas-based SRS Real Estate Partners said that Sugar and Plumm - Purveyors of Yumm has leased 1,050 sq. ft. at the northwest corner of Bleecker and Cornelia Streets in the West Village area of Manhattan.

Sugar and Plumm opened its first location last summer at Bergen Town Center in Paramus, N.J., and will open its first Manhattan location on the Upper West Side this spring. A third location is under development in Downtown Brooklyn.
 

While Walmart maintains its small format stores are still in pilot mode, Dollar General continues to open its 7,000-sq.-ft. units at a dizzying pace. DG recently surpassed 10,000 units and has plans for 625 new stores this year with a long term goal of doubling in size. Expanded offerings of food and consumables and sharp prices on national brands present a serious threat to customer traffic at supercenter.

Houston -- ATM owner Cardtronics said Thursday that it been named the exclusive provider of ATM services to all 7-Eleven convenience stores in Canada.

MONTREAL — Dollar stores in the United States have seen much success in recent years (check out Retailing Today's report on Dollar General here) and they appear to be doing just as well north of the border.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bi-Lo and Coca-Cola have partnered with the USO to support its Operation Phone Home program, which connects troops deployed overseas with their families back home through, among other things, a private phone network. For every rotisserie meal bundle sold at all Bi-Lo stores, Coca-Cola will donate $1 to OPH, which buys troops about 20 minutes of talk time.

Less than a year from today Target’s first stores in Canada open and the company encounters a familiar competitive challenge in Walmart as well as some unfamiliar operators.

MINNEAPOLIS  — Costs related to workforce reduction contributed to $424 million, or $2 per diluted share loss, at Supervalu for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. For the quarter, net sales were $8.2 billion. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, the company reported net sales of $8.7 billion and net earnings of $95 million or 44 cents per diluted share.