Convenience Stores

Jackson, Miss. -- WS Development announced that Whole Foods Market broke ground in early November on a new 31,000-sq.-ft. store at Highland Village in Jackson, Miss., marking the grocer’s debut in the state.

The new store will open in 2013, joining about 50 shops and restaurants at the 220,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use center, such as Mason Weiss, Talbots, Whitehead Street Clothiers, and Albriton's Jewelers.

Baltimore -- Danfloss,  a manufacturer of high-efficiency electronic and mechanical components and controls for air-conditioning, heating, refrigeration and motion systems, and provider of energy management and control solutions for the food retail industry, was chosen by Supervalue to provide a range of energy-saving products and support for a remodel project that has resulted in the development of the company’s first grocery store operating 100%  on natural refrigerants.

Portland, Ore. -- The city council of Portland, Ore., voted to expand the city's one-year old plastic bag ban, voting 5-0 to phase out plastic checkout bags at an estimated 5,000 restaurants and retailers.

The ban will impact retailers larger than 10,000 -sq.-ft. on March 1, 2013, and the remaining retailers on October 1, 2013. Portland's 2011 rule affected fewer than 200 businesses.

Retailers will still be able to provide plastic bags for bulk items, produce, meats, dry cleaning and prescription drugs.

Some of the biggest names in the retail and consumer packaged goods industry were recognized by the American Cancer Society with 2012 Excellence in Philanthropy Awards.

Atlanta -- A majority of retailers say delivering a consistent customer experience is their top priority this holiday season, according to a new survey.

Supply chain and retail technology provider RedPrairie released results of its “Holiday Hiring Snapshot” survey of 250 big-box, specialty, grocery, convenience store and food service retailers based in the United States, finding that nearly 60% cited the importance of consistency, with 29% saying they would hire more seasonal workers this year than last year.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation’s 2012 holiday consumer spending survey conducted by BIGinsight showed that 81.1% of shoppers will purchase at least one gift card and will spend an average of $156.86 on gift cards, the highest amount in the survey’s 10-year history. Total spending on gift cards will reach $28.79 billion.

According to NRF’s first holiday survey, released in October, six in 10 (59.8%) of those polled said they’d like to receive gift cards this year, up from 57.7% last year.

Purchase, N.Y. -- A report released Wednesday by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard in partnership with Wells Fargo, found that spending at small retailers in October slowed to an increase of 4.2% year over year, down from a 5.8% growth rate in September.

This was the slowest year-over-year growth rate for smaller retailers in 2012, falling below the growth rate of total U.S. retail sales by one percentage point.        

Greensboro, N.C. - The Fresh Market said Wednesday it has entered into agreements to lease four new store locations that are currently operated as Rice Epicurean Markets, a family-owned specialty food retailer based in Houston.

Rice Epicurean Markets will continue to operate the stores through the end of the year, and will close these four stores during the first quarter of 2013.