Convenience Stores

FORT WORTH, Texas — Kroger has opened a Signature store in the Fort Worth, Texas, market.

The 100,000-sq.-ft. store, which includes a fuel center, places more emphasis on an interactive customer experience and offers more natural and organic foods, chef-prepared meal solutions and ethnic and gourmet food choices. Along with the fuel center, the new store features a pharmacy and offers a vast wine and beer selection. Kroger currently has 30 Signature stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

A soon-to-open Cabela’s store in Rogers, Ark., will test the viability of a large format store in a small market.

The opening of the 100,000-sq.-ft. Cabela’s store is slated for Thursday, August 30 and was strategically timed to kick off the Labor Day weekend. A ribbon cutting planned for 8:45 will be followed by appearances from outdoor personalities and celebrities, family events and merchandise giveaways.

New York -- Brookshire Brothers has launched a facility-wide lighting update, including in-store, parking lot, exterior signage and refrigerated case fixtures.

Using a combination of new linear fluorescent lighting and LED technologies -- from GE Lighting, East Cleveland, Ohio -- Brookshire will, once all of its stores have been completed, reduce its annual operating costs more than $235,000.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) gave voice to concerns after Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that  upheld the individual-mandate within the Affordable Care Act.

“With the Supreme Court decision now behind us, the focus must turn to the employer-mandate and the effect that impending changes to employer-sponsored coverage will have on the nearly 170 million Americans who receive health care through their employer,” said RILA president Sandy Kennedy.

Family Dollar’s third quarter results were not as good as expected, but only marginally so, and the company’s growth strategy and potential to steal traffic from Walmart remain intact.

Sam's Club was among the highest-rated companies for customer service, according to new research from the Temkin Group. Other retailers included Publix, Hy-Vee, H.E.B., ShopRite, Aldi, Giant Eagle and JCPenney.

Other companies earning top marks included Chick-fil-A, credit unions and Starbucks. Meanwhile, companies with the lowest ratings included Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Citibank, Qwest, Cigna, and Bank of America.

The nation’s convenience stores continued to grow last year creating a peculiar blend of competitive challenges and sales opportunities for Sam’s Club.

Edgewater, N.J. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management Corp. announced that HomeGoods, a TJX Cos. banner, will anchor the 100,000-sq.-ft. retail component of Edgewater Harbor, a mixed-use waterfront redevelopment in Edgewater, N.J.

HomeGoods has leased 24,000 sq. ft. and will join newly opened CVS Pharmacy, Moe's Southwest Grill, AT&T, Beach Bum Tanning, Epique Massage and Edgewater Dry Cleaners.