Convenience Stores

New York City -- Capital spending for the retail industry is expected to increase 16% in 2011 to $42.5 billion, with all sub-segments projecting double-digit percentage increases (except for mass merchants, whose growth is projected to rise 9%), according to a survey by Equity Research.

Cary, N.C. -- The Pantry said Tuesday that its senior VP operations Brad Williams has decided to leave the company after 13 years.

The c-store operator said it has launched a search for a replacement. In the interim, operations personnel will report to Terry Marks, president and CEO.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Tesco said it is turning its attention to its U.S. supermarket chain, according to the company's annual report.

According to the company, despite the fact that its U.S. operations, which include its Fresh & Easy supermarket chain, have been slower to recover when compared with its European counterparts, Tesco said, "We are now seeing signs of improvement. ... Customer feedback at Fresh & Easy remains excellent, and strong growth in customer numbers is driving steady sales improvement in each store."

New York City -- Seattle’s Best Coffee LLC, a division of Starbucks Corp., has asked a bankruptcy judge to reject Border Group’s request to end the companies’ licensing agreement.

Borders is not entitled to cancel the agreement and continue to use Seattle’s Best’s trademarks and products, the coffee company said today in a court filing. Seattle’s Best also disputed Borders’s claim that terms of the agreement are excessive.

NEW YORK — Search engine giant Google announced the launch of Google Wallet, a mobile payment service that allows consumers to pay for goods via their smartphones. The application is currently being field-tested in San Francisco and New York, and will be available to consumers in the summer.

New York City -- Mom’s Organic Market has opened its seventh store, in Timonium, Md. Along with featuring 100%-certified organic produce, and organic and natural grocery products, the new Mom’s was built with the environment in mind.

"We believe that we are the most environmentally-responsible grocery chain in the country," said Scott Nash, who founded Mom's in 1987 with a $100 investment, in a report in The Gourmet Retailer.

DENVER, Colo. and MONTREAL — Molson Coors Brewing Company has announced that Andrew Molson, the current vice chairman of the Molson Coors board of directors assumed the role of chairman, and Pete Coors, current chairman, assumed the role of vice chairman, effective May 26. 

New York City -- Consumers grew more confident in May amid job gains and slightly declining gas prices. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment increased to a three-month high of 74.3 from 69.8 in April.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to be unchanged from the preliminary figure. At the same time, income expectations remained at low levels.