Convenience Stores

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway on Friday announced the start of its companywide fundraising campaign for Easter Seals, Special Olympics, Rebuilding Together and a range of job training programs that help people with disabilities live fuller lives.

Family Dollar is at the midpoint of its fiscal year, and on track to open a total of 300 new stores, the company announced in conjunction with the release of it second-quarter financial results. Dollar stores have emerged as a key competitive threat to Walmart as they have beefed up assortments of food and consumables and their abundant stores are often more convenient than Walmart’s supercenters. A few weeks earlier, Dollar General said it would open 625 stores during it fiscal year.

WASHINGTON --  The National Retail Federation has a new ally in its fight for swipe-fee reform. The group announced that Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition focused on financial services industry reform that includes the Consumer Federation of America, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and a number of other consumer organizations among its 250 national, state and local members, asked Congress Wednesday to reject proposals to delay swipe-fee reform.

Boulder, Col. -- Sunflowers Farmer Market plans to open its first location in California on May 11, in Roseville, which is in the northern half of the state.

Sunflower operates 33 stores in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Texas.
 

The PFresh initiative at Target, which results in the addition of fresh food and an expanded offering of consumables, arrived in more Target discount stores last month, further elevating the competitiveness with Walmart supercenters.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ebay announced that it has added a new feature to Ebay.com that will allow shoppers to check product and merchandise availability at local retailers. The feature is made possible through Ebay's partnership with Milo, the leading local shopping engine that Ebay acquired last year.

MONTVALE, N.J. — Grocer A&P is launching a discount program that offers seniors savings on groceries purchased at A&P, Pathmark, Waldbaum's, Food Emporium and Superfresh banner stores.

On April 4, the company is launching its "Senior Appreciation Days" program, starting with "Senior Appreciation Mondays," a new special discount program for seniors in all Pathmark banner stores.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Overall same-store sales at Rite Aid decreased during March while pharmacy and prescription sales increased, the pharmacy retailer said Thursday.

Compared with last year, front-end same-store sales decreased by 1.8% during the four-week period that ended March 26, which the 4,711-store chain attributed to Easter falling on a later date this year, April 24, than last year, when it occurred on April 4.