Convenience Stores

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Fast on the heels of her departure from Ahold USA’s Giant Foods of Landover supermarket unit, Robin Michel has been tapped for an increasingly critical role at retail giant Sears Holdings. Michel, who left as president of Giant-Landover in December 2010, will serve as SVP and president of food and consumables, health and beauty and pharmacy at Sears and its Kmart subsidiary.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced that Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart stores, and Steven Preston, president and CEO of OakLeaf Waste Management were named to the RILA board of directors, following the board’s semi-annual board of directors meeting held Sunday in Sarasota, Fla.

Simon replaces Walmart vice chairman and president and CEO of global e-commerce and global sourcing Eduardo Castro-Wright.

Durham, N.C. -- Denny’s Corp. has chosen LED lights from Cree as the preferred lighting standard for all its new and remodeled stores across the United States. Cree’s six-inch downlights are being specified in various applications, including dining areas and restrooms.

MINNEAPOLIS — During the Super Bowl, football fans look forward to guilt-free snacking and will fumble on healthy eating goals for the day, according to the 2011 Supervalu Snack Down Survey by Harris Interactive.

Atlanta -- RedPrairie Corp., a productivity solutions provider, announced that it has finalized the acquisition of SofTechnics, a leading provider of integrated retail enterprise solutions that has been serving customers for more than 20 years.     

Savannah, Ga. -- Centro Properties Group said that Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt has opened a 1,215-sq.-ft. store at Eisenhower Square.

The shopping center, located in Savannah, Ga., is owned by New York City-based Centro Properties Group.

An announcement last week that Target plans to open 21 stores in the coming fiscal year was interesting on a number of levels.

For starters, the disclosure was rather uncharacteristic for a company that in years past would publicly release its stores openings a week or two in advance of the actual openings. In this case, the company shared its full list of openings for the entire year two weeks before its new fiscal year even begins.

Tampa, Fla. -- RMC Property Group said that Dollar Tree has signed a lease to expand and relocate its store within the Temple Terrace Shopping Center, located in Tampa, Fla.

Dollar Tree will relocate to the vacant former Save-A-Lot unit, increasing the size of its store from 7,992 sq. ft. to 14,425 sq. ft.

The new store will open under the chain’s Deal$ concept, which sells some items for more than $1, offering merchandise that Dollar Tree does not sell under the $1 restricted price of its primary stores.