Independents

Tewksbury, Mass. – Following the dismissal of former president and CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, the board of directors of Demoulas Super Markets Inc. has elected retail executives Felicia Thornton as COO and Jim Gooch as chief administrative officer, and the two will serve as co-CEOs. Both Thornton and Gooch had recently been serving as consultants to the company.

Stellarton, Canada – Canadian supermarket chain Sobey’s Inc. has signed a cross-Canada, long-term agreement with loyalty and marketing solutions provider Alliance Data Systems Corp. Under the agreement, Sobeys-owned banners in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Western Canada, and northwestern Ontario, will remain sponsors in the Alliance Air Miles Reward Program. In addition, other Sobeys-owned banners in western Canada will also issue Air Miles reward miles beginning in fall 2014.

Kevin Holt was named CEO of Delhaize America to oversee U.S. operations that account for 60% of Belgium-based retailer’s annual sales of $28 billion.

BOULDER, Colo. — More shoppers are purchasing private label (store brand) products in 2014 compared to the prior year. According to a recent study of more than 6,200 consumers by Market Force Information, 98% of shoppers purchase private label food items or cleaning products at least some of the time, on the rise from 96% in 2013. 

London, U.K. — Online grocery shoppers tend to buy fewer impulse purchases online than in store, resulting in smaller basket sizes. A recent survey of 1,154 online grocery shoppers from EDigitalResearch found that 29% of respondents feel that they make far fewer impulse purchases online than in store. 

Hilo, Hawaii — KTA Super Stores, a six-store supermarket chain serving the main island of Hawaii, has finalized upgrading Symphony EYC G.O.L.D. to the latest software version. The new capabilities including direct store delivery (DSD) and invoice reconciliation are the first step in KTA’s incorporation of the latest enhanced version of Symphony EYC’s merchandise management system, which is planned to be implemented across all of its island stores.  

San Jose, Calif. -- Hispanic supermarket chain Mi Pueblo Foods announced its formal emergence from Chapter 11 reorganization after having completed a necessary financial restructuring. The company also announced that Javier Ramirez has been named president and CEO. He will succeed Mi Pueblo founder Juvenal Chavez, who will be named chairman of the board.
 
Ramirez is a seasoned CEO in the Hispanic food and grocery sector.
   

To date Loblaw has donated more than $1 million and 323,000 pounds of food across Canada during the Extra Helping Food Drive, and is more than halfway to achieving its 2014 goal of $1.8 million and 1.8 million pounds of food.

Newfoundlanders have helped to replenish food bank supplies in the province with $27,721 and 26,940 pounds of food donated by customers and colleagues at Dominion, SaveEasy and nofrills stores across Newfoundland and Labrador during the Extra Helping Spring Food Drive of 2014.

San Bernardino, California -- Plans are well underway to open two new state-of-the-art "Blue Ribbon" Stater Bros. Supermarkets in California, with one in Covina (Los Angeles County) and the other in Menifee (Riverside County).