Independents

Rick Herring, president of Ahold USA’s Giant Carlisle Division, plans to retire, effective Feb. 14.

Herring has been at Ahold for nearly 25 years and the company credits him with having made many contributions to the organization.

“We would like to thank Rick for his numerous contributions to our companies, as well as for his leadership, dedication and years of service," stated James McCann, Ahold USA COO. "We wish him all the best in this next phase of his life and career.”

New York -- Fairway Holdings Corp., operators of Fairway Markets, announced that CEO Herbert Ruetsch will retire after fifteen years with the company, including the last two years as chief executive.  Ruetsch will remain a special advisor to Fairway and continue to provide input into certain merchandising and product initiatives.

William Sanford, president of Fairway, will assume the role of interim CEO while the board undertakes a search for a permanent replacement.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market has acquired leases from Safeway Inc. for seven locations formerly operated as Dominick's stores. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Whole Foods Market has acquired leases from Safeway for seven locations formerly operated as Dominick's stores. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

WinCo Foods plans to open its first discount supermarkets in Texas at 8 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6. The 95,000-sq.-ft. stores will feature the company’s newest décor which highlights its project offering.

The Ft. Worth store, located at 8000 Crowley Lane, will initially employ approximately 180 individuals, 170 of whom are local hires, and the McKinney store, located at 1800 N. Graves St., will open with approximately 170 employees, 160 of whom are local hires.

Los Angeles — CBRE’s national retail investment group has arranged the sale of Oak Grove Plaza, a 120,491-sq.-ft. retail center anchored by Kroger Signature, to Chicago-based LaSalle Investment Management.

CBRE marketed the property, which is located in the Dallas suburb of Sachse, Texas, on behalf of Invesco Advisers.

New York --- Brookshire Brothers, based in Lufkin, Texas, has entered into an agreement to David's Supermarkets, a 25-store chain based in North Central Texas. Terms were not disclosed.

"We feel like these family-owned stores align with our core value that we are a celebration of family and community," stated Jerry Johnson, president and CEO of Brookshire Brothers. 

Brookshire Brothers operates 123 outlets including grocery stores, convenience stores, free standing pharmacy, tobacco and petro locations.

Cincinnati – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR) with respect to the pending merger transaction between The Kroger Co. and Harris-Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. The early termination of the HSR waiting period satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the pending merger, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions.

The Federal Trade Commission has granted Kroger and Harris Teeter Supermarkets early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 with respect to the pending merger transaction between the two companies.
 
The early termination of the HSR waiting period satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the pending merger, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions. Both companies expect the transaction to be completed before the end of January.

Stater Bros. Markets, has promoted John Ciraulo to the position of VP of the meat division. He replaces Kevin Schubert, who will retire in March after 39 years of service.  

Ciraulo has been at Stater Bros. for 28 years and has progressed through a range of both retail and marketing positions. In his new position, he will oversee the marketing and retail operations of the company's meat and seafood divisions.

Ciraulo will report to EVP of marketing Dennis McIntyre.