Large Chains

Leesburg, Va. -- Dallas-based Cypress Equities and Kettler announced that luxury bowling alley and sports grill King Pinz has opened a 6,200-sq.-ft. expansion to its facility at Village at Leesburg, in Leesburg, Va.

The addition features a six-lane luxury bowling suite, plus High Rollers Lounge, a fully enclosed cigar bar and cocktail lounge.

With now 21,564 total sq. ft., King Pinz’ additional space increases the number of bowling lanes to 18.

Boulder, Colo. -- Organic grocer Sunflower Farmers Market said Monday that it will open a second location in San Jose in 2012, the company’s fourth in the Bay Area.

Sunflower said it will anchor West Valley Shopping Center, and is slated to open the 32,000-sq.-ft. store in second quarter 2012.

Cape Town, South Africa -- A Tuesday report by Bloomberg said that Shoprite Holdings Ltd. has announced plans to speed up its store expansion this year as it faces increased competition from Wal-Mart Stores.

South Africa’s largest retailer by market value, Shoprite said it will add 106 stores by June 2012. That compares with 96 openings in the same period last year. The company currently operates 1,246 stores.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Tesco's U.S. subsidiary Fresh & Easy said it's looking to fill more than 100 employee positions, including positions for four new California stores, the company announced Thursday.

Over the next several weeks, Fresh & Easy will open four new stores, which will be located in Los Angeles, Anaheim Hills, Calif., and Sunnyvale, Calif.

New York City -- CVS Caremark announced that Mark Cosby has been appointed president of CVS/pharmacy, effective Oct. 1. He formerly served as president of stores for Macy’s.

“We’re delighted that Mark is joining our team,” Larry Merlo, CEO of CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) said in a news release. “His valuable experience at major retailers in operations and strategic planning makes him an excellent choice to lead our retail business going forward.”

Davis, Calif. -- Regency Centers, a national owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers, closed on the acquisition of Oak Shade Town Center, a 103,762-sq.-ft. neighborhood shopping center anchored by Safeway, Rite Aid and OfficeMax in Davis, Calif. The center is located within a mile of the University of California, Davis.

The property was purchased on August 18 for $35 million from the center’s original owner. 

 

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Stores announced Thursday that it would convert all of its SaveRite-branded grocery stores to Winn-Dixie brands, discontinuing the SaveRite banner permanently.

“By aligning all 484 stores under one Winn-Dixie banner, we will be able to ensure a more consistent shopping experience for all of our guests – regardless of the type of neighborhood in which we operate,” said Peter Lynch, Winn-Dixie’s chairman, CEO, and president.

Sam’s Club run of six consecutive quarters of accelerating same-store sales growth will come to an end in the third quarter unless the warehouse club operator exceeds guidance provided earlier this week after reporting a 5% second-quarter comp increase.

Even though Sam’s president and CEO Brian Cornell noted that momentum remains strong, he added that “it’s important to remember that it was in the third quarter last year that our comp performance began to accelerate, so our comparisons for the back half will be more challenging.”

Blend equal parts easy prior year comparisons, the recent easing of gas prices with the pass through of product inflation , and Walmart could be looking at the recipe for same-store sales growth. If not in the third quarter, then certainly by the fourth quarter, which is the line in the sand the company has drawn for its U.S. business.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced that it is strengthening its commitment to local suppliers by increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables it sources from Midwest farms by 5% this year.  The announcement was made today by Mark Stevenson, produce director at the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based supercenter chain.