Wholesalers

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. reported on Thursday that it posted a loss in the quarter ended Jan. 28, attributing the loss to costs associated with consolidating its pension plan for union workers.

The grocer, which counts among its banners Kroger, Ralphs and Food 4 Less, lost $306.9 million in the quarter, compared with a profit of $278.8 million in the year-ago period.

Total sales in the quarter rose 7.7% to $21.4 billion. Excluding fuel, sales rose 5%. Same-store sales increased 4.9%.

New York City -- The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., approved the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.’s plan to exit bankruptcy plan. The supermarket company filed Chapter 11 in December 2010.

The reorganization plan includes $490 million in debt and equity financing from Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — After stepping into the role on an interim basis, Safeway has named Brian Baer president of its Dominick's Finer Foods banner.

Baer, who has served as acting president of Dominick's since July 2011 after the exit of Don Keprta, has been part of Dominick's parent Safeway since 2001. Prior to his role as president, Baer served as Dominick's CFO and VP finance.

St. Louis -- Save-A-Lot, a wholly owned subsidiary of Supervalu, will open 13 stores in February and March.

The grocer will open three locations in New York bringing the total number of Save-A-Lot stores in the state to 52. In Ohio, it will open three stores, for a total of 128 locations state-wide. The chain will open four stores in Pennsylvania, for a total of 76, and three in Tennessee, for a total of 108.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market announced that two regional presidents, David Lannon and Ken Meyer, have been promoted to executive VPs of operations, joining the executive leadership team. The company's 12 regional presidents will report to them.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie said Friday that its CEO Peter Lynch will step down, as the supermarket chain merges with Bi-Lo LLC. Current Bi-Lo chairman Randall Onstead will replace Lynch as CEO.

Lynch said in a letter to employees that he will remain for another 60 to 120 days to assist in the transition.

Bi-Lo purchased Winn-Dixie for $560 million in December.
 

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. is exiting the Philadelphia market. The company announced it has reached a definitive agreement to sell 16 of its Genuardi's stores in the greater Philadelphia area to Giant Food Stores, LLC, a division of Ahold USA.

The deal is valued at $106 million.

In addition, Safeway plans to close three Genuardi's stores and sell the remaining eight Genuardi's stores, which it will continue to operate while it is working with potential buyers.

Mumbai, India -- A Monday report by Reuters said that the world’s third-largest retailer Tesco Plc has delayed its plans to set up wholesale stores in India, as it faces mountains of political red tape and controversy in the country.

Reuters, citing a report in the Business Standard newspaper, said that the supermarket giant will instead focus on setting up warehouses and back-end infrastructure. 

New York City -- The Brookshire Grocery Co. announced that Trent Brookshire, SVP/DMM was elected to the company’s board. He is a fourth generation member of the company’s founding family.

Memphis -- The Kroger Co. said Friday that its Kroger Delta Division, based in Memphis, has acquired eight Memphis-area Schnucks grocery stores that the company will convert and re-open under the Kroger banner over the next few weeks.

Currently, Kroger operates 37 stores in the Memphis metropolitan area, and the acquisition ups the area store count to 43, with two of the acquired Schnucks locations replacing two smaller existing Kroger locations.