Supermarket/Grocery

NEW YORK Switching to private-label brands could help consumers save one-third of their typical spend on products, a new study conducted by the Private Label Manufacturers of America found.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp.'s profit climbed 18% in its first fiscal quarter, buoyed by sales from its consolidated Mexican operations and improved sales and traffic at its U.S. stores. Net income rose to $312 million for the period ended Nov. 21, up from $266 million a year earlier.

The results topped analysts' average forecasts.

Revenue rose 11% to $19.24 billion from $17.3 billion, also beating Wall Street's expectation.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores will stop paying an additional $1 an hour for working Sundays, taking a bite out of its single biggest expense, Bloomberg reported. The change will take effect at Walmart stores, Sam’s Club outlets and warehouses.

The move, which takes effect next year, applies only to associates hired after Jan. 1, the report said. It wouldn’t affect the retailer’s current U.S. staff, which numbers approximately 1.4 million.

New York City -- Sunflower Farmers Market, which operates value-priced organic and natural food grocery stores, is opening its first store in California.

Sunflower currently operates 32 stores in six Southwestern states. The chain, which focuses on offering fresh local foods at affordable prices, was founded in 2002 by Mike Gilliland, who helped start the Wild Oats chain that was later bought by Whole Foods Market.

The Nov. 24 edition of SiteTalk invited readers to suggest what they thought would be most talked-about in the aisles of the International Council of Shopping Centers New York deal-making conference. Here is what one reader had to say:

 "I expect to hear people complimenting our new Roundtables (Tuesday, Dec. 7, 8-9 a.m.) at the Sheraton. Also, if Black Friday and the start of holiday shopping season match retailer expectations (as shown in our pre-holiday tenant survey), I expect to hear about more deals being made."

New York City -- Two of Russia's largest grocery store chains, Pyaterochka and Kopeika, said on Monday that they would merge their operations in a move that would better position them to compete with Wal-Mart Stores, which is expected to enter the Russian market, according to the New York Times.

Landover, Md. -- Two-and-a-half years after joining the company, Robin Michel is leaving as president of the Giant-Landover division of Ahold USA to pursue other opportunities, the company confirmed Monday.

Michel will depart at the end of the month, according to Ahold USA spokesperson Sara Neumann. She will be replaced on a temporary basis as operations chief by Don Sussman, executive VP supply chain at Ahold, while the company conducts a search for a successor.