Supermarket/Grocery

By David Asselin, [email protected]

Michael Williams has joined Jackson Hewitt, the nation’s second largest tax preparation firm, as SVP and chief marketing officer.

Williams joins the tax service provider following a tax season in which the firm saw its relationship with Walmart expand to 2,800 in-store locations from 2,000 locations the prior year.

SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets has lowered the prices on over 1,000 staple items and that it will freeze the prices of these products for 100 days in recognition of its 100 year anniversary this year. 

It is the Company's ninth Price Freeze since 2009.

School supplies manufacturer It’s Academic announced a new partnership the manufacturer of a vanishing grid line technology.

New York -- Retail sales fell 0.5% in June, the Commerce Department said on Monday, as consumer spending declined for the third consecutive month. The drop, which followed a 0.2% decrease in May, was unexpected as many economists were expecting growth.

Falling gas prices were attributed to some of the weakness. But even excluding sales at gas stations, retail spending fell 0.3% in June. Economists said weak job growth was making consumers cautious and eating away at consumer confidence.

AMSTERDAM — A division of Ahold USA has completed its acquisition of stores in the greater Philadelphia area.

Giant-Carlisle officially closed its acquisition of 15 Genuardi's stores, a subsidiary of Safeway. The deal was previously announced in January and was approved by the Federal Trade Commission last month.

As previously reported, during the conversion process, five stores at a time will temporarily close for about a week. The three-phase staggered approach is expected to be completed on July 22.

NEW YORK — It seems that traditional grocery stores and established food brands may lose their position in the market due to a confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences, according to new research from global investment bank Jefferies and global business advisory firm AlixPartners.

Minneapolis -- Grocery giant SuperValu Inc. reported Wednesday that profit for the quarter ended June 16 plummeted 45% to $41 million, compared with $74 million in the year-ago period. The struggling parent to Albertsons, Jewel-Osco and Save-A-Lot grocery banners, among others, had begun to show improvement in its fourth quarter, but tumbling revenues have halted the forward momentum.

Sales dropped to $10.59 billion, from $11.11 billion in the same period last year, and missed Wall Street’s forecasted $10.61 billion in revenue.