Supermarket/Grocery

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Regency Centers has announced the installation of the company’s first solar energy system at the Shops at Saugus in Saugus, Mass. The 18,740-sq.-ft. photovoltaic array, built with 1,064 rooftop panels, will generate an estimated 250 KW of renewable energy annually. The zero-emission power source will supply nearly 65% of the power needed by the center’s grocer Trader Joe’s.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway posted a drop in quarterly net income amid higher commodity costs.

The company reported net income of $215.6 million (67 cents per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2010, Safeway reported net income of $229.6 million (62 cents per diluted share).

Total sales increased 6.2% to $13.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 from $12.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, helped by higher fuel sales and a 1.5% increase in identical-store sales (excluding fuel).

Duluth, Ga. -- NCR Corp. announced that the company’s point-of-sale terminals will now be the preferred checkout technology at Springdale, Ark.-based Harp’s Food Stores, an employee-owned company, which operates 66-plus grocery stores in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

NCR’s RealPOS 60 checkout terminals will be used in all new Harp’s stores and will replace checkout equipment at 10 existing Harp’s stores. The grocer chose the NCR technology due to its high serviceability, compact size and price-to-performance ratio.

After 30 years in the drug store sector, Michael Bloom left CVS Caremark in September 2011 to become president and COO of Family Dollar Stores. The extreme-value chain has adopted an aggressive growth strategy in recent years, and plans to open 450 to 500 stores in 2012.

Family Dollar is equally committed to improving existing locations. Under its ambitious store-reinvention program, an estimated 1,000 locations are scheduled to be renovated, relocated or expanded this year.

ST. LOUIS — Supervalu subsidiary Save-A-Lot is expanding its presence in Pennsylvania.

The company is slated to open four new stores in Pennsylvania in February and March, bringing the total number of Save-A-Lot stores in the state to 76, the company said.

A phenomenon that continues to boggle my mind and, in many cases impress me, is how the Texas economy continues to flourish. Even in the midst of the recent economic downturn that left few retail markets untouched, the Lone Star State remained one of the few bright spots in a recessionary sky.

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.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Publix Super Markets and Nordstrom are the highest ranked bricks-and-mortar retailers in a report released Tuesday by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). While supermarkets overall are up 1.3% to 76, Publix remains the grocer to beat, with a score of 84.

The best of the best among all retailers — traditional or online — is Amazon, with a score of 86, followed by online retailer Newegg at 85. Next in line are two more websites: Overstock at 83 and eBay at 81.