Supermarket/Grocery

San Bernardino, Calif. -- Stater Bros. will open a new, eco-friendly supermarket in Lake Elsinore, Calif., on Feb. 22.

At 43,279 sq. ft., the new Stater Bros. is over 76% larger than a smaller Stater Bros. location it is replacing. The store features refrigerated display cases with LED lighting, ECM motors, and glass doors using 60% less energy. It also has lighting system that use dimming ballasts, energy efficient lamps, and occupancy sensors.

Other environmental features include:

Efforts to make food healthier and healthy food more affordable took center stage last week in Washington, D.C. when Walmart unveiled its new “Great For You,” packaging icon. This week in Orlando food safety took center stage at the Consumer Goods Forum’s annual Global Food Safety Conference where Frank Yiannas, VP food safety at Walmart and co-vice chair of the conference weighed in on collaboration, food safety at a cross roads and Tiramisu.

Despite considerable efforts by Walmart in recent years to improve its reputation, a recent Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient poll shows the company has considerable room for improvement.

The study, now in its 13th year, surveyed 17,500 consumers about their perceptions of the 60 most visible companies in America. Not surprisingly, a fair number of those were major national retailers who have become household names. Walmart ranked 41st overall on the list of 60 companies and 10 other retailers were ranked ahead of Walmart.

Lancaster, Pa. -- One of the supermarket chains operated by Netherlands-based Royal Ahold has installed rooftop solar panels at two of its stores.

Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant Food Stores — also known as Giant-Carlisle to distinguish it from Landover, Md.-based Giant Food, also owned by Ahold — said it had installed solar photovoltaic systems at stores in Lancaster and Pottstown, Pa.

EDISON, N.J. — Bestselling author and daytime host Rachael Ray has launched a new line of seasoning grinders.

Rachael Ray Seasoning Grinders are available in 10 varieties in generous-sized bottles, ranging from single ingredients such as Pink Himalyan Salt to blends of nine to 12 spices, including Rockin’ Rainbow Peppercorn Blend, 24/7 Seasoning (everyday/all-purpose), Spice-it-Up Chili Seasoning, Buon Appetito Italian Seasoning, Bump Up Your Burger Seasoning, Seafood Seasoning, and Perfect Poultry Seasoning. 

WASHINGTON — The monthly Global Port Tracker report, released Wednesday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, said that import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be down 6.8% in February from the same month a year ago. However, volumes should show year-over-year increases through most of the remaining first half of 2012.

With China on pace to become one of the world's biggest retail market, any insight on developing a retail business in this area is welcomed, which is why it is no surprise that Scott Price, president and CEO of Walmart Asia, is scheduled to speak at the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific in Beijing this March.

Here we go again. Every so often the media gets a hint that Wal-Mart Stores is looking to expand into Russia and the speculation begins. The latest report from Reuters claims that the retailer still sees opportunity in the country as it looks to possibly by the X5 chain. X5, however, is denying reports that it is in talks with Walmart. Whether a purchase in Russia will happen anytime soon remains to be seen, but anything regarding the biggest retailer and one of the biggest markets will continue to garner attention.