Supermarket/Grocery

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market said Wednesday that its board approved a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents per share reinstating the quarterly payment after more than two years with none. The dividend will be payable Jan. 20 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 10.

John Elstrott, chairman of Whole Foods' board, said in a statement that the decision to bring back the dividend stems from the company's strong financial position and outlook.

El Segundo, Calif. -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has announced a partnership with REC Solar, a leading solar electric system provider in the United States, to install roof-mount solar systems on nine stores in Arizona. The installation of the systems will begin in March 2011.

The combined 410 kW of installed solar systems will produce an estimated 620,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, the equivalent of reducing 22 million lbs. of CO2 emissions -- or removing 28 million car-driven miles -- over the next 25 years.

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.

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.

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 -- 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.