Supermarket/Grocery

New York  -- Verifone announced that Delhaize America has selected Verifone’s multi-media, EMV and NFC-capable MX 925 payment terminals to enhance consumer engagement at the point of sale across all of Delhaize America’s U.S. locations.

While there were some reported ups and downs over the course of last year’s holiday shopping season, the early takeaway is that the season was, in the end, positive. While we’ll have to wait for hard numbers for more detailed insight, and while definitive conclusions might be a bit much to draw at this point, it does seem to me like the increased length of the ever-expanding holiday shopping season didn’t have any appreciable negative impact.

Memphis -- Discount general merchandise chain Fred’s has named Michael K. Bloom as its president and COO, effective immediately. Until recently, Bloom held the same position at Family Dollar Stores Inc.; he resigned in early January after just over two years in the position and could be owed as much as $4.8 million in severance by Family Dollar, according to an SEC filing.

New York -- The fast-growing online grocery delivery startup Instacart confirmed it has raised $220 million in a funding round led by the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. This latest round of funding values the San Francisco-based company, founded in 2012, at a whopping $2 billion, according to various reports.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar is urging its shareholders to support a buyout offer from rival discounter Dollar Tree with less than two weeks remaining before a vote on the pending deal.  Family Dollar shareholders are scheduled to vote Jan. 22. on whether to accept the Dollar Tree offer.

New York -- Grocer Heinen’s has teamed with Symphony EYC to adopt customer-driven retailing operations that stretch from shopper, throughout the store and back to the warehouse.

INDIANAPOLIS and LOS ANGELES  — In what is being touted as the first iBeacon-wearable integration at retail, Marsh Supermarkets and inMarket have announced the deployment of a closed-loop iBeacon platform, enabling shoppers with smartphones and Apple Watch to have their favorite apps come alive in-store.

Tucson, Ariz. -- Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, will open its first store in Tucson, its fourth in Arizona, on Jan. 20.

The family-run company was built on the premise that "consumers should have access to affordable, high-quality foods and dietary supplements, along with nutrition knowledge, to help support their own health."