Supermarket/Grocery

Cincinnati – Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II announced it has acquired two grocery-anchored shopping centers, expanding the company’s portfolio in Arizona and Florida.

51st and Olive Square is an 88,225-sq.-ft. grocery-anchored shopping center in Glendale, Arizona. The center is anchored by Fry’s Food and Drug grocery store, the number one grocer by market share in the Phoenix area. Additional key national tenants include Leslie’s Poolmart, Papa Murphy’s and the UPS Store.

Hamilton Township, N.J. -- IP Associates announced it has executed an agreement with Regal Entertainment Group to anchor Independence Plaza located in Hamilton, New Jersey. The announcement comes on the heels of an eight month turnaround leasing campaign that has netted in 115,000 sq. ft. of new leases.

Retailers are advised to brace for a higher level of fraud online and across all channels this holiday season.

That’s according to ACI Worldwide, which based its recommendation on new benchmark data from millions of transactions from large global retailers. The company noted that fraud rates by volume have increased by 30%, compared to 2014 as consumers shop with more devices online and card issuers are slower to shut down accounts after fraudulent activity.

Judging from the latest 2015 Temkin Loyalty Index, which measures consumer loyalty to large companies, shoppers are maniacal when it comes to their favorite grocery stores.

Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, H-E-B, Publix and Trader Joe's were at the top of the list when it comes to consumer loyalty, bookended on either side by credit card and insurance company USAA.

Aldi and Hy-Vee also made the top 10 list of companies to which consumers are most loyal.

Ten years ago, the CEO of Walmart and the president of Environmental Defense Fund hiked together on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Along the way, Lee Scott of Walmart (now retired) and Fred Krupp of EDF talked about climate change and the environmental challenges of our time. They also talked about ways that Walmart could drive positive environmental change in its product lines and operations.

When it comes to workforce management, retailers are focusing on optimizing scheduling.

The need for automated and even employee-driven scheduling was a coherent theme in presentations and interviews given by several retailers during the KronosWorks 2015 conference in Las Vegas. In an address during the opening keynote session, Mike Zorn, senior VP of associate and labor relations at Macy’s Inc., discussed the importance of scheduling to employee morale.

(The following is an excerpt from the new book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, by Denise Lee Yohn.)

Scott McClelland seems an unlikely candidate for his picture to appear under a "Why Is This Man Smiling?" headline. As spokesperson and president of the Houston food/drug division of Texas-based grocery store chain H-E-B, McClelland has plenty of reasons to be worried.

It’s been 10 years since Walmart launched its sustainability agenda, and on Tuesday, the discounter detailed the progress it has made to date.

In two important milestones, Walmart said it has achieved its goals of reducing 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its global supply chain, and doubling its fleet efficiency. It also expanded an existing commitment to preserve wildlife habitat.

The off-price wars are heating up in New York City.

Saks Fifth Avenue will open its first Saks Off 5th outlet in New York City, in a 32-story office tower at 125 East 57th Street, in March 2016. The store will feature a lobby entrance at street level, which will access two lower level floors.

“The addition of a new Saks Off 5th store at this strategic location will be a dramatic game changer for 57th Street retail east of Park Avenue,” said Charles S. Cohen, president and CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corp., which owns the property.

Despite weak overall sales growth and an expected decline in third quarter profits, Walmart’s third quarter results offered reasons for the company to be optimistic and for competitors to be concerned.