Supermarket/Grocery

Whole Foods Market’s core values of local, natural and environmentally responsible commerce are showcased in its store in downtown Detroit. The 21,506-sq.-ft. store, the retailer’s first location in the Motor City, features lower pricing and combines its signature organic and locally-made/grown goods with a larger selection of private-label items and frozen and prepackaged foods.

October 2013 is projected to be the coolest in four years for the U.S. as a whole. Expect colder year-on-year trends across the Northeast and Southwest, especially during retail weeks one, three and four. Wetter trends will encompass the Texas to Louisiana Gulf Coast, where tropical storm and hurricane potential will be the highest should any storms develop this month and threaten the U.S. mainland. The northern tier of the U.S. will trend drier than last year, especially across the Great Lakes.

Mobile retail apps are nothing new, but retailers are constantly adding new features and functions that maximize their reach and value. Here’s a brief look at five cool mobile retail apps that have all been launched or piloted in the past few months:

Amazon.com Mobile Associates API

Single Touch Systems, a technology based mobile media solutions provider, has announced that its mobile messaging volume, which is a key business metric that drives revenues, has been growing at an increasingly accelerated pace.

Single Touch generates a portion of its operating business revenues by sending SMS text messages including reminder messages to customers of some of the largest retailers in the U.S. and U.K. Each message sent generates incremental revenues for Single Touch.

Former president of Giant-Landover, Anthony Hucker, has joined Schnuck Markets as EVP and chief strategy officer.

Hucker recently resigned as president of Giant-Landover, a chain owned by Ahold USA that runs 169 stores in the District of Columbia and surrounding areas.

"Anthony is a tremendous talent who shares our values; he's customer-focused and a true merchant in every sense," Schnucks chairman and CEO Scott Schnuck said. "We expect that he will add velocity to efforts that will ensure Schnucks' continued growth and success."

New York -- Governor Jerry Brown of California on Wednesday signed a bill approving a $2 hike in the state’s minimum wage, with the increase to be rolled out during the next three years. The increase will make California's minimum wage the highest in the country.

The wage increase will go into effect in two separate $1 increments, going from the current minimum of $8 to $9 on July 1, 2014, and then to $10, on January 1, 2016.

Monrovia, Calif. – Trader Joe’s will reportedly open a new store in the Hingham Shipyard complex in Hingham, Mass., on Oct. 4.

According to the Hingham Journal, Trader Joe’s signed a lease with Samuels & Associates in winter 2012 to open a 12,000-sq.-ft. store in the Launch portion of the Shipyard complex.

Southeastern Grocers, parent company of Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie supermarkets, has filed a registration statement on a proposed initial public offering.  

The shares are expected to be offered by Southeastern Grocers, and the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined.

Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities will act as representatives of the underwriters for the offering, and, together with William Blair and Wells Fargo Securities, will act as joint book-running managers for the offering.