Supermarket/Grocery

Five dynamic retail and restaurant brands — Altar’d State, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, MOD Pizza, Sugarfina and Warby Parker — took home the honors as the winners of Chain Store Age’s annual Breakout Retailer Awards.

The awards, selected by CSA’s editorial board and sponsored by Paint Folks, recognize innovative retail and restaurant concepts that are on their way up —brands that have crossed the “newbie” line, and are well positioned for growth, in store, online, or both.

May in Las Vegas is when the dealmakers come out to, well, make deals, as the International Council of Shopping Centers hosts its annual RECon event at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Westgate Las Vegas Hotel. Held May 22-25 and attended by retailers and shopping center owners from around the globe, RECon will display such project wares as mixed-use destinations, outlet centers, and strip and lifestyle projects — and everything in between.

Expect the 365 by Whole Foods Market store format to look much different than the traditional Whole Foods store.

The concept, debuting in late May in Los Angeles, will feature a no-frills design, low fixtures and all-digital price tags, reported Business Insider, which was given a sneak peak of the format.

To see renderings of 365 and learn more about its details, click here.

Chicago is one of the nation’s leading retail markets and a new report from Mid-America Real Estate details the area’s evolving growth patterns, retailers driving development and hot properties.

Whole Foods Market will open its second 365 by Whole Foods Market store on July 14, in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The new format will make its debut in on May 25, in Los Angeles.

May 20 is shaping up as a momentous day at Brixmor Property Group with newly appointed CFO Angela Aman slated to begin work the same day as recently appointed CEO Jim Taylor.

Aman’s appointment as CFO was announced in conjunction with the release of Brixmor’s first quarter financial results on April 26 and follows the April 12 announcement that James Taylor had joined the company as CEO.

Regional grocer Raley’s Supermarkets is upgrading its omnichannel customer experience with an eye toward mobile convenience and personalized service.

West Sacramento, California-based Raley’s, which operates 122 stores under four banners in California and Nevada, is launching a new e-commerce platform called E-Cart. Based on technology from Unata, E-Cart includes features that aid the web, mobile and in-store shopping experience.

Ace Hardware Corp. is best known for selling home improvement merchandise, but also operates a growing grocery channel.

Using technology from ProLogic Retail Services, a provider of loyalty marketing solutions specializing in independent grocers, the retail cooperative is enabling its Ace Rewards loyalty program in co-located grocery stores. Ace operates grocery in both “store-within-a-store” configurations and adjacent storefronts with grocery partners.