Supermarket/Grocery

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- In 2014, The Sembler Co. said it saw increased activity across business segments, from more than 700,000 sq. ft. of new and renewed leases, to expanding the company’s geographical reach.

Minneapolis — Target Corp. is opening 15 stores this year, with an emphasis on its smaller-sized TargetExpress format as it looks to further reach guests in urban centers. The discounter will open eight TargetExpress locations, one CityTarget and six general merchandise stores.

Target stated that its strategic store growth is focused on reaching guests in urban centers with new formats like TargetExpress and CityTarget, while also offering new experiences, merchandising layouts and innovations in its general merchandise stores.

Target may not have been very successful in Canada, but the retailer has an altogether different strategy for the United States, where it will open 15 stores in 2015.

Target says it plans to open more small store formats than suburban big box stores this year.

The Minneapolis-based retailer will bring its smallest store, TargetExpress, which at 20,000 square feet is about a sixth of the size of its traditional big box stores, to two more metropolitan areas this year with one store slated for Chicago and two for the Washington, D.C., area.

Wegmans is looking to bolster its reputation as one of the nation’s best food retailers with a promotion that will see the retail sell massive quantities of shrimp.

Cincinnati — The Kroger Co. has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency for its efforts to reduce food waste.  

Kroger participated in the EPA's Food Recovery Challenge and came out on top in three categories: Leadership, Innovation, and Education and Outreach.

Boise, Idaho - Albertsons LLC and Safeway Inc. have completed their proposed merger, ending a nearly year-long process that began in March 2014. AB Acquisition LLC, the owner of Albertson's and New Albertson's, Inc., will acquire all outstanding shares of Safeway.

The merger will create a diversified network that includes 2,230 stores, 27 distribution facilities and 19 manufacturing plants with more than 250,000 employees across 34 states and the District of Columbia.

The Kroger Co. is getting more accolades from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this time for its efforts to reduce food waste.  

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — The Joint Industry Coupon Committee on Thursday urged retailers to prepare for the retirement of UPC Prefix 5 barcodes from manufacturer coupons. These symbols will no longer be used after June 30, 2015, as manufacturers shift to exclusive use of the GS1 DataBar format for coupons.   

Matthews, N.C. – Howard Levine, CEO of Family Dollar Stores Inc., reportedly plans to sell between one and two million shares of company stock in the next 10 days. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, Levine filed his intention to make the sale with SEC.

A stronger than average flu season helped Rite Aid post an increase in same store sales for January.   The company reported a 4.8% increase in same-store sales for the four weeks ended Jan. 24. Rite Aid's January front-end same-store sales increased 2.9%.