Supermarket/Grocery

Walmart’s same store sales turned positive during the third quarter, ending a two year drought, prompting the company to forecast a U.S. comp increase of as much as 1% during the fourth quarter.

Bentonville, Ark. –- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reportedly sent a memo to marketing managers on Oct. 2 saying that sales need to improve for chilled and fresh items in stores, including dairy, meat and produce. 

 

According to the New York Times, the memo cited customer complaints about expired items, as well as the need for less backup inventory and the rotation of perishable items.

 

Chicago -– The perception of men as not enjoying the process of grocery shopping may have some truth to it. More men are grocery shopping for themselves or their families now than in the past, but they’re not happy about it, reports The NPD Group.  

Arlington, Virginia –- Brick-and-mortar retailers have at least one good piece of news to cheer them up this fall. U.S. same-store retail sales were up 1.3%, or $3.9 billion, in October 2014, driven by a 2.2% increase in dollars per transaction, according to data from the Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) Index and historical U.S. Census data.   

Cincinnati -- Phillips Edison-ARC Grocery Center REIT II Inc. has acquired Laguna 99 Plaza, adding another property in California to the company's portfolio. Laguna 99 Plaza is an 89,188-sq.-ft.grocery store-anchored shopping center located in Elk Grove, California, part of the Sacramento metropolitan statistical area.    Laguna 99 Plaza is anchored by Walmart Neighborhood Market. Other national and regional tenants at the center include GNC, Metro PCS, and Goodwill. 

Old Bridge, N.J. -- An improved picture in both ‘big-box’ and smaller store spaces combined to push the retail vacancy rate along central New Jersey’s major shopping corridors to a six-year low of 7.6% from 9.8% in 2013, according to the latest study by R.J. Brunelli & Co. Looking back over the past 10 years, the 2014 figure compared with the high of 10.5% in 2011 and low of 3.4% in 2006.  

New York City -- Chelsea Bagel, operating on West 14th Street for the past five years, has leased its second Manhattan location.  

Salisbury, N.C. -- Food Lion has unveiled a new, easier shopping experience for customers in 45 remodeled stores in the greater Greenville, New Bern and Jacksonville, N.C., market.    "Our customers told us that they want a grocery experience where it's easy to shop, easy to save and easy to figure out what is for dinner tonight," said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. "In these stores, we've worked to deliver just that.”

The retail inventory specialist firm WIS International named merchandising and marketing services veteran Jim Rose as its new president and CEO.

Rose most recently served as president of marketing services at CROSSMARK, a leading provider of marketing and merchandising services. Rose also previously served as chairman and CEO for Mosaic Sales Solutions and also held senior roles at The Nielsen Company and MPG, a global advertising and communications company.