Supermarket/Grocery

Like an inconsiderate party guest, Old Man Winter arrived early this year, bringing his trusty cohorts snow, ice, wind and rain. The first official day of winter is still a month away, but many parts of the United States are feeling the freeze, especially in the Northern Plains, where snow fell 11 days before summer officially ended. If that is any indication of the upcoming season, retailers could be in for a long and brutal winter.

Winter Forecast

For many, winter is a magical time of the year.

San Francisco –- New Seasons Market (NSM) is deploying the new Index online commerce personalization solution at its stores to deliver end-to-end security and personalized customer experiences. The collaboration with Index provides NSM with a real-time understanding of customer behavior while helping to deliver relevant product recommendations and shopping experiences that savvy consumers now expect both online and offline.

To some folks, he’s an innovator, a genius who has fundamentally transformed the retail equation. To others, he’s a bully. And now Jeff Bezos has a new label: the world’s best-performing CEO.

The designation comes way of the Harvard Business Review’s 2014 ranking of the 100 best-performing CEOs. The list offers the only ranking of global CEOs’ performances over their entire tenure.

It has been fascinating to watch the back and forth in recent weeks as competing systems for mobile payment have suddenly been grabbing headlines and jockeying for space in the public consciousness.  

New York -- Retail and consumer merger and acquisition activity in the United States during the third quarter of 2014 was driven by the highest volume of mega deals (deals with a value of over $1 billion) in at least seven years, leading to overall transaction value jumping significantly during the quarter when compared to the year ago period, according to PwC’s U.S. retail and consumer deals insights Q3 2014 report.   

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Health Corp. on Tuesday reported slightly higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped in part by growth in sales of specialty drugs. Net income decreased 24% to $900 million from $1.21 billion in the year-ago period, primarily due to a $521 million pre-tax loss on the early extinguishment of debt.      

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly reappointing Scott Price as president and CEO of its Asia business. According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart will let Price, who previously held the position from 2009 until June 2014, work from the retailer’s U.S. headquarters.  

Coca-Cola Life, a new reduced-calorie beverage with a blend of cane sugar and stevia leaf extract, is hitting the stores nationwide. 

Coca-Cola Life addresses the health concerns over sugary sodas.  The green-labeled can or bottle contains 35% fewer calories than Coca Cola Classic and is said to taste closer to the original than Diet Coke, which is sweetened with aspartame.  

Ridge Hill, the Forest City Ratner-owned regional shopping and entertainment destination in Westchester, N.Y., will be the launchpad for DreamWorks Animation’s “North Pole Adventure,” a first-of-its-kind experience that blends storytelling and cutting-edge technology—taking families on an interactive journey that starts with Shrek and ends with a personal visit with Santa.

 

Boise, Idaho-- WinCo Foods LLC will open two new stores on Thursday, Nov. 6. One store will open in Lewiston, Idaho and one will open in North Richland Hills, Texas. The Lewiston store is 59,400-sq.-ft. in size and will initially employ about 100 individuals, 90 of whom have been hired locally.