Supermarket/Grocery

Beachwood, Ohio --DDR Corp. and an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII announced that a joint venture formed by the pair has closed on the acquisition of 71 shopping centers previously owned by American Realty Capital Properties for $1.93 billion.

By Chris Donnelly, managing director for retail, Accenture Strategy   What do supermarkets have to gain from a price war? Judging from the battles that have been raging around the world of late, the answer is--nothing. Experience shows that they are truly a “race to the bottom”--aside from the consumer, the only possible winner is the lowest cost provider. Food retailers, however, have options for how to avoid getting drawn into a costly price war.   

Austin, Texas -- Whole Food Market on Monday launched its first national brand campaign, a multichannel advertising initiative. The effort is spearheaded by seasoned marketing veteran Jeannine D’Addario, Whole Foods’ new global VP of communications.   

Chicago -- More than 80% of shoppers visit three or more channels to carry out CPG shopping, according to IRI’s new Times & Trend report, “Channel Migration: The Road to Growth Has Many Lanes”.   

Richard Phillips is headlining an upcoming supply chain conference organized by several food trade organizations. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, try Captain Phillips, as in the guy Tom Hanks portrayed in the 2013 movie of the same name.

Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple announced that its mobile payments solution, Apple Pay, will be launched in the United States on Monday, October 20. CEO Tim Cook made the announcement Thursday at a media event at which he unveiled several new products, including updated versions of the iPad.   

Las Vegas -- Today’s convenience stores face growing pressure to evolve amid the ramped-up expectations of global consumers, according to remarks made by Joseph Bona, president of branded environments at brand agency and retail design consultancy CBX, and Dan Munford, managing firector of U.K.-based Insight, convenience and petroleum retail strategy specialists, at the National Association of Convenience Stores’ annual convention in Las Vegas.  

Washington, D.C. -- September retail sales, excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, decreased 0.1% seasonally adjusted month-to-month yet increased 4.6% unadjusted year-over-year. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), seasonal factors played a role, but the drop-off from August was worse than expected.  

Livingston, N.J. -- The Fresh Market celebrated its official opening at The Village At Livingston with “cracking the parmesan,” a centuries-old art and company tradition. The store, which occupies 23,000 sq.ft  at the 93,000-sq.-ft. shopping center managed and developed by Eastman Companies, marks the upscale specialty grocer’s third location in New Jersey.  

Mississauga, Ont. -- Target Canada is opening three new stores Oct. 17, located in Ottawa, Ont; Sheridan Centre in Mississauga, Ont. and Polo Park in Winnipeg, Man. The opening of the three new stores marks the final stores scheduled to open in 2014 and brings the total number of Target Canada stores open across the country to 133.