Supermarket/Grocery

Cincinnati – The Kroger Co. beat Wall Street expectations with strong net earnings and sales results for the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Net earnings rose 9% to $347 million from $317 million, while total sales increased 12% to $25.3 billion compared to $22.7 billion for the same period in the prior year.

Walmart unveiled new details regarding the digital strategy for its Asda division in the United Kingdom that could have implications for how the retailer serves the U.S. market.

U.K. shoppers love the internet and Walmart’s Asda unit is responding with growth of order online, pick up in store capabilities known as Click and Collect, dedicated facilities and the consolidation of Web sites.

Kroger reported total sales of $25.3 billion, representing an increase of 11.6% for its second quarter. Total sales, excluding fuel, increased 12.4% in the second quarter over the same period last year.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly planning to do away with its Wal-Mart Express banner. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, an internal corporate memo indicates that Wal-Mart will rebrand its 21 Express stores, which average about 12,000-sq.-ft., to its larger 45,000-sq.-ft. Neighborhood Market banner in the next few months.

Washington, D.C. -- Retailers concerned by the lack of a West Coast longshoremen’s contract will continue to bring merchandise into the country at above-average levels this month but volume will drop from the record set in August, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.


Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market announced its participation with Apple Pay, the new mobile payments platform from Apple.

Niles, Ohio – Discount apparel retailer Gabriel Brothers opens a new store at the Eastwood Mall Complex in early November. The new 64,900-sq.-ft. store will open in the McKinley Centre section of the complex, near PetSmart and Big Lots.

The Eastwood Mall Complex offers more than 200 department stores, specialty shops, restaurants and entertainment options. The Eastwood Mall Complex is owned and managed in association with Cafaro-affiliated companies, based in Youngstown, Ohio.

Observant shoppers will have noticed something ominous in recent weeks: the arrival of fall and winter products and holiday marketing/promotions in many stores. As unbelievable as it might seem, considering the fact that much of the country is still experiencing 90-degree heat and a glance at the calendar shows that it is barely September as I write this, the holiday hullabaloo is already underway.

Mobile payments are likely to take a giant step forward with Apple’s unveiling of Apple Pay, a new mobile payment platform built into the company’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The platform will also work with the new Apple Watch, extending the service to over 200 million owners of iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s worldwide.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix on Monday was honored with three awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Partnership, including its Store Certification Excellence 2013-2014, and two Store Re-Certification Excellence Awards 2009-2014.

Publix earned the Store Certification Excellence award for achieving 26 GreenChill store certifications in the past year. Two Publix stores have achieved GreenChill Certification for five consecutive years and are being honored with the Store Re-Certification Excellence award.