Supermarket/Grocery

Retail trade event organizer Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) name media veteran Joseph Tarnowski to the newly created position of chief content officer.

Tarnowski will lead the development of ECRM’s content platform to deliver actionable information and insights to retail buyers and suppliers such as original research and insights from ECRM Data, the company’s business intelligence division.

Supervalu welcomed nearly 4,000 independent grocery retailers to St. Paul, Minn., this week for the grocery distributor’s inaugural national sales expo and trade show.

Retail spending growth was at an 11-month high in July and consumers turned to planes, trains and automobiles as summer vacation travel led strong spending during the month, according to data reported today by First Data Corporation, a leading global payment technology and services company.

Cleveland -- WorkPlace Impact found in a recent survey that 49% of working female consumers are making millions of trips between Monday and Friday. What’s more, 46% of the women that WorkPlace Impact surveyed reported that they regularly purchase groceries on their way to or from the office or during a lunch break.

Further affirming that working women often have groceries on their mind during the workday, the study also found that 84.4% of the women surveyed said they regularly or occasionally add items to their grocery shopping lists at work.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Winick Realty Group said that Pair Wine and Cheese, a retail café focused on the precise pairings of wines and cheeses, has signed a lease for its first location at 140 Atlantic Avenue between Henry and Clinton Streets in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn.

Set to open in fourth quarter 2014, Pair Wine and Cheese will occupy approximately 1,000 sq. ft. on the ground floor, as well as about 500 sq. ft. in an outdoor garden.

Charlotte, N.C. -- Aston Properties announced plans to develop Caldwell Crossing in Harrisburg, North Carolina, on the corner of Caldwell Road and Hwy. 49. 

Construction has begun on the 85,000-sq.-ft. center with an anticipated opening date in late fall 2015.

Caldwell Crossing will be anchored by a Harris Teeter grocery store and will include up to 26,000 sq. ft. of small shops. In addition to Harris Teeter and the shops, the center will include two outparcels.

St. Louis -- A settlement in a Schnuck Markets, Inc., security breach class-action lawsuit has been reached and a notification program is underway, as approved by the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri.

Customers of 79 Schnuck grocery stores are being alerted that the breach, which occurred between December 9, 2012 and March 30, 2013, has been settled and that they may be entitled to a share of the proceeds.

ConAgra, one of the world’s biggest food companies, has begun its search for new CEO, following Gary Rodkin’s announcement to the board that he plans to retire at the end of the company’s fiscal year, May 2015.

The board of directors has established a search committee, led by independent director Richard Lenny, to identify Rodkin’s successor. Lenny is the former chairman and CEO of The Hershey Co. and has served on the ConAgra Foods board since 2009.

Yonkers, N.Y. -- Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), the developer and owner of the Westchester’s Ridge Hill shopping center, has announced some new tenants that will open at the regional center. They include 5 Napkin, a family-friendly bar and grill; Wine Zetta, a regional wine store; and Hand and Stone, a spa franchise.

Conway, Ark. -- The Central Landing retail development now underway in Conway, Arkansas, has added Dillard’s as a key anchor for its first phase, according Jim Wilson & Associates and partner the Conway Development Corp.