Supermarket/Grocery

In his first full quarter as CEO of the nation’s largest supermarket retailer, Rodney McMullen had the pleasure of reporting sales and profits that exceeded estimates and increasing the growth forecast for a company that was already poised to surpass annual sales of sales of $100 billion.

Fresh & Easy has launched a full-scale marketing campaign inviting customers to discover the company’s new image.

Since transferring to new ownership in November, the company said, it has reinvigorated the brand and its stores with the aim of being the anytime, anyway, anywhere solution for getting healthy, convenient and affordable food.

Cincinnati -- Kroger Co. on Wednesday said it plans to withdraw from two multi-employer pension funds and will incur a charge of $56 million in the first quarter as it contributes that amount to restructure its pension obligations. The move is in line with the retailer’s desire to exert more control over employee-retirement programs.

St. Louis -- Indoor retail mapping platform Aisle411 will provide indoor mapping services to Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets. The retailer seeks to improve the shopping experience for its customers by leveraging the navigation platform via its new Marsh App.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) have asked an appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s approval of a lawsuit settlement regarding Visa and MasterCard’s credit card swipe fees, saying it was negotiated by only a handful of merchants and would do nothing to bring the fees under control.

Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) has named former Carrefour Group executive José Carlos González-Hurtado as president of International.

González-Hurtado will be responsible for the strategy and execution of all IRI services in international markets, including Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Mobile retail navigation service Aisle411 will be offering its indoor mapping services to Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets. The retailer seeks to improve the shopping experience for its customers by leveraging the navigation platform via its new Marsh App.

By Girish Pai, AVP, Group Manager, Retail, CPG and Logistics for Infosys


Ali Baba is a literary character from the Arabian Nights stories known for his ability to get virtually anything he wants by shouting “Open Sesame!”

Many Americans take the safety of their food supply for granted, but that isn’t the case in China, a nation characterized by open air wet markets and a regulatory environment in which it can appear foreign companies are held to a higher standard.

New York -- Instacart, the same-day grocery delivery service, has raised $44 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The San Francisco startup currently operates in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and seven other U.S. cities. With its new funding, it Instacart expects to expand into 17 cities by the end of 2014.