Supermarket/Grocery

Phoenix — Sparty Holdings has acquired the 10,017-sq.-ft. Coldwater Plaza in Avondale, Arizona, for $2.085 million.

Evergreen represented Sparty Holdings in the transaction. CBRE (www.cbre.com) represented the seller, a partnership between North Dysart SG and Coldwater Dysart Partners.

The 10,017-sq.-ft. shopping center is 100% leased. Tenants include Pacific Seafood Buffet, Cricket Wireless, Hire Source Staffing, and Checkmate Loans.

Amazon.com took second place overall and was the highest-ranked retailer in the 2014 Temkin Customer Service Ratings, which rates 233 companies across 19 industries with 10,000 U.S. consumers. Other retailers in the top 12 include Chick-fil-A, Publix, H-E-B, Starbucks, Costco, QVC, and Trader Joe's.

Retailers with the most improvement over last year's ratings are Apple Store, KFC, and Food Lion. Ace Hardware and Staples saw their Temkin Customer Service Ratings fall by 15 points or more between 2013 and 2014: No retailers placed at the bottom of the rankings.

By Kellie Peterson, Director of Marketing at iinside

The supermarket business has never been more competitive than it is today. In any given geographic location, supermarkets compete with traditional rivals including local, regional, national and international stores, as well as farm shares, farmer’s markets, and specialty retailers. Big-box retailers are, of course, also getting into grocery, and then there’s the increasing threat of online retailers.

Boulder, Colo. - Trader Joe’s is North America’s favorite grocery retailer based on satisfaction. A study of more than 6,200 consumers by Market Force Information, also found that Publix and Aldi were ranked second and third.

Sprouts Farmers Market has appointed Nancy LaMons as chief human resources officer.

LaMons was most recently as chief people officer at the Fiesta Restaurant Group. Previously, LaMons held senior positions at J.C. Penney and PepsiCo. LaMons has a bachelor’s degree in finance, an MBA with an emphasis on human resources, labor and industrial relations, and an Ed.M. with an emphasis in organization and leadership development.

Minneapolis - Peter Glusker has joined Target as senior VP, new business integration and operations, effective May 19. In this role, Glusker will lead the integration of new acquisitions into Target and develop strategies that ensure a consistent and great guest experience.

Wallingford, Conn. - Robert Price, former senior VP and chief marketing officer for CVS/pharmacy, has been named president of Edible Arrangements LLC. At CVS/pharmacy, Price led all marketing, advertising, sales promotion, e-commerce, customer insights, store design and customer loyalty programs.

Prior to CVS/pharmacy, Price's held positions with Wawa Food Markets; H-E-B Grocery Stores; Imasco Limited (the former parent company of Hardees and Roy Rogers Restaurants); and The Monitor Company, a strategy consulting firm.

London - Sainsbury’s has selected Quantum Retail Technology to provide software and services to help optimize its fashion and general merchandise inventory through improved allocation and replenishment functionality.  

Austin, Texas - Whole Foods Market earned the top spot in Greenpeace’s annual seafood sustainability ranking of U.S. supermarkets, claiming both the highest overall score and the strongest sustainable seafood policy. Whole Foods Market has been ranked first for the last two years in a row.

Whole Foods has earned the top spot in Greenpeace’s annual seafood sustainability ranking of U.S. supermarkets, claiming both the highest overall score and the strongest sustainable seafood policy. Whole Foods Market has been ranked first for the last two years in a row for the fourth time since 2008.