Supermarket/Grocery

Arlington, Va. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), along with several retail brands, has launched the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC), the centerpiece of which is a Retail Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Retail-ISAC).

Walmart continues to envision flat same store sales at its U.S. stores after reporting weaker than expected profits on weak U.S. sales results that were negatively affected by a winter that wouldn’t end.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores posted disappointing results for its first quarter, with earnings down 5% as harsh winter weather kept shoppers away. The company also gave a weak earnings forecast for its current quarter that fell short of analysts' estimates.

For the period ended April 30, Wal-Mart earned $3.59 billion, compared with $3.78 billion a year ago, less than analysts expected. In addition to the unusually harsh winter weather, a higher-than-expected tax rate also hurt earnings, the retailer said.

Hy-Vee has won the 2014 RFID Journal Award for “Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service” at this year’s RFID Journal Live Event in Orlando, Fla. Hy-Vee, along with its technology provider, TempTRIP, implemented the first complete cold-chain management system for retail to monitor temperature of perishable foods from the vendor to the distribution center and continuing to the store.

Weis Markets has appointed David Gose as the company’s SVP of operations.

In that capacity Gose will oversee the day-to-day operation and management of the company’s stores. He reports to COO Kurt Schertle.

Stater Bros. chairman, president and CEO Jack H. Brown was pleased with the company’s second-quarter performance especially given the challenging environment.

Consolidated sales in the 13 weeks ended March 30 totaled $963.8 million, up $1.9 million (or 0.2%) from the previous year. Sales for the 26 weeks ended March 30, 2014 were $1.95 billion, representing a $17.2 million (or 0.9 %) increase from the same period in the prior year.

Washington, D.C. - Retail sales rose ever so slightly in April, putting a damper on hopes of a sharp uptick in economic growth in the second quarter. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, retail sales, which include categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, rose 0.1% in April, following a revised 1.5% increase in March that ranked as the biggest since March 2010.

Retail sales rose ever so slightly in April, putting a damper on hopes of a sharp uptick in economic growth in the second quarter. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, retail sales, which include categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, rose 0.1% in April, following a revised 1.5% increase in March that ranked as the biggest since March 2010.