Supermarket/Grocery

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. retail sales edged up in October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department, evidence that recent job gains and lower gas prices are lifting consumer spending as the holiday shopping season begins. Retail sales rose 0.3% last month after falling by the same amount in September. Excluding gas stations, where falling prices lowered spending, sales rose a solid 0.5%.  

Commerce, Calif. -- Smart & Final Stores, Inc. reported that profit for the third quarter edged up 1.9% to $10.2 million. Sales surged 10.8% to $1.13 billion, and same-store sales leapt 6.6%.   “We continue to grow sales in both of our store banners--Smart & Final and Cash & Carry--and this has translated into strong financial results.," said Dave Hirz, president and CEO.  

Chicago -- Accounting for over a third of grocery retailers' total sales, promotions are a top priority. Recognizing the profit potential, Australian retailer Woolworths prioritized the implementation of process improvements that would promote efficiency through its promotional strategies.  

Las Vegas –- At the recent KronosWorks 2014 conference in Las Vegas, clients across a variety of industries spoke about how they use Kronos solutions to better perform a variety of human resources and workforce management tasks.  

Bentonville, Ark. -- A rare sales bump may provide the world’s largest retailer just the momentum it needs going into the important holiday season, say Wall Street analysts, as Wal-Mart reported that 3Q same-store sales rose at U.S. namesake stores for the first time in nearly two years.

 

However, Wal-Mart tempered the news with warnings that a highly promotional environment lies ahead.

 

Walmart’s same store sales turned positive during the third quarter, ending a two year drought, prompting the company to forecast a U.S. comp increase of as much as 1% during the fourth quarter.

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. announced the sale of an 11-property portfolio--located primarily in the Buffalo MSA that was previously held in joint venture with Kuwaiti Financial Centre II--for a total of $154 million. The portfolio was comprised of small-format traditional grocery-anchored centers and single tenant non-prime assets.  

Lisle, Ill. -- Glory Global Solutions found that the overwhelming majority of U.S. consumers using self-service machines (88%) have felt frustrated by the technology, this according to the company’s latest research study on the use of self-service technology.