Supermarket/Grocery

Meijer customers donated more than $510,000 during the company’s holiday Simply Give campaign, helping food pantries throughout the Midwest restock their shelves.

Combined with a donation from Meijer, the holiday campaign raised more than $1.2 million, making it the most successful campaign since Simply Give began in November 2008.

February 2014 is projected to be the coldest in four years and drier than last year for the U.S. as a whole. Much colder year-on-year trends will be widespread at the start of the month, especially across the Central U.S. The axis of colder temperatures shifts to the Northern Tier of the U.S. by the second week of the month. Much colder trends early in the month will help to clear remaining winter merchandise. A taste of spring arrives in the Deep South in retail week three, making this a favorable time for categories such as sun care, apparel and cold beverages.

Beachwood, Ohio — Nordstrom Rack will open locations at Lake Brandon Plaza in Brandon, Fla., and Harbison Court in Columbia, S.C., this fall. DDR Corp. owns and manages both centers.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is the latest major retailer to announce it will stop offering health insurance to its part-time employees. In a company blog post on Jan. 21, Target said it will no longer provide health insurance coverage to part time workers after April 1, 2014.

Austin, Texas - Whole Foods Market and Pivot, Participant Media’s TV network targeting Millennials, are launching the television series "Dark Rye.” The first episode, hosted by Kirk Lombard, a Bay Area fisherman and forager, airs Jan. 22.

Dark Rye was created as an online magazine by Whole Foods Market in 2012 and explores the realms of food, health, sustainability, design, technology and social enterprise.

Cincinnati – The Kroger Co. has promoted two veteran company executives. Jay Cummins has been named president of the Smith's Food and Drug Stores division and Joe Fey has been named president of Kroger's Mid-Atlantic division.

Cummins, 62, has been serving as president of Kroger's Mid-Atlantic division. He succeeds Mark Tuffin, who was named senior VP of retail divisions in December 2013.

Bentonville, Ark. – Sam’s Club plans to open new stores on Thursday, Jan. 23, with a location in Warwick, R.I., and one will open in Mooresville, N.C.

Both stores will measure approximately 136,000 sq. ft. and feature a fresh bakery, a tire and battery center, and a café. A pharmacy and a hearing aid center are open to both members and the general public. The Mooresville store also offers the Click N Pull personal shopping service, as well as a fuel station.

San Francisco - Shift Communications is now representing Whole Foods Market as its primary public relations agency in the Northern California region, which includes the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento, San Jose and Reno.

New York --  Sam’s Club will open two new clubs on Thursday, January 23, one in Warwick, R.I., and another in Mooresville, N.C.

The 136,000-sq.-ft. Warwick club has created 140 new jobs. Also 136,000 sq. ft., the Mooresville club has created 160 new jobs.

Both clubs will feature a variety of members-only amenities, including a fresh bakery, a tire and battery center, a café and a fuel station.

Digital coupon use is at an all-time high with more than 2 million Meijer shoppers now subscribed to the free mPerks program, and Meijer has made significant investments to make digital savings easier for its customers.  

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer now has free Wi-Fi capability in all its stores, making it easier for customers to access their mPerks accounts and the Meijer mobile app, freeing up their smartphone data plans for other uses.