Supermarket/Grocery

A stellar retail panel — Mark Friedman, manager of retail facilities, Coldwater Creek; Eric Johnson, director of store planning, design and construction, Brookshire Brothers Ltd.; and Bob Valair, director of energy and environmental management, Staples — shared first-hand accounts of their LED deployments and plans going forward at the SPECS session, “LED Lessons Learned, Strategies for the Future.”

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix reported that its profit rose 4.8% to $493.7 million in its first quarter.  

Sales increased 4.1% to $7.8 billion, with a 4% increase in same-store sales.  

Publix estimated that its sales were negatively impacted by 1.3% due to the later Easter this year.  

Effective May 1, Publix’s stock price increased from $30.15 per share to $32.50 per share. Publix stock is not publicly traded and is available only to current Publix employees and members of its board of directors.

Asheville, N.C. – Ingles Markets reported a large increase in net income and smaller increase in net sales during the second quarter of fiscal 2014 as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. Net income soared 29.2% to $105 million from $8.1 million, while net sales grew 2.9% to $947.8 million from $920.7 million.

Woonsocket, R.I. – Net income at CVS Caremark Corp. increased 18.3% to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, compared with approximately $1 billion a year earlier. Pharmacy services and retail pharmacy segments both benefited from the impact of increased generic drugs dispensed and slower growth in expenses.

Redevelopment continues to ignite retail

One of the most fascinating aspects of our ongoing economic recovery is the paradigm shift with respect to commercial development priorities. In the wake of the recession, new development has largely taken a backseat to redevelopment as developers and retailers alike have set their sights on opportunities in core urban markets that have been historically underserved.

Lighting plays a critical role in retail, and is rapidly evolving to meet changing regulations and customer needs. Dr. Laura Prestwood Thompson, director of the TCU Center for Lighting Education, Texas Christian University, discussed how stores and restaurants in 2025 will light their interiors and looked at the technologies and trends that will impact retail lighting during the SPECS workshop session, “Lighting 2025.”

“The quality of light is key,” Thompson said. “You create an aesthetic for your brand that impacts the customer experience.”

Sales from new stores as well as a nearly 7% same-store sales increase bolstered Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage’s second quarter ended March 31.

Net sales increased 22.4% to $130.3 million over the same period in fiscal year 2013 due to a $16.6 million increase in sales from new stores and a 6.9%, increase in comparable store sales.

New York -- Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday unveiled a plan to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15. Although Murray said the hike has broad support across local government, business and labor communities, the City Council still has to vote on the proposal.
 
Under Murray’s plan, businesses with fewer than 500 employees would have seven years to comply and larger businesses would have three years. Further increases would be tied to inflation.