Supermarket/Grocery

New York -- A Thursday report by the Financial Times said that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in discussions with Turkish retailer Migros Ticaret AS to acquire an 80% stake in the company from London-based private equity group BC Partners.

The Times said that Walmart held meetings with Migros managers in recent days in Turkey but it had not placed a bid for the Turkish retailer. Sources have not been identified and Wal-Mart so far has not commented.

Growth in sales and membership income at Costco helped the company produce earnings per share of 95 cents and beat analysts’ estimates by two cents.

WAYZATA, Minn. — Sugar substitute Truvia will expand beyond U.S. borders, bringing its stevia sweeteners to Mexico.

Truvia has joined forces with Grupo Herdez, a market leader in the production, distribution, and sale of foods in Mexico, to distribute and market Truvia sweetener in Mexico. Truvia, which recently branched into Canada, will now have a presence throughout North America in 2013, although it could face an uphill battle in Mexico where artificial sweeteners have yet to catch on with consumers.

Promotional activity among the nation’s leading retailers declined during November aside from several notable exceptions. There was a flurry of intense promotional activity around Thanksgiving weekend, as always, but for the months as a whole the number of inserts distributed by retailers declined 7% and the number of pages declined by 5%.

Purchase, N.Y. -- A SpendingPulse report released Wednesday by MasterCard Advisors in partnership with Wells Fargo found that spending at small retailers in November picked up a percentage point since October, showing a 5.2% year over year improvement.

This was enough to put its growth rate from October to November at 0.7%, more than the growth rate of total U.S. retail sales.

Blue Bell, Pa. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management Corp. said that Pet Supplies Plus has opened a 7,650-sq.-ft. store at The Shops at Blue Bell, located in Blue Bell, Pa.

Levin is the exclusive leasing and management agent for the 103,000-sq.-ft. shopping center, which is anchored by Giant supermarket and tenanted by IHOP, Sovereign Bank, GNC, Supercuts and Planet Beach, among others.
 

NEW YORK — In an era of increasingly complex global supply chains and product safety concerns, Deloitte and Decernis have formed a strategic alliance to provide compliance solutions to consumer product, food service, retail and distribution companies.

The alliance combines Deloitte's food safety, quality and supply chain experience and the software platform and content provided by Decernis for tracking and alerting consumer businesses about compliance issues.

Atlanta -- Dollar volume growth remained solid at 5.8% in November, down from 6.7% in October, according to the First Data SpendTrend analysis for the full month of November 2012 compared with November 2011. SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

New York -- Give your new store and renovation projects the recognition they deserve:  Entries are now being accepted for the 31st annual Chain Store Age Retail Store of the Year Design Competition, which will celebrate outstanding retail and restaurant design.  More than 20 categories are featured, ranging from supermarkets and discount/mass merchants to specialty stores and pop-up stores. Entries may be submitted by retailers, designers, architects or suppliers.

More than 500 suppliers and service companies were on hand recently to hear what Walmart chief marketing officer Stephen Quinn had to say at an event organized by the Bentonville Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.