Supermarket/Grocery

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market said Friday that it has launched two new eco-friendly gift cards, with plans to replace the  recycled plastic cards that will be phased out over time.

The new cards – one made of paper and the other of responsibly harvested wood— are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and have a lower carbon footprint, are reusable, recyclable, compostable and require less energy to be produced.

Woodland Hills, Calif. -- LandMark Retail Group said it has completed the development of two CVS/Pharmacy stores in California – in Bakersfield and Palmdale.

The Bakersfield store will be located in the newly developed Grand Island Village Shopping Center, a 90,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood center home to Chevron, Republic Bank and other small tenants.

The Palmdale store is located in a Vallarta-anchored neighborhood shopping center and offers a drive-thru pharmacy.

Baldwin Park, Calif. -- NewMark Merrill Cos. announced that three new tenants have joined Park Plaza on Maine, located in Baldwin Park, Calif., joining Superior Grocers, CVS, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Chase Bank, El Pollo Loco, GNC and Bank of America.

Menchie’s Yogurt signed a five-year lease for a 1,586-sq.-ft. location; LA Eyebrow signed a five-year lease for a 1,220-sq.-ft. space; and Family Dollar signed a lease for the approximately 9,000-sq.-ft. space next door to Superior Grocers.

Delray Beach, Fla. -- Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group said that Francesca’s Collections has leased 1,200 sq. ft. at Delray Marketplace, located in Delray Beach, Fla. 

The center will open November 2012 and will be anchored by Publix and Franks Theatre/Imax. The 264,823-sq.-ft. Delray Marketplace is owned by KRG Atlantic Delray Beach, LLC. Other tenants include ROC, White House | Black Market, Apricot Lane, Bobby Chan, Jos. A. Banks, Charming Charlie and Chico’s.

A 4.2% increase in August same-store sales at Target was at the high end of the company’s forecast range.

The solid showing during August was noteworthy because it came on top of a prior year increase of 4.1% and was attributable primarily to an increase in average transaction size. According to Target, about three fourths of the increase was due to growth in ticket with increase shopper traffic accounting for the remainder of the comp increase.

BRUSSELS — Delhaize's U.S. division has a new leader.

The supermarket conglomerate announced that Roland Smith will serve as Delhaize America's president and CEO, as well as EVP of the Delhaize Group, effective Oct. 15. Smith is replacing Ronald Hodge, who will be retiring from his post this year. Hodge will serve in an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.

"Come grow with us," could have been the title of the presentation Sam’s Club EVP of merchandising Charles Redfield gave earlier this week at the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s annual executive conference.

New York -- Whole Foods Market is in talks to buy or take over leases for half a dozen Johnnie’s Foodmaster locations in eastern Massachusetts, the Boston Globe reported.

Whole Foods wants to move into six of the 10 Johnnie’s Foodmaster sites in Arlington, Brookline, Charlestown, Melrose, South Weymouth, and Somerville, the report said.

Whole Foods currently operates 21 stores in Massachusettes.

An 8% same store sales increase is atypical for a food retailer which is why The Fresh Market’s second quarter performance is so noteworthy.

MINNEAPOLIS — Moving ahead with its previously announced turnaround strategy, Supervalu has overhauled its executive leadership team.