Supermarket/Grocery

Barnegat, N.J. -- North Plainfield, N.J.-based Levin Management Corp. said that Big Lots is slated to open a new anchor store at Bayshore Plaza in Barnegat, N.J., in August.

The 31,612-sq.-ft. store will fill a space formerly occupied by A&P.

Additional tenants include McDonald’s, AT&T Wireless, Barnegat Pharmacy, and a mix of local restaurants and services.

Levin serves as leasing and managing agent for Bayshore Plaza.
 

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. -- Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust said that Calla Lily Salon recently opened a 1,529-sq.-ft. hair salon at Plymouth Meeting (Pa.) Mall.

Charming Charlie opened at the mall in July.

Plymouth Meeting Mall is anchored by Macy’s, Boscov’s, and Whole Foods Market and Café.
 

Armonk, N.Y. -- Hypermarket chain Real, part of Metro Group, worked with IBM to launch a new electronic coupon system throughout its 320 German stores. This first-of-a-kind digital coupon system, developed with IBM Research scientists, enables consumers to use their mobile phones to find and redeem e-coupons as they shop in stores. It delivers a convenient and personalized service to shoppers, even if they left their paper coupons at home.

New York -- Costco Wholesale Corp. set the July same-store sales pace when it reported Wednesday a better-than-expected gain of 5%, and other discounters answered Thursday with similar positive results.

WASHINGTON — Desire for more organic food, high-end products and mobile technologies were the driving trends of the fastest-growing retailers in the United States, according to the National Retail Federation's "Hot 100 Retailers" list. Published annually in the group's STORES August issue, the list consists of retail companies that reported the greatest increase in domestic sales between 2010 and 2011. All public and private companies with more than $300 million in sales were eligible for the list, which was compiled by Kantar Retail.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Whole Foods is spreading the word on the benefits of consuming organic foods and leading a healthy lifestyle, by teaming up with educational media brand, PBS Kids to launch the "Fantastic Organic" campaign.

LAS VEGAS — Epson America Inc., a supplier of value-added Point of Sale (POS) solutions, has received the Gold Award of Excellence in the hardware technology category during the Retail Solutions Providers Association's RetailNOW 2012 show.
 

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is out with its ranking of the leading charitable donors and Target ranked eighth in 2011.

Target donated $146 million in cash and $63 million worth of products last year, according the Chronicle. It is a significant sum that and equates to roughly 4.7% of the retailer’s pretax profits.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix sales grew $6.8 billion in the second quarter, a 3.2% increase from $6.6 billion for the same period last year. Same-store sales rose 1.9%.

Net earnings took a slight hit, declining 0.2%, to $381.6 million from $382.4 million in 2011. However, earnings per share for the second quarter increased to 49 cents for 2012, up from 48 cents per share in 2011.

By Brian Ross, [email protected]

In today’s competitive environment, enterprise loyalty is king. Companies must embark on their strategic journey influenced by customer insights. These insights are gained through transactional data and allow for the shifting of mindset, culture and strategy across the entire enterprise – everywhere from merchandising and store layout to pricing. Sharing this information across the organization — beyond simply the marketing department – is essential to customer-centric merchandising.