Supermarket/Grocery

Chicago -- Online grocer Peapod is taking its “virtual grocery store” concept on the road in a new promotional campaign. The company unveiled the concept at commuter rail stations in Chicago and the Northeast less than a year ago,

Peapod, a division of Ahold USA, will field trucks installed with digital billboards of grocery aisles at community recreation centers, coffee sleeves at local cafes, concert venues and other places.  

Austin, Texas – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is filing a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau against Whole Foods Market on behalf of two Spanish-speaking employees.

The employees allege that in June 2013 a Whole Foods store in Albuquerque suspended them for a day for complaining about a company policy they say prevented them from speaking Spanish on the job. Both employees said they are still prevented from speaking Spanish.

Every week, retailers unleash significant advertising and promotion efforts in the perpetual competition to engage shoppers, drive trips and grow sales. Annual retail sales and market share are the result of the competition that played out in the preceding 52 individual weeks, and many companies highly value “winning the week.” But some weeks can be much more competitive than others, creating challenges for retailers also facing strong pressures to be efficient and limit costs.

Burlington, Mass. -- KeyPoint Partners has released The KeyPoint Report for Eastern Massachusetts/Greater Boston 2013. The report examines supply, occupancy, absorption and retailer expansion and contraction for virtually every retail property in the region. The 2013 report also includes a ten-year historical perspective that discusses the regional retail economy before, during and since the recession.

Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle has closed the sale of Shiloh Square Shopping Center on behalf of Torchlight Loan Services. Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. purchased the 139,720 sq. ft. Kroger-anchored center.

“Shiloh Square is strongly positioned in one of Atlanta’s largest suburbs of Kennesaw, serving more than 70,000 residents within a three mile radius,” said Margaret Caldwell, managing director with JLL.

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets has officially unveiled 12 former Grand Union stores in eastern and northern New York under the Tops banner at grand re-opening ceremonies.

The new Tops branded stores include stores in Saratoga, Warrensburg, Warren, Franklin, Essex, Clinton and Fulton counties.

Having past the calendar’s mid-point, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the most viewed stories of the year to date on ChainStoreAge.com. (Based on the results,  the ongoing saga of J.C. Penney remains the industry's biggest story.) Here are the Top 10 stories of the first six months:

Alexandria, Va. -- Voila Pastry & Café has leased 1,600 sq. ft. in Huntington Station Shopping Center in Alexandria, Va.

Paraclete Realty represented Voila Pastry, and A.J. Dwoskin & Associates represented the shopping center in the transaction.