Supermarket/Grocery

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings said Friday it has again been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings.

For the third consecutive year, Sears will participate in the competition, this year entering 56 facilities that will compete against thousands of other teams representing buildings across the country. All efforts will be focused on eliminating waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's Energy Star program.

SOLON, Ohio — Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing reported that the current drought conditions have yet to lead to an increase in food prices.

“We predict that the food-at-home index will decline for the month of July [however],” ECRM stated in a release Friday.

For a detailed look at ECRM's predictions on how drought conditions will impact food prices, click here.

CINCINNATI — DunnhumbyUSA has appointed a new VP business development.

The company said Brian Murphy will be responsible in leading its growth with retail partners in consumer markets, adding that Murphy's role "is instrumental in aligning business objectives and strategy to build measurable and sustainable value as DunnhumbyUSA expands its retail footprint into industry verticals such as apparel, beauty and food service."

Murphy joins DunnhumbyUSA from SBC Advertising, a leading retail advertising agency in Columbus, Ohio.

Milwaukee -- Midwestern grocer Roundy’s reported Friday that net income for the quarter ended June 30 rose 6.6% to $18.9 million, compared with $17.7 million in the year-ago period. Sales edged up 1.7% to $996.8 million.

Same-store sales dropped 3.3%.
 

With the start of Back to School promotions, (and taking JCPenney out of the mix) we witnessed increase in page count that was driven mainly by significant increases in Walmart’s and Sears’ page counts.

JCPenney has been drastically altering their promotional strategy in past couple of months, however this month, the store did not promote at all, causing curiosity for many customers. (It should be noted that JCPenney did release circulars the week of July 29th that will be counted in the August report.)

By Craig LaRosa, [email protected]

A consumer walks into a store, tries on a pair of running shoes, and then hops online to buy them from someone else—10% to 15% cheaper. It’s called “showrooming” and it has a lot of businesses scrambling.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Third-quarter sales for Stater Bros. rose more than $10 million during the period ended June 24, the retailer said Tuesday.

Third-quarter sales increased 1.14% to $949.8 million, compared with $939 million in third quarter 2011. Same-store sales also rose 1.14% during the third quarter. For the 39-week period ended June 24, sales rose 3.51% to $2.8 billion, compared with $96.7 million in the year-ago period. Same-stores sales for the 39-week period also rose 3.51%.

By Jundong Song, [email protected]

In mid-June, Safeway, the number three U.S. food retailer after Wal-Mart and Kroger, capped two years of testing in selected markets and rolled out its enhanced reward program, “Just for U,” chain wide.

It’s a key move in loyalty card programs that all retailers should be watching.