Logistics

Camp Hill, Pa.  -- Rite Aid Corp. has promoted Ken Martindale, currently senior executive VP and COO, to president and COO. Rite Aid chairman, president and CEO John Standley will continue in those roles.

The promotion of Martindale, 53, is effective immediately.

CINCINNATI -- The Kroger Co. announced the establishment of two new supermarket divisions, a Nashville division and a Louisville division.

"Opportunities for growth in Tennessee, northern Alabama, Kentucky, and Southern Illinois and Indiana inspired us to take this path," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's president and chief operating officer. "We believe this move will enable our associates to do what they do best – meet the needs of our local customers and neighbors, our communities, and each other."
   

New York  -- Los Angeles is on the fast track to becoming the largest city in the nation to move toward a ban on “single-use” plastic bags after the City Council passed a resolution barring their use in supermarkets, convenience stores and any big retailer, which would include Target and Walmart, that sells groceries.

By Bill Leber, Swisslog

E-commerce is fundamentally changing the nature of the retail supply chain. As online shopping continues to compete with and, in many instances, overtake brick-and-mortar retail, traditional retailers are looking for more and more ways to expand their multichannel operations.

Los Angeles -- Regency Centers Corp. has broken ground on Juanita Tate Marketplace, a $21 million grocery-anchored shopping center in underserved South Central Los Angeles.

Anchors include a 42,500-sq.-ft. Northgate Gonzalez Market and a 14,576-sq.-ft. CVS/pharmacy. The remaining space will include small shops, quick-service restaurants and a 1050-sq.-ft. educational community center operated by Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles, a community revitalization group once led by Juanita Tate, who died in 2004.

San Jose -- Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As part of the filing, Orchard Supply has reached an agreement for Lowe’s to purchase acquire the majority of its assets for $205 million in cash, plus the assumption of payables owed to nearly all of Orchard’s supplier partners. Under the terms of the agreement, Lowe’s, serving as “stalking horse bidder,” would acquire no less than 60 of Orchard’s stores, based on further due diligence on the store locations.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer will open two 190,000-sq.-ft. supercenters in the northern Indiana towns of Portage and Warsaw on June 13. Meijer operates more than 200 stores in the Midwest and will have 32 stores in Indiana. Meijer expects the stores to create more than 500 new jobs.

Atlanta -- Executives from The Home Depot told attendees at an analyst meeting in New York on Monday that the company is focusing on improving its supply chain and Internet operations and expects a moderate recovery in the U.S. housing market. Roughly $450 million of Home Depot’s $1.5 billion capital spending budget for the current fiscal year is slated for IT projects.

In addition, Home Depot is also attempting to improve store productivity and is piloting five paint stores in the Chinese market.