News Briefs

After recently announcing its planned entry into Maryland, Zaxbys will soon open its first stores in a neighboring East Coast state.

The Atlanta-based quick-serve chain known for its chicken fingers and wings will open its first locations in New Jersey. Led by GSP Group, the first two of six planned locations are set to open in southern New Jersey in the summer of 2025.

"We started looking into Zaxbys about a year ago," said Premanand Gupta, co-owner of GSP Group and longtime Garden State resident. "We have always been interested in the growing chicken market, and Zaxbys stood out with its exceptional product and strong business model. We're confident that it will quickly become a local favorite."

[READ MORE: Zaxbys to open first stores in Maryland]

The locations for the first two Zaxbys in New Jersey have already been identified with leases signed. GSP Group, which operates other quick-serve franchise stores such as Dunkin’ and Subway, plans to “establish a strong presence in South Jersey before expanding north.”

"We are eager to see Zaxbys expand into New Jersey with such experienced and passionate owners,” said Mike Mettler, chief development officer at Zaxbys. “The GSP Group's strong operational background and commitment to excellence make them the ideal partners to grow our brand in this new market."

Founded in 1990, Zaxbys, operates more than 950 locations in 17 states.

BJ’s Wholesale Club has announced the opening dates for its next two club locations.

The retailer opened its newest Florida location in West Palm Beach on Friday, Oct. 25. The new stores marks the 39th BJ’s club in the Sunshine State, offering customers a BJ’s Gas location in addition to the chain’s selection of fresh foods, household items, home decor, seasonal items and more.

“We are eager to deliver unbeatable value and convenience to shoppers in Palm Beach County,” said Bryan Cravey, club manager of the new West Palm Beach Store. “Our members in West Palm Beach will love saving up to 25% off grocery store prices every day and enjoy the convenience of a true one-stop shop, as we take care of the families who depend on us.”

[READ MORE: BJ’s beats Street on revenues, profits in Q2]

On Friday, Nov. 1, BJ’s will open a new club in Carmel, Ind., its second in the state. The new club will also feature a BJ’s Gas location.

“We’re looking forward to taking care of the families who depend on us and serving our newest members in the Carmel community,” said Stephen Lucas, club manager of the Carmel store.

Earlier this year, BJ’s announced plans for new stores that are slated to open in 2025, including clubs in Hanover, N.J., Southern Pines, N.C. and Louisville, Ky. In March, BJ’s said it would open 12 new stores in fiscal 2024.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Marlborough, Mass., BJ’s currently operates 246 clubs and 181 BJ's Gas locations in 20 states.

Shoppers on the Canadian Amazon site now have an easier time searching for and identifying sustainable products.

Amazon Canada has launched the Climate Pledge Friendly program. Initially introduced in the U.S. in September 2020, the initiative identifies eligible sustainable items in shopping results and is part of Amazon’s efforts to meet the Climate Pledge, a commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040.

Climate Pledge Friendly also provides additional information about the certifications that make products eligible for the certification, and they are featured in a dedicated of the Amazon Canada e-commerce site. The assortment includes grocery, household, fashion, beauty, and personal electronics products.

Through a "Sustainability feature" label, customers can identify more than 143,000 products that meet one or more of 44 third-party sustainability certifications. These include responsible manufacturing practices such as using safer chemicals, conserving resources and reducing energy consumption. 

Amazon has also created its own certification, Compact by Design, which highlights products that meet sustainability standards.

[READ MORE: Amazon adds new sustainability certifications]

"Climate Pledge Friendly is a simple way for customers to make more sustainable shopping choices that help preserve our planet," said Eva Lorenz, Amazon Canada country leader, in a corporate blog post. “Through this program, we’re incentivizing our selling partners to offer an expanding selection of climate friendly products, making it easier for customers to help protect the natural world for future generations."

A Midwestern specialty grocer is leveraging artificial intelligence technology specifically designed for fresh food.

Fresh Thyme Market is rolling out the AI-based Afresh Store Ordering for Food Service solution. The retailer is on track to use Afresh technology to order across its core fresh departments, including produce, meat, seafood and food service, for its entire chain of 70 stores by end of year.

Leveraging the platform, fresh food department managers use tablets and guided workflows to review inventory levels and place orders. The solution taps into the Afresh AI data engine to help analyze hard-to-track factors for each fresh item, such as shelf life, seasonality, holidays and imperfect scanning at the registers to deliver intelligent order recommendations and automatic orders. 

For prepared foods, Afresh helps managers and associates manage orders for ingredients that are used across many recipes and adjust for possible ingredient substitutions. 

"We've been using Afresh for a long time across many of our fresh departments, and we're excited to add support to this busy area of our stores," said Scott Caro, group VP merchandising and marketing for Fresh Thyme. "Afresh has helped us be early users of AI in our store ordering, and the insights from Afresh are next-level. With Afresh, we've been able to streamline our processes, improve efficiency for our employees and enhance the overall experience for our customers by better meeting their expectations."

[READ MORE: Fresh Thyme introduces in-store pickup]

Based in Downers Grove, Ill., Fresh Thyme Market operates 70 stores in 10 states throughout the Midwest.

Nordstrom is expanding the footprint of its off-price division in the Sunshine State.

Nordstrom Rack will open a 24,000-sq.-ft. store in fall 2025 at The Avenue Viera in Melbourne, Fla. The center is owned and managed by WS Development. 

Also, a 27,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom Rack will open in spring 2026 at Sarasota Pavilion in Sarasota. The center is owned and managed by InvenTrust Properties.

A previously announced Florida location, at Pine Ridge Square in Coral Springs, will open in fall 2025.  Nordstrom currently operates six Nordstrom stores and 19 Nordstrom Rack stores in Florida.

In addition to the Melbourne and Coral Springs locations, Nordstrom Rack has announced plans to open the following stores in 2025:

•The Davis Collectio, Davis, Calif.

•Sycamore Commons, Matthews, N.C.

•Randall Square Geneva, Ill.

•Manalapan Commons, Manalapan, N.J. 

•Fischer Marketplace, Apple Valley, Minn.

•Westchase Shopping Center, Houston

•Park West Village, Morrisville, N.C.

•Prasada North, Surprise, Ariz.

•The Gates of Prosper, Prosper, Tex.

• The Landing at Hyannis, Hyannis, Mass.

• The Shops at SunVet, Holbrook, N.Y.

Nordstrom operates more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations.

Beyond Inc. is reducing its workforce as part of a cost-structure review.

The parent company of Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock and Zulily revealed in a SEC filing that it is cutting about 20% of its workforce, with the majority of the cuts to be implemented in the fourth quarter of 2024. Beyond said the cuts would result in an annual savings of about $20 million in fixed costs. 

“These actions were taken to strategically create a more variable, leverageable cost structure and create a more streamlined organization to align to its asset-light business that supports an affinity and data monetization model with a strong technology focus,” the company stated in the filing.

In connection with the workforce reduction, Carlisha Robinson, former chief product officer of Beyond, was terminated without cause effective Oct. 22. 

The workforce reduction comes as Beyond  is investing about $65 million in two retailers  to help restore Bed Bath & Beyond’s physical presence. On Monday, it announced a partnership with home décor retailer Kirkland’s that includes the opening of new, smaller-format Bed Bath & Beyond stores nationwide. As part of the deal, Beyond will invest $25 million in a combined debt and equity transaction to strengthen Kirkland’s capital position and fuel growth initiatives. 

The deal with Kirkland’s came on the heels of Beyond’s partnership with The Container Store. It includes a $40 million investment from Beyond in the home storage and organizational products retailer and the addition of Bed Bath & Beyond products to The Container Store locations.