News

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings reported that net income for the quarter ended March 31 dipped to $69.9 million, from $72.6 million in the year-ago period.

Retail revenue grew 3.1% to $509.0 million, compared to $493.5 million for first quarter 2013, driven primarily by strength from the e-commerce sector. Consolidated revenue edged up 1.9% to $677.3 million. Same-store sales decreased 0.7%.

Minneapolis -- Grocery retailer Roundy’s said it had entered into definitive agreements to sell 18 Rainbow stores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market to a group of local grocers, including Supervalu.

The sale price is $65 million, and Roundy’s said it is seeking buyers for a remaining nine Rainbow stores so that it can fully exit the Minneapolis/St. Paul market.

The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

North Bergen, N.J. -- Vitamin Shoppe reported flat net income for the first quarter, at $20.5 million. Sales during the period grew 10.3% to $307.8 million, boosted by e-commerce strength, and same-store sales increased 3.6%.

“We are continuing to make investments in our omni-channel initiative to further enhance our customers overall experience," said Tony Truesdale, CEO.

The company opened nine stores in the quarter, including one in Canada. It said it plans to open 60 new stores in 2014.

San Jose, Calif. -- Software as a service search provider SLI Systems said that retailer Scarsdale, N.Y.-based Zachys Wine & Liquor has put in place SLI’s cloud services and has seen online conversions and per-visit value nearly double that of the site average.

According to SLI, Zachys saw use of its search box by visitors increase one third and is now looking to expand its use of SLI's learning-based services to include site navigation pages as a revenue-boosting strategy.

New York -- Motorola Solutions has launched a new unified indoor locationing platform designed to help retailers boost customer engagement. The company’s MPact Platform for Mobile Marketing breaks new ground by using both WI-FI and Bluetooth Smart technology to engage with shoppers in store aisles by offering them customized offers and sales assistance.

Hudson’s Bay Company has named Paul V. Beesley as CFO, effective June 2014.

Supervalu, the owner of Cub Foods, along with four Twin Cities-based independent grocery retailers, have each entered into definitive agreements to acquire select Rainbow Foods grocery stores. In total, they agreed to acquire 18 Rainbow grocery stores, including 13 Rainbow pharmacies and three Rainbow liquor stores in Minnesota.

GNC’s profit slid in the first quarter, but although the company said that severe weather during January and February affected its financial results, it also pointed to an “unusually significant amount” of negative media as a driving factor for the dip.

BJ’s Wholesale Club has announced the recipients of its Team Member Awards at the its annual Team Member Conference held this month in Orlando, Fla. The awards are presented to team members who have shown exemplary achievement throughout the past year.

The timing of the Easter holiday, which was observed in last year’s first quarter but this year’s second, affected Weis Market’s first quarter results for the period ended March 29.

The company's sales for the quarter increased 0.6% to $687.1 million while its comparable store sales for the quarter decreased 1.3% compared to the same period a year ago.