Walgreens' 12 stores with expanded fresh-food departments in predominantly African-American neighborhoods are exceeding expectations, CEO Greg Wasson told the
Safeway Inc. is predicting profit growth this year, despite tepid same-store sales gains that are expected to lag Kroger's forecasted sales growth of more than 3 percent, Reuters said.
To boost productivity, Costco has reduced its active SKU count to about 3,750 this year from more than 4,100 items stocked three or four years ago, Richard Galanti, chief financial officer, said on a conference call posted on Morningstar.com.
Increasingly, as consumers demand to know more about the foods they consume, the food industry is grappling with how much information manufacturers and retailers should be required to provide and in what form.
General merchandise retailers Shopko and Pamida have completed their merger, creating a company with nearly $3 billion in annual revenue and about 350 stores in 22 states.
Wegmans Food Markets has changed the ingredient profiles of 245 store-brand products since the company resolved a year ago to strengthen Wegmans Brand items, according to
Higher fuel prices squeezed shoppers' wallets as well as Safeway's fourth-quarter net income, which fell to $215.6 million from $229.6 million a year earlier, Reuters said.
As part of its previously announced plans to double its store count, Save-A-Lot will open 13 stores by the end of March, including three in Tennessee, four in Pennsylvania, three in Ohio and three in New York,
