Industry Updates: Grocery, Supermarket, and Convenience Stores – May 2013

Personnel Updates:

Hy-Vee has announced that Rose Kleyweg Mitchell, the company’s Senior VP of Governmental Affairs, will retire at the end of the fiscal year.

King Kullen Grocery Co. has named Joseph Brown Senior VP and Chief Merchandising Officer, with responsibility for advertising and marketing, pharmacy operations and all Center Store merchandising and purchasing.

Price Chopper has named Troy Johnson VP of Deli and Foodservice.

Safeway announced that when Steve Burd steps down as CEO on May 14, he will be succeeded by the company’s President, Robert L. Edwards.

Stater Bros. Markets announced that Peter Van Helden, most recently Exec VP for Retail Operations at Supervalu, and a former president/CEO of Albertsons’ California Food Division, has been named the company’s new President/COO. He succeeds Jim Lee, who is retiring in June.

Mergers and Acquisitions:

7-Eleven announced it has closed on the acquisition of Hickory Point and Palms Stores from CB Mart.

Industry Insight:

Mrs. Green’s Natural Market will open a store in Chicago. Mrs. Green’s, a boutique grocery unit of Natural Markets Food Group, signed a 20,000-sq.-ft., 20-year lease in the Webster Square development.

Real Estate:

Alliance Foods, Inc. is looking for potential locations for new Save-A-Lot locations throughout OH in the next 18 months.

Dahl’s Foods is seeking potential locations for new store growth throughout its existing market of IA in freestanding locations and strip centers during the next 18 months.  The company prefers to build to suit.

G.F. Buche Co. is seeking potential locations for new store growth throughout its existing market of SD in freestanding locations during the next 18 months.

Green Initiatives:

Hannaford Supermarkets plans to open a 35,000-square-foot store in Turner, Maine, in July that will likely be the first supermarket in the U.S. to employ an environmentally friendly trans-critical refrigeration system using only carbon dioxide to chill and freeze foods.

Kroger is installing EV charging stations at 300 supermarkets. ECOtality will install most of the stations.