EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Pension risks run high for supermarket companies

According to a report released earlier in the week by Fitch Ratings, the “big three” supermarket chains face the largest risk of all U.S. businesses for cash flow and earnings problems due to underfunded pension plans. Fitch Ratings says that Supervalu, Safeway and Kroger’s pension plans are significantly underfunded. The ratings company also states that […]

NJ's first Walmart supermarket coming to Hawthorne

NorthJersey.com reported last week that the first Walmart Neighborhood Market in New Jersey will be in Hawthorne. According to the story, Walmart signed a lease for 42,000 square feet at 204 Wagaraw Road, and the property will include additional retail. The story describes Hawthorne as a middle class suburban town about 16 miles from New […]

Whole Foods and Weis Markets report net earnings increases

Whole Foods and Weis Markets both reported increases in net earnings last week. Whole Foods: Net income for the third quarter was up 32% compared to the same period one year ago, driven by an 8.2% gain in same-store sales, according to the company. Net income for the quarter was $116.8 million, and sales were […]

Big Boxes Shrinking

See how a handful of boxes are shrinking.  This article talks about specific retailers, their strategies, and what they are trying to achieve.  Ace, Best Buy, Cabela’s, JCPenney, Office Depot, Target, and Walmart are discussed. Time Moneyland Article

Staples Today

This article is a very good accounting of Staples today and how they stack up to the competition.  Topics covered include the following:  * Revenue generation from different segments of business  * Average store revenue for Staples and its competitors  * Store design  * Direction of future business  * Staples branded products Seeking Alpha Article

Toys R Us: 21 New or Remodeled Stores

By the end of 2012, Toys R Us will have opened 8 new locations and remodeled 13 stores to the side-by-side Toys R Us/Babies R Us format as reported in Chain Store Age.  These additions will bring the side-by-side total to 204 by the end of the year. Chain Store Age Article

Wynnewood to get new Whole Foods store

Last week Whole Foods announced (on its Facebook page) that it would replace its 16,500 square foot Wynnewood, PA store with a new 45,000 square foot facility around the corner. Developer WP Realty expects the store to open in the summer or fall of 2015.

Supervalu fires CEO

Craig Herkert, Supervalu’s CEO since May 2009, was fired yesterday and replaced by Board Chairman Wayne Sales. Herkert had been under fire by industry experts and journalists for much of his tenure at Supervalu (Acme, Save-A-Lot in the Philly region), and last week the company made news for its announcement that it would explore selling […]

Shore Mall Searches for a Future

Egg Harbor Township,  NJ – 200,000 SF of the circa 1968 mall will be demolished and advertised as vacant commercial land.  The Shore Mall has been left in the wake of a changing economy and ever evolving competition.  Press of Atlantic City Article

Save-A-Lot COO leaving, store operators are worried

As if Supervalu isn’t having enough trouble with its traditional supermarkets, results at the company’s star performer, discount grocer Save-A-Lot, are sagging as well. According to a recent Supermarket News story, licensees say higher costs and a lack of leadership at Supervalu are to blame. The latest blow for Save-A-Lot and its licensees is the […]