Whole Foods annouces plan to regain sales and reverse stock plunge
Earlier this week Whole Foods announced several major changes in an effort to reverse poor results and a sagging stock price. The changes include new board appointments as well as a plan to slash costs and regain sales and earnings momentum. Initiatives include the following: Accelerating an affinity loyalty rollout to all U.S. stores Completion of […]
Kroger to debut new convenience store concept
Kroger, the largest traditional grocer in the U.S., announced last week that it has a new convenience store concept called Fresh Eats MKT. A location for the store is planned for Ohio, and Supermarket News reported that the company may rebrand existing convenient stores currently under their Turkey Hill banner. According to Supermarket News, an Instagram […]
Sprouts Farmer’s Market coming to Philly, South Jersey
Sprouts Farmers Market, an organic and natural foods grocer with 268 stores in 15 states, is reportedly planning on a new store in Philadelphia, PA and Moorestown, NJ. Both stores would represent the first in each state. The Philadelphia store is planned for Lincoln Square at Broad Street and Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia, a mixed-use development that Kimco […]
Weis adding stores, to spend $90M on CapEx
Weis Markets announced at their annual meeting last month that they are planning on one new store for 2017 and seven new stores for 2018, as well as several remodels and two new fuel centers. The company has planned for about $90 million in capital expenditures this year. In 2016, Weis purchased five Mars Super Market stores and […]
Reports say Albertsons looking to acquire Whole Foods
It has been widely reported in the last couple weeks that Albertsons has been exploring a takeover of Whole Foods, which is reportedly exploring the possibility of a sale. The speculation comes just a couple weeks after Whole Foods investor Jana Partners raised concerns about Whole Foods’ management. Earlier this year there were reports that […]
Fresh Market trying to become a more mainstream grocer
The Fresh Market announced in late April that it plans to close five stores. At the same time, the company is continuing its effort to become a more mainstream grocer with the rollout of new stores in South Carolina and Florida that feature an updated look and more everyday grocery items. The stores slated for […]
7-Eleven buys over 1,000 units, beefs up East Coast presence
The parent company of 7-Eleven announced last month that it had agreed to acquire 1,108 Sunoco-operated gas stations and convenience stores for $3.3 billion (nearly $3 million per store). The deal, which does not include Sunoco’s A-Plus stores operated by franchisees, would provide 7-Eleven with heavy concentrations of stores in Texas and the East Coast. […]
Real estate experts question Lidl’s planned store locations
Real estate experts that spoke with Supermarket News last month expressed skepticism over Lidl’s real estate choices. Douglas Munson and John Tippetts, former Kroger real estate staffers and co-founders of MTN Retail Advisors, said that about 70% of what they identified as the first 75 stores that Lidl intends to open lack the ingress and egress […]
Aldi remodeling stores ahead of Lidl openings
In February, Aldi reported that it would spend $1.6 billion to remodel stores and expand its perishables offering. More recently, reports indicate that the company is focusing on areas where Lidl is expected to open stores in the next 6-12 months. For example, The Charlotte Observer reported that Aldi plans to spend $48 million to […]
Decline in traffic at Whole Foods described as “staggering”
A recent Barron’s story reported that traffic at Whole Foods has declined by 3% in the past 18 months, which translates to 12 million transactions, or the equivalent of 88 lost transactions per day, per store (assuming the average customer spends $36 per store trip). “… The magnitude of the traffic declines, when discussed in […]