Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc.

Undaunted by today's intense competition, a number of creative independent operators are thriving on their innovation and their imagination.

DALLAS -- As expected, the sale of Fleming Cos.' grocery wholesale assets officially came to an end at midnight Aug. 23.

WILMINGTON, Del. - The court overseeing the Chapter 11 case of Fleming Cos. Inc. has refused to let Albertsons Inc. out of supply contracts with the grocery wholesaler -- contracts that Fleming says are key to completing the sale of its wholesale business, reports Dow Jones.

NEW YORK - JP Morgan said yesterday that it raised its rating on Supervalu Inc. to "overweight" from "neutral," saying among other factors the company "has demonstrated a more prudent stance with the use of its annual free cash flow than have the management teams of other large traditional food retail companies," reports Reuters.

WASHINGTON, DC - The nation's top wholesale grocery cooperatives earned more than $29 billion in revenue during 2001, according to this year's NCB Co-op 100, an annual report issued by the National Cooperative Bank (NBC) on the nation's 100 highest revenue-earning cooperatives.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma supermarket operator Homeland has emerged from bankruptcy as a fully owned subsidiary of Kansas City-based Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., the companies announced late Monday.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Kansas City-based Associated Wholesale Grocers, which owns Food 4 Less, has said it will buy five Albertson's stores in Kansas, The Wichita Eagle reports.