Harris Teeter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The board of Ruddick Corporation, parent company of the Harris Teeter chain here, said Friday it elected Thomas "Tad" W. Dickson its new chairman, replacing co-founder Alan T. Dickson, who retired along with co-founder R. Stuart Dickson, who stepped down as chairman of the executive committee.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ruddick Corp., the parent company of Harris Teeter, said yesterday that the chain's first-quarter sales jumped 9.3 percent to $716.1 million, thanks to new store activity. The operator also posted a comparable store sales increase of 4.25 percent for the quarter.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Regional supermarket chain Harris Teeter here plans to open 19 new stores in fiscal 2006, representing a 12 percent increase in square footage. The chain said late last week that it owes its growth ambitions to its current financial position and improvements in operating performance over the last several years.

MATTHEWS, N.C. -- On a fix for new customers, Harris Teeter here has opened its fourth in-store Port City Java café at its supermarket in Wilmington, N.C.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ruddick Corporation, owner of the Harris-Teeter supermarket chain here, said yesterday its sewing thread subsidiary, American & Efird, Inc., has agreed to buy Robison-Anton Textile Co., a $24 million embroidery thread and yarn manufacturer. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Harris Teeter's sales rose 6.1 percent to $663.3 million for the third quarter ended July 3, 2005, while the regional grocer's operating profit jumped 16.8 percent to $28 million, its parent company Ruddick Corp. said late last week. The chain is in the process of transitioning six Winn-Dixie stores it bought into the Harris Teeter banner. Meanwhile, it expects to open five more stores in northern Virginia through fiscal 2006.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Executives at Ruddick Corp., the parent company of supermarket chain Harris Teeter, acknowledged last week at their annual shareholders meeting that competitive pressures will make it hard to replicate the company's successful performance of 2004.

MATTHEWS, N.C. -- Harris Teeter here is moving to phase two of its shift from a paper-based workforce management system to a Web-based human resource system provided by Wayne, Pa-based Kenexa.