Demand Planning

STELLARTON, Nova Scotia - Sobeys Inc., Canada's second largest grocery chain behind Lowlaw Cos., today announced net earnings of $41.9 million for its first quarter ended Aug. 2 -- an 8.7 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

SAN DIEGO - SureBeam Corporation, provider of electron beam food safety systems and services for the food industry, announced today that it will close its Vernon, Calif. processing service center in an effort to consolidate its processing services business.

TRENTON, N.J. -- It's going to be a peachy keen autumn for peach lovers, but produce department managers might have to do some juggling to fit them into that section.

DALLAS - 7-Eleven is launching a calorie-free Slurpee today at most of its 5,300 U.S. stores, in hopes of attracting women, dieters and diabetics who avoid regular Slurpees, which contain about 330 calories.

DALLAS -- A request for supplies to the news media in late June by the North Texas Food Bank here helped the agency bring more than 3.3 million pounds of food into its warehouse in July.

PHOENIX -- The gasoline crisis here has cut into the city's convenience store industry, as frustrated drivers aren't taking time to rush into the c-store to purchase a cup of coffee or microwavable bean burrito, according to a published report.

NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has placed its ratings on Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications, in view of substantially lower expectations for earnings and the potential for violation of covenants for the first quarter ending September 2003.

COLTON, Calif. -- Southern California grocer Stater Bros. Holdings, Inc. on Tuesday announced record-setting sales for the 13-week third quarter ended June 29. Sales in the current year increased 2.3 percent to $688.1 million, compared with $672.8 million for the 13 weeks ended June 30.