Digital Commerce

U.K. retailer Tesco on Wednesday took a controlling stake in Nutri Centre, a retailer of natural remedies currently operating one shop and a mail order service, according to an article in The Financial Times.

Leading Internet grocer Peapod Inc. and Giant Food Inc., a leading supermaket chain in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States and a wholly owned subsidiary of international food provider Royal Ahold, today announced the expansion of the Peapod by Giant online shopping and delivery service in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU company, today announced that product sales information from Bruno's will soon be available on its newly launched category management intelligence system, Category Business Planner (CBP).

Food Distributors International (FDI) and National Grocers Association (N.G.A.) announced today that they are partnering with AmeriQuest, the transportation and logistics company based here, to launch a new buying service that will save member companies that operate truck fleets millions of dollars in lower prices and new efficiencies. The new service, www.foodfleetxchange.com, opened for business today.

While some retailers have yet to embrace 3-D CAD technology, others are quickly becoming dependent on its ability to review colors, materials, fixtures, lighting programs, and even merchandising plans.

The viaLink Company today announced that Unified Western Grocers, Inc., the largest retailer-owned grocery wholesaler in the Western United States, has selected viaLink's syncLink service to synchronize product, price and promotion data with its trading partners.

Catalina Marketing France, adivision of Catalina Marketing Corporation, has announced that it has signed a contract with Carrefour Group, the second largest retailer in the world, to begin installation of the Catalina Marketing Network(R) in 500 newly converted Champion stores.

In an unprecedented cooperative effort in health-care, 10 leading pharmacy provider companies have formed a new venture, named ArcLight Systems, LLC, that collects and reports up-to-the-minute information on pharmaceutical prescription trends in America. ArcLight ( www.arclightsystems.com ) is based in Dublin, Ohio and Paradise Valley, Nev.