Market Trends

NEW YORK - Toys R Us Inc. said on Monday it is testing out kiosks at Ahold-owned stores in the United States in part to compete with Wal-Mart, whose toy sales now exceed those of Toys R Us, Reuters reports.

BOULDER, Colo. - Natural and organic foods retailer Wild Oats Markets Inc. has made changes in its organizational structure to further strengthen its merchandising department.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Ingles Markets Inc. today announced that its first-quarter earnings before extraordinary items reached $4.6 million, a 2.4% increase compared with the December 2000 quarter.

AMSTERDAM - Dutch supermarkets group Ahold said it expects to make sales of $30 billion at its U.S. food services business by the end of 2004, The Financial Times reports.

NEW YORK - The news that Fleming Cos., Kmart's major food distributor, had decided on Monday to halt shipments after the retailer failed to pay its weekly bill was the final nail in the coffin for Kmart, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, according to a report published by Retail Merchandiser magazine.

GUATEMALA, COSTA RICA, and ZAANDAM, The Netherlands - Paiz Ahold, the 50/50 joint venture of La Fragua and Ahold in Central America, and Costa Rican supermarket and hypermarket company CSU have announced the completion of their new regional joint venture.

TROY, Mich. - Kmart Corp. announced today that the company and 37 of its U.S. subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

QUINCY, Mass. - The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company announced that it has entered into a letter of intent with representatives of the creditors of Big V Supermarkets to purchase 27 of the stores and other assets of the company for $255 million.