Market Trends

Wild Oats Markets Inc. on Thursday announced the retirement of Jim Lee, Chief Operating Officer of the company since September 1996.

With record earnings and its stock price surging, meat giant SmithfieldFoods Inc. plans to keep buying up companies andbuilding new facilities, the company's chairman toldshareholders Wednesday.

The Union representing workers at the Zallies and Ravitz Shop Rite supermarkets in southern New Jersey today hand delivered a seven-day strike notice to the company, as required by law. If no agreement is reached by midnight on Thursday, September 6, 2001 thousands of supermarket workers could be walking picket lines instead of checking out customer grocery orders.

Ahold 2nd Quarter 2001 Net Earnings Surge 37.2% on a gain of 29% in sales. Chain officials cofirm talks with several potential acquisiton candidates.

workers at Rice Epicurean Markets walked off the job and marched in picketlines Monday after contract negotiations with the supermarket chain collapsed.

The purchase of O'Malia Food Markets by Marsh Supermarkets Inc. is now officially complete, according to Don E. Marsh, chairman, president and CEO of the acquiring food chain. O'Malia's will continue to operate under that name as a separate division of Marsh Supermarkets.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2001--Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources Inc.: Houston, Texas)confirms that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news; Bentonville, Ar.) plans to open approximately 210 new discount storesand supercenters domestically in 2002.

Local 1564 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union today announced that it had negotiatedto retain nine former Furr's supermarkets under union contract. Union President Diane Vigil-Kimberle said that Smith's Food and Drug had agreed to union contracts for seven former Furr's stores. Raley's markets has agreed to twostores under contract.