Research & Analysis

PORTLAND, Ore. - To help retail pharmacies and supermarkets provide an interactive health and wellness resource in-store at a reference desk or department counter, Healthnotes Inc. (HNI) announced today the launch of the new EasyAnswers Touchscreen Counter Top kiosk.

ROME - The Italian government's strategy to move the elderly to supermarkets to prevent their exposure to deadly summer heat raised controversy yesterday among those who believe the creation of a public register of those at risk violates their right to privacy, as well as their dignity, according to the British newspaper the Independent.

LONDON - British supermarket giant Tesco today announced that its first-quarter sales increased 12 percent as the company reduced prices and added new nonfood items, Bloomberg reported.

SEATTLE - The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1105, which represents 17,000 grocery workers in the Seattle area, has rejected the latest proposal of Albertsons, Safeway, and Kroger, which owns QFC and Fred Meyer, and is lobbying the community to back the employees, according to the Seattle Times.

HOMEWOOD, Ill. - Carl Buddig & Co., based here, one of the country's leading suppliers of private label, thin-sliced meats, has been named Supervalu's 2004 "Supplier of the Year." The Minneapolis-based supermarket retailer presents the award annually for outstanding performance.

PHILADELPHIA - The Marketing Task Force, based here, yesterday unveiled its 10 recommendations to attract more supermarkets to the City of Brotherly Love, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - The on-again, off-again sale of Kings Super Markets may be on again, as turmoil hits British owner Marks & Spencer, according to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger newspaper.

COLTON, Calif. -- Stater Bros. Markets, based here, is winding up its fund-raising trip today when it completes plans to sell $700 million in bonds needed to pay off existing debt and build a new $200 million headquarters and distribution facility at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernadino, according to the Riverside, Calif. Press-Enterprise.