Research & Analysis

DETROIT - Organized labor in Michigan has begun a coordinated major campaign against Wal-Mart, which plans rapid growth in the state, The Detroit News reports.

LOS ANGELES - A man has been indicted on charges that he attempted to extort money from the Ralphs supermarket chain by threatening to place contaminated baby food products on store shelves, authorities announced yesterday, according to AP.

WASHINGTON, D.C. and NEWARK, Del. - The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association (United) and the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) announced today that the two associations will work together, in concert with other produce industry stakeholders, to develop a produce industry food safety initiative that best serves the needs of the industry and the government.

TROY, Mich., and BURBANK, Calif. - Kmart Holding Corp. and the WB Television Network today announced an exclusive integrated marketing campaign to launch five new Kmart back-to-school fall apparel collections and the WB's new season of shows. This marketing partnership is the first of its kind in which a major retail brand is working with a television network to jointly leverage their respective assets for cross-promotional purposes.

SALT LAKE CITY - Tomax announced that specialty foods retailer Balducci's has selected the Tomax Retail.net solution as the backbone for its retail operations. Implementation is slated to begin in June, 2004, and the retailer expects to go live October 2004.

TORONTO - Food Safe International, Inc. has entered into a letter of intent with DTG Industries, Inc. to create RFID traceability and tracking solutions for perishable fruits and vegetables.

CHELMSFORD, Mass. - Roundy's, Inc. is upgrading its Kronos, Inc. solutions to centralize and optimize the deployment and tracking of its 17,000 retail operations and distribution center employees.

MILWAUKEE - Specialty retailer Trader Joe's, known for its private label organic and gourmet food items, is seeking locations in Milwaukee and Madison, local real estate sources told the Business Journal of Milwaukee.