Research & Analysis

SEATTLE - As it did recently in Manhattan, Whole Foods Market will serve as an anchor for a major mixed-use development project, 2200 Westlake, in the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle.

As the old saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." To make sure that all of its more than 36,000 employees were acting on the company's written Six Promises of customer service, Pittsburgh-based supermarket chain Giant Eagle, Inc. rolled out a companywide campaign to communicate and reinforce the service standards to new and veteran associates.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Whole Foods is not the only multistore operator with designs on cornering the health and wellness market.

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Wegmans Wine & Spirits, the alcoholic beverage department of Wegmans Food Markets, will be one of the key sponsors of this weekend's Jersey Fresh Wine & Food Festival at Mercer County Community College here.

TYLER, Texas - Brookshire Grocery Co. will open a second unit under the Olé Foods Store banner, in Corsicana, Texas, next week.

NEW YORK - Multiple bids have been submitted to buy Mauldin, South Carolina-based Bi-Lo, and the sale is expected to happen by year's end, according to a published report. However, analysts speculate on whether the winning bidder will be a supermarket company.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. ¿ At its annual meeting held here yesterday, Spartan Stores, Inc.'s shareholders elected Gregory P. Josefowicz, president and c.e.o. of Borders Group, Inc., and Craig G. Sturken, chairman, president, and c.e.o. of Spartan Stores, to serve as directors for three-year terms through 2007.

CINCINNATI -- The Kroger Co. and Louisville, Ky.-based United Food and Commercial Workers Local 227 have inked a new four-year labor agreement covering approximately 10,000 Kroger employees in parts of Kentucky and Southern Indiana.