Research & Analysis

BRUSSELS - Delhaize Group here today said it will restructure its Tampa, Fla.-based Kash n' Karry subsidiary to focus on Florida's western Gold Coast, where it plans to open or remodel 20 stores. However, to redirect the resources to where they will benefit Kash n' Karry most, 34 underperforming stores will be closed or sold in the first quarter of 2004.

DENVER - U.S. regulators are probing Coca-Cola Co. over accusations raised last year in a lawsuit by a former employee who charged the world's largest soft drink maker with inflating earnings, the company said yesterday, according to Reuters.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Natural and organic foods retailer Wild Oats Markets Inc. today announced it will donate $10,000 to Friends of the Peak to fund directional signage for the Ring the Peak Trail system, which will eventually connect existing trails on Pikes Peak in a contiguous ring.

NEW YORK - Several new customer contracts were announced by various technology companies during the National Retail Federation Show here this week.

DENVER - Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville, Colo., has introduced a bill that would ban supermarket discount cards, claiming that stores use the cards to gather information about customers' buying habits and then sell that to other companies.

DETROIT - Farmer Jack Food Markets has announced that it's bringing Food Basics to the Detroit region with the announcement that 10 of its 13 Farmer Jacks slated to close in mid-February in southeast Michigan will be transformed into the deep-discount format by early April.

PARIS - Groupe Danone SA said Monday it has lifted its stake in U.S. dairy company Stonyfield Farm to 80 percent, according to a Dow Jones newswire report. The French company invested in 40 percent of the U.S. organic yogurt market leader two years ago.

LONDON - Britain's third biggest supermarket chain, J Sainsbury Plc, today said its underlying sales growth was just 0.1 percent in its third quarter, Reuters reports. The company said sales were disrupted by upgrades to systems and distribution centers.