Research & Analysis

NEW YORK - Shoppers are swarming area supermarkets to stock up on necessities, as Hurricane Isabel gets ready to clobber the East Coast.

LOS ANGELES -- Smart & Final Inc. today reported it has completed the previously announced divestitures of its foodservice direct delivery business units and its Florida stores, to reposition the company's focus on its core western U.S. store operations.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Insignia Systems, Inc. announced today the addition of Price Chopper to its Insignia POPSign network of grocery retailers. Price Chopper operates 105 stores in the northeastern United States, primarily in New York.

New York -- Sales of private label consumer packaged goods are a large and growing global phenomenon, according to a new study released today by ACNielsen.

Washington, D.C. -- Responding to the confusion and controversy abounding within the produce industry about the new mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law, the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association's board of directors issued a statement yesterday to better explain its position.

LOS ANGELES -- A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board has stopped a union election by a group of workers a Clinton, Md. Wal-Mart, Reuters reports.

CINCINNATI -- Kroger Co. has reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit as it battles higher operating costs and competition led by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

LONDON - British supermarket chain J. Sainsbury Plc on Monday made a big push into non-food retailing, following the example of many of its competitors.