Research & Analysis

WASHINGTON -- Testifying before the House Agriculture Committee, the Grocery Manufacturers of America on Monday opposed European efforts to restrict the use of geographical indications (GIs) for foods, and explained new GI rules could undermine established international trademark rules.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. and SUNNYVALE, Calif. - ACNielsen and Yahoo! today announced the launch of Yahoo! Consumer Direct, Powered by ACNielsen, a new service that enables consumer packaged goods companies to reach consumers more effectively online and directly measure the offline sales impact of such efforts.

NEW YORK - New York grocer Gristede's Foods said late last week it will pay $120 million for the upscale Kings Super Markets chain, contingent upon it selling $150 million in senior notes on the bond market, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.

SAN FRANCISCO - Nearly 30 percent of participating manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers reported decreases in the cost of unsaleable consumer packaged goods, according to the 2003 Unsaleables Benchmark Report released on Friday at the Joint Industry Unsaleables Management Conference.

WASHINGTON, DC - Food Marketing Institute (FMI) on Thursday announced that it will be joined by the International Mass Retail Association (IMRA) in the planning and coordination of the 2004 MARKETECHNICS.

NEW YORK - New York-based Gristede's Foods Inc. on Thursday reported a second-quarter loss attributed to a store expansion program and a decline in same-store sales.

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. -- Sales at the nation's grocery stores, consisting mainly of supermarkets, totaled $37.4 billion during June, just 1.6 percent more than a year earlier, according to Advance Retail Sales Estimates from the Census Bureau, cited by the Food Institute in Elmwood Park, N.J. This brought first-half 2003 sales to $223.7 billion, or 2.7 percent more than a year earlier.

LAREDO, Texas -- Customers at the new 78,000-square-foot HEB grocery store in Laredo, Texas can add shoes to their shopping lists, thanks to the first Payless ShoeSource Express store debuting in a supermarket.