Supermarket & Grocery Industry News

WATFORD, England -- Tesco and Procter & Gamble are tops when it comes to supply chain, according to a survey of by international food and grocery specialist IGD, based here.

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- The chief executive of Tyson Foods, Inc. based here said the company's "Powered by Tyson" marketing campaign has raised consumer awareness of its branded products.

BOISE, Idaho -- Albertsons, Inc., based here, Chandler, Ariz.-based Bashas', and Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Longs Drugs Stores will install in-store photo kiosks from Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), as part of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer and digital photo printer manufacturer's aggressive foray into the $35 billion-plus retail photo-printing market.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- The boards of the Associated Food Dealers of Michigan (AFD) here, and the Great Lakes Petroleum Retailers and Allied Trades Association have voted to merge the two trade groups into a single association representing more than 3,900 small business locations in Michigan and Ohio.

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Campbell Soup Co., the world's largest soup company here, yesterday unveiled a major initiative to cut sodium in its soups and beverages. The company will offer new versions of its top-selling soups and reformulate some of its existing soups and beverages with less sodium.

DES PLAINES, Ill. -- Executives from Ahold USA and General Mills will lead an interactive discussion about Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, at the first annual Coupon Industry Conference, to be held March 27-29 in Washington, DC.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -- ACNielsen U.S., a subsidiary of VNU, parent company of Progressive Grocer, said yesterday that it has acquired the assets of Fairfield, N.J.-based Beverage Data Network (BDN), the leading supplier of wholesaler sales data to the wine and spirits industry.

TORRANCE, Calif. -- First the British, via Tesco, and now the Japanese; actually the Japanese were here first. Famima Corp., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based convenience store chain FamilyMart Co., Ltd., said yesterday it would launch the third of 20-plus high-end specialty stores in the Los Angeles area in 2006, as part of a planned major U.S. rollout.