Market Trends

LANSING, Mich.-- Leaders of two Michigan retailer groups called a white paper issued by Attorney General Jennifer Granholm a "slap in the face to the retail industry."

PHILADELPHIA, -- Acme Markets, Inc., a unit of Albertsons, has purchased a prominent portion of the former Defense Supply Center Philadelphia and plans to erect a 50,000 sq. ft. combo store on the South Philly site. Food-drug combo stores, such as its Albertsons Sav-On and Jewel-Osco formats, form the Boise, Idaho-based chain's key strategy for growth.

HAMPTON ROADS, Va.--Supervalu's Farm Fresh supermarkets unit in Virginia has become the latest chain to offer irradiated ground beef processed with SureBeam Corp.'s electron beam technology, SureBeam said.

SYRACUSE, N.Y -- The Penn Traffic Company hired industry veteran Mike Broomfield as its senior v.p. of retail stores. He will be responsible for the operations and financial results of all 216 Penn Traffic supermarkets in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Some 55 percent of Americans have tried organic foods and 87 percent of regular organics buyers rate them as being of higher quality. Those are the findings of a just-released nationwide survey commissioned by Whole Foods Market, a natural and organic foods supermarket chain based here.

MONTVALE, N.J., Oct 18 - The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. reported a net loss of $144.7 million, or $3.76 a share, in the most recent quarter compared with a net loss of only $1.7 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.

WASHINGTON, DC - Water scarcity could leave millions of people without access to clean water or adequate food, warns a new report released in conjunction with World Food Day 2002, the Environment News Service reports.

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - The Reader's Digest Association Inc. is launching RD Specials, an extensive line of publications for supermarket checkout racks nationwide.