Market Trends

ZAANDAM, The Netherlands - Dutch retailer Ahold N.V. today announced its Polish subsidiary Ahold Polska has agreed to acquire five hypermarkets from Jeronimo Martins, Ahold's joint venture partner in Portugal.

BOSTON - A former food broker for Advantage/ESM was convicted on Monday in federal court of receipt of stolen securities and monies taken from Tewksbury, Mass.-based Demoulas Supermarkets, the U.S. Attorney's office reports.

ZURICH, Switzerland - Swiss food and beverage company Nestle SA today declined to comment on a report it made a preliminary bid of around $11.5 billion for U.S. chocolate company Hershey Foods Corp., Dow Jones Newswires reports.

LOS ANGELES - New research by ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU Company, shows that organic food shoppers are extremely loyal to the category, while non-buyers have virtually no interest in organic products. Both groups likely need more education on the topic.

YAKIMA, Wash. - Four supermarkets operating in Yakima, Wash., are bracing for a possible strike after asking workers to have their benefits scaled back in order to better compete with the nonunion Wal-Mart, which is expanding in Central Washington, the Yakima Herald Republic reports.

LOS ANGELES - Price-impact supermarket chain Food 4 Less, a division of The Kroger Co., has announced the opening of its first Fuel Center at one of its stores in the San Fernando Valley community of North Hills.

Charlotte, N.C. - Elogex Inc., provider of collaborative logistics solutions, today announced that Bozzuto's, a New England-based wholesale grocer, has selected its transportation logistics platform.

AUSTIN, Texas - Leading natural and organic foods retailer Whole Foods Market has released a new cookbook with an emphasis on cooking naturally with fresh ingredients.