Market Trends

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Delhaize Group, the Belgian international food retailer, on Monday announced it is streamlining its senior executive team in a move to further capitalize on the recent share exchange transaction with its major U.S. subsidiary, Delhaize America.

WINNERSH, United Kingdom - Symbol Technologies Inc. announced today that Safeway U.K. is deploying 2,000 Symbol PPT 2740 rugged handheld computers and the Symbol Spectrum24 wireless local area network (WLAN) in nearly 490 stores throughout the U.K.

PRINCETON, N.J. - The Uniform Code Council Inc. and EFS Network Inc. today announced an agreement to collaborate to accelerate the establishment of EAN.UCC standards for the foodservice industry.

HOUSTON - Houston-based food safety company Suntex Group Ltd. has inked a deal with The Kroger Co. to offer Suntex Clean fully sanitized, ready-to-eat fresh produce in all 125 Houston-area Kroger stores.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Lowes Foods, a regional supermarket chain based in Winston-Salem, N.C., reportedly is planning to open a store in South Carolina by next spring.

HAVANA - Cuban supermarkets on Sunday received the first shipment of U.S. brand-name food sold directly to the communist country since Washington imposed an embargo more than 40 years ago, Reuters reports.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Rochester, N.Y.-based retailer Wegmans has opened a 114-seat fine dining restaurant featuring items such as pasta carbona, seared yellow fin tuna, jasmine rice tempura and ginger sesame dressing, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.

WASHINGTON - U.S. consumer prices barely edged higher in July as a sharp drop in clothing prices helped temper rising food, energy and medical care costs, the government said today.