Supermarket & Grocery Industry News

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ­ Supermarkets have a tremendous opportunity to increase total store sales by leveraging pharmacy operations, according to a new study released by the General Merchandise Distributors Council (GMDC) Education Foundation during the association's HBC Marketing conference this past weekend.

YORK, Pa. - USA Direct, Inc. and Henny Penny Corp. have launched a custom branded marketing center which enables the equipment manufacturer's and marketer's distributors to create professional direct mail programs without an in-house marketing department or an expensive agency.

NEW YORK - In what appears to be more evidence that the low carbohydrate diet trend is cooling, Atkins Nutritionals Inc. is laying off workers. The company also announced on Monday it has hired crisis management firm AlixPartners LLC to help with its finances and the management of its supply chain.

BOISE, Idaho - Albertsons, Inc. has been hit by a suit from San Diego, Calif.-based consumer advocacy group Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which accuses the retailer of selling prescription information to drug companies without informing customers.

PITTSBURGH - Federal investigators say there is no "smoking gun" in their ongoing search for the cause of a salmonellosis outbreak linked to Roma tomatoes that were served at Sheetz convenience stores, according to published reports.

CINCINATTI - The Kroger Co. has tapped TWT Distributing, Inc., a Charlotte, N.C.-based minority-owned distributor of health and beauty care products and toiletries for African Americans and Hispanics, to manage its ethnic health and beauty care category.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. ¿ Farm Fresh Supermarkets, a Supervalu food retailer with 37 stores, will whoop it up during a three-day consumer food festival and entertainment event called the 25th annual Farm Fresh Extravaganza.

LONDON - The Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd, the retail-focused co-operative that includes more than 1,600 food retailing stores, has selected Manhattan Associates' Integrated Logistics Solution for Retail to help automate and improve its supply chain.