Supermarket & Grocery Industry News

SHEBOYGAN, WI, -- Fresh Brands, Inc. today reported record sales and earnings for the first quarter of 2003 ended April 19, 2003.

SCHAUMBURG, IL -- ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU business, today announced that it has signed Stater Bros. Markets to an information-sharing agreement. Sales data from the 156-store southern California supermarket chain will enhance the coverage of ACNielsen's Scantrack retail measurement service, and retailer-specific insights from Stater Bros. will be available to manufacturer partners of the chain via ACNielsen's Account Level Services. The agreement makes ACNielsen Stater Bros.' preferred provider of syndicated sales information and merchandising software.

BOULDER, Colo. - Wild Oats Markets Inc., a leading national natural and organic foods retailer, announced that financial results for its first quarter ended March 29, 2003 generated net income of $1.4 million, or $0.05 per share, on first quarter sales of $236.0 million.

NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM - Royal Ahold said on Friday the financial scandal at its U.S. Foodservice unit may involve more employees than the two managers it initially identified.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Supermercados Internacionales H.E.B., the Mexican operating arm of H.E. Butt Grocery Co., has acquired 100 acres north of Monterrey to build a distribution center to serve its 20 stores in Mexico, the San Antonio Business Journal reports.

DALLAS - Bankrupt food distributor Fleming Cos. Inc. on Thursday said it will shut down five wholesale divisions, resulting in the elimination of 800 jobs, or roughly 7 percent of its work force.

ZAANDAM, The Netherlands -- The U.S. Foodservice division of Ahold had overstated its earnings by $880 million, the retailer reported today.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Leading natural and specialty foods marketer and distributor Tree of Life Inc. has announced a strategic realignment designed to keep pace with increases in demand for its products and unprecedented consolidation among its retail customers.