Trading Partners

CHICAGO - CoolSavings Inc., an online direct marketing and media company, today announced it has purchased the Targeted Marketing Services (TMS) business of Alliance Data Systems.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Wegmans and Tops Markets are among the supermarket chains that have stopped selling irradiated ground beef since their supplier, California-based SureBeam, shut down in mid-January after it filed for bankruptcy.

NEW YORK - Whole Foods Market today opened its new flagship store in Manhattan's new Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. At 59,000 square feet, the store is billed as the largest supermarket in Manhattan.

CHICAGO - IGA here yesterday said that 47 stores supplied by Bozzuto's, Inc., the Cheshire, Conn.-based wholesale food distributor, have been added to the IGA system over the last two months. The stores are located throughout IGA's Northeast region in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Supermarkets with annual sales of more than $1 billion are going to be spending heavily in the next two years on new point-of-sale hardware, self-checkout systems. and a new class of retail mobile devices, according to a new report from IHL Consulting Group, a leading retail analyst and consultancy firm.

NORTHBROOK, Ill. - Industry leaders will share their insights on the future of the low-carbohydrate trend at an upcoming conference sponsored by the Low Carb Manufacturers Alliance (LCMA), a new organization created for major brands servicing the low-carb lifestyle. The event, which co-sponsored by Progressive Grocer, will be held April 13 in Rosemont, Ill.

WASHINGTON - The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish new regulations for carbohydrate nutrient content claims.

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration today proposed funding of $441 million for programs to fight mad cow disease, bioterrorism and other threats to U.S. food security, Reuters reports.