Perimeter

Luxury-starved citizens of the land of Castro desire American rice, eggs, and pears, but lack the cash to pay for them.

SEATTLE - Albertsons introduced its Preferred Savings Card at stores in Seattle last week, making it the last of the three dominant grocery chains in the area to roll out customer-loyalty cards, The Seattle Times reports.

BOSTON - Robert Hawthorne unexpectedly resigned as chief executive of Ocean Spray on Wednesday after three years spent struggling to get better prices for the growers who own the cooperative and to compete with beverage giants Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes, the Associated Press reports.

A slow economy, growing national chains, and a dire need for differentiation have retail executives looking favorably on store brands.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Winn-Dixie is launching a new Baby Rewards Club that offers discounts on merchandise, entries into sweepstakes, and other special offers and incentives.

CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. increased its lead over Safeway Inc. in the 2002 Power Rankings, a key performance survey that examines how retailers and manufacturers rate each other in areas that are most important to their ongoing relationships, such as strategy, service and profitability.

NEW YORK - More than 130,000 visitors from across the globe embarked upon Paris last week to attend SIAL 2002, a biennial trade show for food industry executives.

Scores of manufacturer promotions ensure the checkout lane will be the big winner this Super Bowl season.