Supermarket & Grocery Industry News

NEW YORK - In what could be a 2004 version of "Toy Story," a group of toy manufacturers have decided to take a stand against Wal-Mart Stores by delivering fewer hot toys to the chain and having more exclusive launches at competitors, like Toys "R" Us, according to the Associated Press.

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. - Publix Super Markets Inc. has gone live with a new system to automate its service operations, according to ViryaNet, a leading provider of integrated mobile and Web-based software applications for workforce management.

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.