Search

A survey of supermarket industry senior executives reveals a consensus that the top issues the industry will face in 1997 will be implementing the consumer aspect of the industry's Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) initiative and consolidation. The technology for implementing ECR, which is designed to boost the efficiency of retailers and food distributors, is now in place. Supermarket customers can now share in the economic benefits of ECR through frequent shopper rewards programs., This new year may be the one during which the much talked-about move to switch focus back on the 'consumer' aspect of the Efficient Consumer Response equation takes place, industry [...]

The prepared foods market is expected to change at food retailers as they attempt to obtain a larger share of the fresh meals sector. Product types range from fresh, never frozen, preservative free foods to frozen bulk or proportioned packages thawed at the store level. Some national food retailers may begin to establish regional production sites., Supermarkets are beginning to explore alternative ways of preparing their meal replacement programs Supermarkets are hot for a bigger chunk of the fresh meals market--and not surprisingly, food producers are [...]

The consensus of a panel of security analysts participating in a roundtable discussion about the fiscal health of the supermarket industry was that the industry should continue to enjoy good financial results. Supermarkets are benefitting from economically savvy capital expansion programs based on strict financial considerations. Good cost controls have positioned the industry to thrive in the future., A lot of things are going right for the major supermarket operators, and that is likely to continue -- at least for the near term. That's the consensus of a [...]

A Management Horizons study on the future of the supermarket industry predicted that consumers will be the main determining factor in shaping change. Perplexingly, consumers have the perception that they are poor-off economically when actually their living standards are high. The perception is creating a value-conscious shopping attitude that may persist to 2000. Supercenters may become key delivery sources for packaged goods and finished means, and direct-to-consumer selling from manufacturers is expected to become more common., The safest bet about the future of the supermarket industry is that it will look a lot different than the present. That's the easy part. The real issue is how [...]

Several securities analysts are predicting that with the exception of sections of the Northeast and all of California supermarket sales during the second half of 1994 would be boosted by a strong, national economic growth. The analysts, however, note that while the improved economic climate would boost supermarket sales, competition would increase as alternative-format operators rush to expand existing superstores or introduce new ones., LOOKING AHEAD Food distribution companies in many sections of the country should benefit from improvements in the economy, and from a return of modest inflation during the second half of [...]

Supermarket industry officials attending the Lehman Bros Food Retailing Conference in New York, NY, say that 1994 will be as tough a year as 1993 was, with added competitive pressures from alternative format operators. The executives also noted that consumers will continue to be price-conscious, while food prices generally will remain stable. Among the executives at the conference were American Stores Pres and CEO Victor L. Lund and Food Lion Chmn and CEO Tom E. Smith., NEW YORK -- Many of the supermarket industry's top executives said they expect tough operating conditions to continue this year. The same clouds that have hung over the industry for [...]

Retailers are experimenting in different ways to develop an effective home shopping delivery system. The efforts are focusing on three areas: perishables delivery, efficient delivery of a small assortment of high-margin items, and new technology. Many retailers are starting to accept computer-ordering for consumers and future technological areas could include ordering via the Internet or compact disk-based systems., Unfazed that home shopping has not yet delivered the goods in terms of sales, retailers continue to invest money and energy to find the right formula. The strategies vary widely [...]

Food Marketing Institute (FMI) CEO Tim Hammonds discussed major issues concerning the grocery industry as the FMI Midwinter conference gets underway. Supermarkets need to find a way to boost the consistency of food service quality in order to compete with fast food restaurants and others in the burgeoning home meal replacement niche, for example. Other issues to be discussed at the conference include ways to improve retailer out-of-stocks., Washington -- The battleground for the home meal replacement segment of the food business is where the future of the supermarket industry will be decided to a large degree, according [...]

Food retailers are forecasting strong sales for the fall 1995 due to an improving economy and slackening competition. Supermarket chains began to experience an upswing in volume beginning in the late summer, particularly in sales of beverages, meat, produce and snack foods. Many supermarket chains are reporting that their summer 1995 sales were an improvement over the same period last year., Retailers around the nation are antidipating strong sales trends this fall following a general upswing in business during the summer months. Operators in many regions of the United States told [...]

Retailers, and to a lesser degree, wholesalers, in the food industry are beginning to see a recovery according to Food Marketing Institute President Timothy M. Hammonds. Hammonds feels that the recession has ended that plagued the economy from around 1992 to 1994, and this coupled with the Republicans gaining power in Congress should help the industry. Hammonds sees the industry continuing to grapple with restructuring changes and other management strategies, including Efficient Consumer Response programs, in an ongoing effort to improve the efficiency of their operations., WASHINGTON -- Republicans are in control of Congress, so the Food Marketing Institute is finding a more receptive ear for probusiness positions on both sides of the aisle. 'The new [...]

The outlook in the food industry has changed from a negative outlook to an optimistic one. Food Marketing Institute CEO Tim Hammonds addressed supermarket executives at The State of the Food Marketing Industry: Speaks 1994 conference and told them that the biggest industry change was in attitude. The economy is improving throughout the nation, excepting California, and companies have downsized and created vendor and retailer partnerships that will strongly position them for the future., CHICAGO -- The mood in the food industry has shifted from negative to positive, Tim Hammonds, president and chief executive officer of the Food Marketing Institute, said here last week. [...]

THE WEAK credit market made for a slow year on the industry acquisitions front, although a few deals did manage to get done. The biggest was the purchase of 34 [...]

LABELING systems paved the way to nutritious choices this year, as retailers and manufacturers adopted a variety of new programs. In January, Supervalu launched Nutrition IQ - a color-coded, shelf [...]

WINNER: Boar's Head Provisions CATEGORY MANAGEMENT: Network of independent distributors offers extensive store-level training programs, marketing and merchandising services. STRENGTH OF BRAND AND ASSORTMENT: Comprehensive product line includes more than [...]

THERE'S STILL A GIANT in the Washington, D.C., grocery market, but others are getting pretty big too. Despite only recently stabilizing several years of falling sales, Ahold's Giant-Landover chain still [...]

The ongoing recession has undoubtedly made U.S. consumers more price-sensitive, but organic foods are holding up surprisingly well this year. The organic food market has experienced tremendous, double-digit growth during [...]

After many years of resistance, some U.S. food retailers are beginning to allow computers to bear the responsibility for replenishing the shelves in their stores. For example, at the Food [...]

NEW YORK - Anecdotal feedback from shoppers indicates that Stop & Shop's Healthy Ideas shelf-edge nutrition information program is having the most influence on purchases in the juice, cereal and [...]

WASHINGTON - A full-page ad in the Washington Post late last month welcomed the capital's newest residents, including President Obama and his family, offering congratulations and a new place to [...]

In the grocery industry today, cell phones as a tool of commerce are largely used to show promotional text messages and coupons. But their potential goes well beyond that. In [...]

It's been a challenging year for fresh food departments. Prices for several major categories - including eggs, dairy products and baked goods - endured significant spikes, just as a deepening [...]

The collective activity of online grocers FreshDirect, Peapod, Simon Delivers (now owned by Coborn's) and Amazon suggest that lessons of the past were learned, and appropriate business models established for [...]

The Distinction of Hybrid isn't just for cars anymore. Take Marvelous Market, for example. This specialty grocer in the Washington, D.C., metro area is successfully blending better, healthier and faster [...]

NEW YORK - Last month retailers got a chance to see what a high-tech gourmet food store of the future might look like. The futuristic market, an exhibit called X06 [...]

WASHINGTON -- The nation's largest grocery cooperatives grew their businesses an average of about 12% in 2004, according to a report issued this month by National Cooperative Bank here. (See [...]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- What happens in California does not always stay in California, much to the dismay of supermarket operators across the country. 'Most of the nation would appreciate it [...]

Following are excerpts from the letter Michael Cullen wrote to the Kroger Grocery & Baking Co. in 1930 outlining his ideas for a supermarket. Cullen put the ideas from this [...]

You hit the nail on the head with your comment about merchandising nonfood categories ['These Nonfood Strategies Can Recapture Lost Sales, SN, May 16, 2005, Page12]. I have been in [...]

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. -- Traditional supermarket formats' share of grocery and consumables sales will slip to just below 50% by 2008, an outlook that should signal to retailers the importance [...]

These are not your grandfather's co-ops. Today's retailer-owned wholesaling cooperatives have more power and influence than ever before, and are leveraging them to expand operations and modernize infrastructures. The disappearance [...]

WASHINGTON -- The current agenda being pursued by the Grocery Manufacturers of America is centered on bringing manufacturers and retailers together to find common solutions to industry problems, according to [...]

ALBANY, Calif. -- After 75 years in business, an Andronico is still running Andronico's. Bill Andronico, 46, is the third generation of his family to preside over Andronico's here, following [...]

If you're looking for dissent in the grocery industry these days, you don't have to look far. The just-concluded Southern California strike captured national headlines with its super-heated rhetoric, civil [...]

LAS VEGAS -- Associated Wholesale Grocers, Kansas City, Kan., is rolling out an extensive dollar food line to complement its two-year-old GM/HBC dollar program in a move to jump-start that [...]

Some analysts foresee a somewhat better year for sales and earnings in 2004, which could translate into gains for more companies' stocks, but they say the same competitive pressures that [...]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Spartan Stores here said last week retail and distribution sales grew for the second consecutive quarter, and the company also said it had its first operating [...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In this year's Food Industry Productivity Convention & Exposition, self-distributing retail chains have played a greater planning role and will have a larger representation than in the [...]

The mouth-watering aroma of pies baking evokes memories of holidays past for many consumers. Indeed, it is this sense of tradition that retailers hope will take precedence over the economy, [...]

America might be serving chicken for dinner, but nobody's beating the table for drumsticks. Across the country, consumers are piling their shopping carts high with packages of boneless chicken breasts [...]

Consumers care much more about their personal health and wellness now than in the past. As a result, they are buying more Center Store products that cater to their lifestyles. [...]

SALT LAKE CITY (FNS) -- Associated Food Stores here expects to pick up $60 million in annual volume initially from the addition of 35 to 40 former Fleming customers in [...]

WASHINGTON -- International consolidation is the future of the food retailing business, said Allan Noddle, a retired member of Royal Ahold's corporate executive board. He made his remarks here last [...]

At a time when convenience and one-stop shopping are king, it's no wonder why many retailers have installed gas pumps next to their stores. Kroger Co., Cincinnati, operates more than [...]

DALLAS -- Fleming Cos. here said last week that the continued growth of its distribution business will increase its volume to $22 billion in 2003 from $15.6 billion in 2001. [...]

Perishables or perish: It's become the rallying cry for supermarkets trying to get their bearings as they head into the 21st century -- and the food retailing skirmishes that lie [...]

Many retailers already have store-brand products to position against the national-brand equivalents in most categories. Lately, however, it seems data points to the beverage category, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, as [...]

STELLARTON, Nova Scotia -- Sobeys here said it expects to exceed its earnings projections for the year, based on results from the first 39 weeks of the fiscal year. Bill [...]

DALLAS -- A series of developments concerning the beleaguered Kmart Corp. appear to bode well for Fleming Cos. here, the exclusive consumables vendor to the discounter. In announcements made during [...]

With the economy in recession and consumer confidence low, Center Store managers are going to have to be even more focused on pricing, selection and offering convenient solutions to help [...]

It's nearly impossible to dwell too much on the economy and what it means for the food-distribution industry as we forge into the current year. Maybe the chief question has [...]