RETAIL NOTES: Albertsons opts out of the on-line grocery business
RETAIL NOTES: Albertsons opts out of the on-line grocery business
One month after ownership of the Albertsons chain changed hands, the company has announced that as of July 21 it is closing its on-line shopping and delivery service in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix markets.
A company spokesperson said that it was a "strategic business decision" designed to focus the firm's efforts on enhancing the "in- store shopping experience."
Albertsons began its on-line grocery shopping service several years ago offering both delivery and pick-up at a store. The announcement came shortly after new owners took over Albertsons and split it into to two parts. In June, a group of investors led by private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management and Supervalu Inc. paid about $17.4 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt to acquire the Boise, ID-based grocer, which operates about 650 supermarkets nationwide under the Albertsons, Super Saver and Grocery Warehouse names.
The businesses acquired by the Cerberus-led group now operate under the ownership of the new group, Albertsons LLC. Soon afterward, the new owners announced the closings of poorly performing Albertsons stores in Northern California, Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Florida. It is Albertsons LLC that announced the closing of the on-line business.
Supervalu, based in Minnesota, took over the stores in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, the Southern California area, Portland, OR, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Vancouver, WA. Those stores will continue to offer on-line shopping.
Study finds connection between good health and market location
A study that examined the supermarket industry in Chicago found a direct correlation between access to grocery stores in local neighborhoods and the health of the population in those areas.
The study measured the distance to the nearest grocery store and fast-food restaurant by city block in Chicago. With the data, researchers created a "food balance" score for each neighborhood. African-Americans were the most likely to be stranded in so-called "food deserts." Within Chicago, African- Americans have to travel the farthest to reach food stores while, in many cases, the demographic has to travel the least to find a fast- food establishment.
The study concluded that for many consumers without neighborhood supermarkets, food choices often come down to fast food and other like items that may be OK to eat as a treat but were never intended to serve as everyday staples.
Ahold to sell Ohio Tops Markets
Royal Ahold, the Dutch firm that has owns several supermarket chains in the United States, is said to be planning to sell its Tops Markets division in Ohio.
The company has been working on a program to review underperforming divisions within the company for some time, and it is believed that the latest divestiture plan is related to these activities. William Blair & Co. has been assigned to coordinate discussions with potential buyers.
Overall, the division hit sales of $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2006, down 5.6 percent from last year, with sales at Tops falling 6.5 percent. Ahold is planning to separate its least competitive stores in the north of Ohio. It will hold on to 74 other Tops stores in Pennsylvania and New York.
Ellis named president of Fred Meyer Stores
The Kroger Co. has named Michael Ellis president of its Fred Meyer division, effective immediately. Mr. Ellis has held several leadership positions with Kroger during his 25-year career with the firm, including five years as senior vice president of Fred Meyer's food group.
Kroger's Fred Meyer division, based in Portland, OR, is a chain of 128 multi-department stores in four Western states.
Darrell D. Webb, previous president, announced last month that he would leave the Portland-based chain to take a position as chairman and chief executive of a publicly traded retail fabric chain.
Wild Oats announces plans to buy local produce
Following a similar announcement last month by Whole Foods, competitor Wild Oats has announced an initiative that will promote locally grown organic products in all its stores in North America.
The program will be called "Choose Local" and will have the chainstore sourcing product from what it calls 3,500 farmers, food artisans and manufacturers.
Wild Oats President and Chief Executive Officer Perry Odak was quoted as saying, "This local focus boosts area economies, reduces negative environmental impacts and supports sustainable agriculture. Our commitment to these efforts is long-term; it's part of our mission. Wild Oats prides itself on selling food that remembers its roots, and the 'Choose Local' program allows us to continue to give back to local growers and to educate our shoppers about the importance of selecting local product."
He added that the smaller size of the chain allows the firm to participate in a locally grown program. Each product will be marked with "Choose Local" shelf tag to make it easier for consumers to identify them, and some tags will profile local vendors. The farmer and vendor profiles provided are designed to allow customers to learn more about the local businesses they are supporting and feel good about their purchases.
Earlier, Whole Foods Market Inc. CEO John Mackey pledged to set aside $10 million in the supermarket chain's annual budget to support local farmers. Whole Foods said it would also create farmers markets in the parking lots of some of its stores.
High-end retailers experiment with fresh fruit
One of the leading fresh produce suppliers in the United Kingdom, Redbridge Holdings, said that its experiment selling loose fresh fruit into high-end specialty shops in London has proved so successful that it is launching the program nationwide.
Its 5 A Day fruit snacking program will be featured in numerous venues including 100 retail travel units of WH Smith and 27 Boots stores in the London area as well as supplied nationwide to 60 Welcome Break motorway service stations and petrol forecourts and 60 UNS Hospital stores.
Consumers will be able to buy a single piece of fresh fruit. Shoppers will have a choice of new-season stock Braeburn or Granny Smith apples to ensure optimum eating quality and bananas individually selected and packed into trays. The apples are individually selected and hand-packed and are monitored for sugar levels for sweetness and pressures to ensure crisp texture. The bananas are individually cut and hand-packed by a specialist banana ripener, who provides the fruit to an agreed color stage and quality. Redbridge offers specific training to all retailers to provide the best-possible environment for merchandising, storing and handling the products, including where the produce is displayed in the store.
The Redbridge "5 A Day" brand, offering both snacking and convenience, was launched to introduce fruit and vegetables into sales environments that have not traditionally sold fresh produce. The concept offers consumers a consistently high standard of fresh produce available outside the major supermarkets. The company says it will launch a range of new products under the program in late summer and early fall.
A company spokesperson said that it was a "strategic business decision" designed to focus the firm's efforts on enhancing the "in- store shopping experience."
Albertsons began its on-line grocery shopping service several years ago offering both delivery and pick-up at a store. The announcement came shortly after new owners took over Albertsons and split it into to two parts. In June, a group of investors led by private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management and Supervalu Inc. paid about $17.4 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt to acquire the Boise, ID-based grocer, which operates about 650 supermarkets nationwide under the Albertsons, Super Saver and Grocery Warehouse names.
The businesses acquired by the Cerberus-led group now operate under the ownership of the new group, Albertsons LLC. Soon afterward, the new owners announced the closings of poorly performing Albertsons stores in Northern California, Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Florida. It is Albertsons LLC that announced the closing of the on-line business.
Supervalu, based in Minnesota, took over the stores in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, the Southern California area, Portland, OR, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Vancouver, WA. Those stores will continue to offer on-line shopping.
Study finds connection between good health and market location
A study that examined the supermarket industry in Chicago found a direct correlation between access to grocery stores in local neighborhoods and the health of the population in those areas.
The study measured the distance to the nearest grocery store and fast-food restaurant by city block in Chicago. With the data, researchers created a "food balance" score for each neighborhood. African-Americans were the most likely to be stranded in so-called "food deserts." Within Chicago, African- Americans have to travel the farthest to reach food stores while, in many cases, the demographic has to travel the least to find a fast- food establishment.
The study concluded that for many consumers without neighborhood supermarkets, food choices often come down to fast food and other like items that may be OK to eat as a treat but were never intended to serve as everyday staples.
Ahold to sell Ohio Tops Markets
Royal Ahold, the Dutch firm that has owns several supermarket chains in the United States, is said to be planning to sell its Tops Markets division in Ohio.
The company has been working on a program to review underperforming divisions within the company for some time, and it is believed that the latest divestiture plan is related to these activities. William Blair & Co. has been assigned to coordinate discussions with potential buyers.
Overall, the division hit sales of $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2006, down 5.6 percent from last year, with sales at Tops falling 6.5 percent. Ahold is planning to separate its least competitive stores in the north of Ohio. It will hold on to 74 other Tops stores in Pennsylvania and New York.
Ellis named president of Fred Meyer Stores
The Kroger Co. has named Michael Ellis president of its Fred Meyer division, effective immediately. Mr. Ellis has held several leadership positions with Kroger during his 25-year career with the firm, including five years as senior vice president of Fred Meyer's food group.
Kroger's Fred Meyer division, based in Portland, OR, is a chain of 128 multi-department stores in four Western states.
Darrell D. Webb, previous president, announced last month that he would leave the Portland-based chain to take a position as chairman and chief executive of a publicly traded retail fabric chain.
Wild Oats announces plans to buy local produce
Following a similar announcement last month by Whole Foods, competitor Wild Oats has announced an initiative that will promote locally grown organic products in all its stores in North America.
The program will be called "Choose Local" and will have the chainstore sourcing product from what it calls 3,500 farmers, food artisans and manufacturers.
Wild Oats President and Chief Executive Officer Perry Odak was quoted as saying, "This local focus boosts area economies, reduces negative environmental impacts and supports sustainable agriculture. Our commitment to these efforts is long-term; it's part of our mission. Wild Oats prides itself on selling food that remembers its roots, and the 'Choose Local' program allows us to continue to give back to local growers and to educate our shoppers about the importance of selecting local product."
He added that the smaller size of the chain allows the firm to participate in a locally grown program. Each product will be marked with "Choose Local" shelf tag to make it easier for consumers to identify them, and some tags will profile local vendors. The farmer and vendor profiles provided are designed to allow customers to learn more about the local businesses they are supporting and feel good about their purchases.
Earlier, Whole Foods Market Inc. CEO John Mackey pledged to set aside $10 million in the supermarket chain's annual budget to support local farmers. Whole Foods said it would also create farmers markets in the parking lots of some of its stores.
High-end retailers experiment with fresh fruit
One of the leading fresh produce suppliers in the United Kingdom, Redbridge Holdings, said that its experiment selling loose fresh fruit into high-end specialty shops in London has proved so successful that it is launching the program nationwide.
Its 5 A Day fruit snacking program will be featured in numerous venues including 100 retail travel units of WH Smith and 27 Boots stores in the London area as well as supplied nationwide to 60 Welcome Break motorway service stations and petrol forecourts and 60 UNS Hospital stores.
Consumers will be able to buy a single piece of fresh fruit. Shoppers will have a choice of new-season stock Braeburn or Granny Smith apples to ensure optimum eating quality and bananas individually selected and packed into trays. The apples are individually selected and hand-packed and are monitored for sugar levels for sweetness and pressures to ensure crisp texture. The bananas are individually cut and hand-packed by a specialist banana ripener, who provides the fruit to an agreed color stage and quality. Redbridge offers specific training to all retailers to provide the best-possible environment for merchandising, storing and handling the products, including where the produce is displayed in the store.
The Redbridge "5 A Day" brand, offering both snacking and convenience, was launched to introduce fruit and vegetables into sales environments that have not traditionally sold fresh produce. The concept offers consumers a consistently high standard of fresh produce available outside the major supermarkets. The company says it will launch a range of new products under the program in late summer and early fall.
