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The Shelby Report of the West • MARCH 2015
NGA collaborating with Coke, RNG on retail intelligence:
In early February, the National Grocers Association (NGA) announced a new alliance with The Coca-Cola Co. and RetailNet Group (RNG) to provide a customized retail marketplace intelligence platform exclusively for NGA independent retail and wholesale member companies. The multi-year effort, supported by Coca-Cola and powered by RNG’s proprietary retail database, will provide NGA’s retail and wholesale member companies, among other benefits, 24/7 online access to a customized global database of more than 212,000 store photos in 2,600 photo galleries covering all retail channels and access to select RetailNet Group reports, including retail store news and rankings. NGA member access to RNG’s insights begins March 1.
Fred’s new COO hails from Family Dollar: Memphis-based discounter
Fred’s Inc. has named Michael K. Bloom president and COO. Bloom has more than 30 years of experience, most recently as president and COO of Family Dollar Stores Inc. But he has spent the bulk of his career in the drug store sector: 20-plus years with CVS Caremark Corp. and 10 years Michael Bloom with Virginia-based Peoples Drug Stores and the Florida division of Toronto-based Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. At Fred’s, Bloom will have responsibility for major operational areas, including general merchandising, marketing, store operations and supply chain management. There are 661 Fred’s operating in the Southeast.
Retail food store sales totaled $668.4 billion in 2014:
That figure was up 3 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 11.7 percent of all retail sales in the U.S., according to Census Bureau data. Meanwhile, eating and drinking place sales increased 5.8 percent over 2013 during the same period, with fourth quarter sales surging 7.4 percent over a year earlier, according to Food Institute analysis of the data. Warehouse, club and supercenter sales during the 11 months ended Dec. 1 were up 2.9 percent to nearly $390 billion, while drug store sales were up 5.7 percent to $224 billion.
Walmart reaches Neighborhood Market milestone:
The 500th Walmart Neighborhood Market opened Jan. 7 in Springfield, Missouri. The new store is located at East Sunshine Street and Blackman Road and is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Shoppers can find fresh produce and meats, frozen foods, groceries and pharmacy in the 41,000-s.f. store. Customers can shop additional items such as toys, gifts, electronics and home decor on Walmart.com through
Dollar Tree’s Acquisition of Family Dollar Approved by Family Dollar Shareholders Family Dollar shareholders voted to approve the merger with Dollar Tree on Jan. 22. The vote also put an end to Dollar General’s pursuit of Family Dollar. The merger of the East Coast chains, based in Matthews, North Carolina, and Chesapeake, Virginia, respectively, would create a discount retailer with more than 13,000 stores in 48 states and annual sales of more than $18 billion. The deal still must pass muster with the Federal Trade Commission; at press time, there had no announcement of how many stores would have to be divested for the deal to go through. The deal is expected to close in March. The new Dollar Tree will keep both brands and operate both dollar store models—Dollar Tree’s, where all items are sold for $1, and Family Dollar’s model, where everyday goods and groceries are sold at a variety of discount prices. “Today’s vote of approval by Family Dollar shareholders represents a crucial step toward combining Dollar Tree, North America’s leading fixed-price point discount retailer, with Family Dollar, a leading multi-price point retailer with a 50-plus year history of serving low- and middle-income customers,” said Dollar Tree CEO Bob Sasser. Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General had offered more ($9.1 billion) for Family Dollar than Dollar Tree did ($8.5 billion), but reportedly Family Dollar shied away from the deal because of the number of stores that would likely have been required to close between the two
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Walmart pickup, which will offer free shipping to the Springfield Neighborhood Market. The first Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in 1998.
Earth Fare has new president and CEO: Frank Scorpiniti assumed his new role Oct. 29 (the announcement was made Jan. 7). Prior to Earth Fare, he was CEO of Katz Group Canada Ltd./ Rexall/Rexall Pharma Plus. His career began in 1986 at Long’s Drugs in his native California. Scorpiniti held various positions of increasing responsibility before joining Duane Reade in New York in 2008 as SVP of pharmacy operations. North Carolina-based Earth Fare operates Frank Scorpiniti 33 stores. Target closing its 133 stores in Canada: Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company was “unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021,” the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reports. Cornell joined the company last year. The costs of winding down the Canada operations will result in a recording $5.4 billion of pre-tax losses on discontinued operations in the fourth quarter of 2014. Tesco ready to divest Dunnhumby: Tesco, the British retail group, is looking at strategic options for the data analytics firm, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Dunnhumby, a 50-50 joint venture with The Kroger Co., pioneered data collection and analysis and runs programs like Kroger’s Plus Card to track buying habits. Dunnhumby works with about 20 major retailers in 50 countries, according to the report. That is where 40 percent of its revenue is generated. The other 60 percent comes from selling data to consumer goods companies. The Fresh Market names interim CEO: The board of directors at North Carolina-based Fresh Market has appointed EVP and COO Sean Crane to the post. He has been with the company for 14 years. Craig Carlock, former president and CEO, and a member of the board of directors, left the company and resigned as a member of the board. A national search for Carlock’s replacement is under way. Texas D.C. getting a new name: The Nature’s Best
warehouse in Flower Mound, Texas, will undergo a rebranding within the next several weeks, it was announced Dec. 29. Nature’s Best was acquired by KeHE Distributors in August 2014, and the KeHE logo will replace Nature’s Best in Flower Mound. Trucks, uniforms and corporate letterhead
similar-format retailers. Dollar General Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling released a statement following the merger announcement, calling the vote “a loss not only for Family Dollar shareholders, but also for consumers across the country who will not have the opportunity to benefit from the cost savings and efficiencies that we believe would have been created by a merger between Dollar General and Family Dollar. “As we have said throughout this process, the scale of this combination would have provided better value and greater selection to customers of both Dollar General and Family Dollar,” he said. “Despite our best efforts over the past few months, Family Dollar’s lack of engagement and a contracted transaction timeline ultimately prevented us from completing this transaction.” “Dollar General is an extraordinary company with a promising future,” Dreiling added. “I am excited to remain with the company for another great year as we look to capitalize on the numerous opportunities ahead of us. We have been and remain focused on Dollar General’s core business, and we are confident that Dollar General is well positioned for sustainable growth and shareholder value creation going forward. As always, we will continue to look for ways to provide our customers with the everyday low prices that they count on from Dollar General. Additionally, Dollar General says Dreiling will continue as chairman and CEO through Jan. 29, 2016, or, if earlier, the appointment of a successor. He had originally planned to retire May 30, 2015.
also will reflect the change at the specialty food warehouse. While DOT requirements were part of the decision, another factor was that KeHE has strong brand recognition east of the Rocky Mountains, noted KeHE COO Gene Carter. KeHE will maintain the Nature’s Best name west of the Rockies and add “Powered by KeHE” as a tagline beneath the logo.
Information about retail dietitian pay revealed: The
Retail Dietitians Business Alliance (RDBA) on Feb. 4 revealed the results of the first salary survey for retail dietitians. There are more than 600 retail registered dietitians throughout the U.S. Among the findings: 75 percent of retail dietitians have an annual salary of $41,000-$70,000; 56 percent of retail dietitians have a bonus structure significantly higher than the 8 percent of RDs in other fields; 20 percent of retail RDs receive stock options and 30 percent the opportunity to participate in employee stock purchase programs; and average salaries between store, regional and corporate RDs have an approximate $10,000 difference, with store RDs paid less than corporate RDs. Retail dietitians’ rank their satisfaction with compensation a 6.0 on a 1-10 scale.
Strack & Van Til reorganizes executive team: Highland,
Indiana-based grocer Strack & Van Til has announced a reorganization of its executive management team. President and CEO Ken Diehl, who was hired to steer the 5,000-employee chain of 38 stores last October, said the changes are part of a plan to better position the chain for the future. The execs have varied experience, most with chains. Chris Bengtson, COO, came from Albertson’s Southwest Division; Stan Swinton, chief merchandising officer, was VP of center store for A&P; Jeff Strack, chief marketing officer, has been Ken Diehl with Strack & Van Til; Phil Latchford, CFO was promoted from S&VT’s controller following the retirement of Keith Bruxvoort; David Negron, VP of fresh and perishables, came from Jewel Food Stores; Andy Raab, VP of real estate, came from Ultra Foods; Rex Mudge, VP of human resources, with 25 years experience in the retail food industry; Derek Kinney, VP of labor relations and customer service, from A&P; and Tom Cohen, VP of IT, from Toms. com.
Thanx offers customer retention ideas: Thanx Inc.,
which helps merchants identify, engage and retain their best customers, has published “6 Critical Stats for Customer Loyalty,” a 2014 retail and restaurant study analyzing more than 18 million multi-location merchant transactions. Thanx says it has seen success delivering mid-week promotions since 49 percent of consumers make weekend-only purchases. Visit thanx.com for more information.
Aiken resigns as CEO of Feeding America: Bob Aiken has
decided to resign as CEO of Chicago-based Feeding America, effective June 30. “While we regret Bob’s decision, we support it,” said Jan Pruitt, chair of the Feeding America board of directors. “We appreciate the strategic focus that Bob brought to the role and the momentum he created to realize our vision of a hungerfree America. Under Bob’s leadership a long-range strategic plan was developed, and we are now beginning to implement that plan.” Aiken said he plans to return to the “for-profit world” in the near future. He joined Feeding America after a lengthy career in the food industry. He began his career as a business lawyer.
Census Bureau says 1 in 5 kids receives food stamps:
The number of children receiving food stamps remains higher than it was before the start of the Great Recession in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Families and Living Arrangements table package released Jan. 28. The rate of children living with married parents who receive food stamps has doubled since 2007. In 2014, an estimated 16 million children, or about one in five, received food stamp assistance compared with the roughly 9 million children, or one in eight, that received this form of assistance prior to the recession.
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