Meijer eyes bigger sales for Halloween

Early Halloween sales at Meijer stores had increased by 50% compared to the same time last year. The retailer is attributing the 50% increase in shoppers taking advantage of early savings on Halloween candy, décor and costumes, to excitement surrounding the days of celebration that will lead up to the actual holiday.

"People are really enthusiastic, especially since Halloween falls on a Monday so the weekend will give kids and adults more opportunities to celebrate," Christina Fecher, a Meijer spokeswoman said.

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are shopping earlier this year with 44% beginning shopping for Halloween in the first two weeks of October, 29% in September, 22% in the last two weeks of October and 5% before September.

Meijer projects that it will sell 7 million bags of Halloween candy with its bulk offerings appealing to families; more than 80,000 masks and wigs, and 30% more lighted/animated decor versus last year, with devices that project images and lights onto houses growing increasingly popular, according to Fecher.

Total spending for Halloween is expected to reach $8.4 billion this year.

Food prices in the US are lower than last year

Food prices have fallen for nine straight months in the U.S. It’s the longest streak of food deflation since 1960, thanks to low oil and grain prices.

Another reason grocery prices are falling is the increased competition from grocery discounters like Aldi the German supermarket discounter, which has big plans for the US market. This year they opened many supermarkets in California, and will continue to add stores in the US. Lidl, another German supermarket discounter has also plans to open stores in the US by 2018.

Kroger, the largest grocery store chain in the U.S., with nearly 2,900 stores, has also cut prices to compete with Wal-Mart and increase its market share.

AutoZone earnings and revenues rise

AutoZone profit grew 6.4% in the final quarter of the fiscal year. The auto parts retailer also reported higher revenues, with sales at stores open at least a year higher by 1% for the current quarter.

Also, the increase in revenues was driven by new store openings, and the increase in inventory and selection of products.

The company's ongoing inventory rollout has gone very well and will continue in 2017, the Thursday Chief Executive Bill Rhodes said.

Inventory per store climbed 2.5% from a year ago, while overall inventory increased 6.1%.

AutoZone opened 71 new stores and relocated two stores in the U.S., bringing its total to 5,297. Check the AutoZone Circular for the monthly motor oil and auto parts best deals & specials.

For the August quarter, AutoZone reported a profit of $426.8 million, up from $401.1 million, and revenues climbed 3.3% to $3.4 billion.

AutoZone had a gross margin of 52.8%, up from 52.5% a year earlier.

FDA bans antibacterial soaps

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned antibacterial soaps this month, because they're not cleaner, or safer than regular soap.

"Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said.

"In fact, some data suggest that antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long-term.", the official said.

The ban applies to products with 19 active ingredients, including triclosan and triclocarban.

One study, published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy in September 2015, compared soap containing triclosan with regular soap both in lab tests and on people's hands.

The researchers exposed people to a type of common bacteria than can infect those with weakened immune systems, then had them wash their hands with triclosan and regular soap.

They found no difference between the two soaps.

Multiple studies have found that handwashing with antibacterial soap does not remove more bacteria or prevent more illnesses than washing with regular soap.

While regular soap works by mechanically removing germs from your hands, antibacterial soap contains chemicals that can kill bacteria or inhibit their growth. The old wash-off-the-germs method works just as well as kill-them-on-contact.

The FDA first registered triclosan in 1969, and the chemical has been added to soaps, cosmetics and cleaning products since then.

But triclosan soap is not just an equally effective replacement for ordinary soap — it may actually be worse than non-antibacterial varieties.

Studies have found that triclosan can increase bacterial antibiotic resistance, affect hormone regulation in animals and kill algae.

Source: Business Insider

Weis Markets opens five new supermarkets

Weis Markets will open five new supermarkets which were acquired from Mars Supermarkets in Baltimore County, MD.

The new locations include two stores in Dundalk and individual units in Essex, Arbutus and Carney. More than 500 former Mars employees will join the new Weis store teams.

“We are excited to steadily grow within Baltimore County and will make this transition as seamless as possible for the community and our new associates,” Kurt Schertle, Weis Markets’ COO, said. “Our goal is continuity; we will continue to offer a wide variety of local products carried in Mars stores. We are also thrilled that more than 500 Mars associates will join our Weis Markets family. We look forward to sharing our commitment of value, quality and customer service.”

The stores will offer more than 3,000 Weis brand products, and fresh produce from local growers and affordable food including a wide selection of organic produce, baked goods, quality meats and fresh dairy items.

Price Chopper sold undersized lobsters

Price Chopper Supermarkets sold undersized lobsters, according with an inspections conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The lobsters where shipped by the Cape Cod-based wholesaler The Lobster Trap, who has acknowledged responsibility for shipping undersized lobsters.

The Lobster Trap said in a statement that it inadvertently shipped lobsters to Price Chopper that would be of legal size in other states but fell short of requirements in New York. In New York, lobsters must measure at least 3 3/8 inches from the eye socket to the end of the body shell.

“It was never our intention to send short length lobsters to any of our customers,” said The Lobster Trap co-owner Logan Clarke.

“It’s entirely our fault that some of our packers mixed 3 1/4-inch lobsters earmarked for other Northeastern states with the shipment bound for Price Chopper.”

Costco customers will use the Anywhere Visa Card for payments

Costco dumped American Express cards in favor of Visa cards, and from June 20, 2016, if you want to get credit card rewards for your bulk purchases, you'll be able to use any Visa card, along with debit cards, cash, checks, EBT and Costco Cash Cards.

Customers who previously had a Costco and American Express co-branded card, will receive a new Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi, with all the previous rewards.

The new card from Visa offers 4% back on up to $7,000 a year in gas purchases, 3% back on restaurant and travel purchases and 2% back on Costco purchases.

Little impact from Aldi California stores for Smart & Final

Smart & Final discount stores competes with about 20 of the 26 Aldis that have opened in the past couple of months.

According with the Dave Hirz company’s president and CEO, the stores had lost an average of $5,000 in sales during opening week, and it’s now down to about $2,000.

What’s helping the Smart & Final is the availability of club sizes, which account for 30% of its sales “and which Aldi doesn’t carry. The Smart & Final Weekly Ad Sale is released every week and has great offers for groceries.

Smart & Final expects to continue to increase store count by about 10% a year, though the acquisition of 33 former Haggen stores at the end of last year boosted growth to 15% this year.

The Los Angeles based Smart & Final Stores continues the rapid growth in California, with all 33 stores acquired from Haggen now open for business.

In opening the 33 stores, Smart & Final has increased its presence in the important Los Angeles and Orange County markets, and doubled store count in the California Central Coast and San Diego.

Currently, Smart & Final operates 306 stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Idaho, including 251 Smart & Final banner stores, 160 of which are Smart & Final Extra! format stores.

A new Hispanic Grocery Store format - Fresco y Más

At a Winn-Dixie store in Hialeah, Florida, the retailer had unveiled a new Hispanic brand name - Fresco y Más.

Fresco y Más has been tailored to provide the products and services that meet the needs of the community, "while continuing to offer great value, stunning quality food and service with personality."

“Winn-Dixie opened its first store in Hialeah in 1958, and this community has been important to us for many years," Ian McLeod, president and CEO of Southeastern, said in a statement. "

“Fresco y Más offers an expanded Hispanic product assortment, great low prices and new features, including a full-service Latin Butcher shop and new Cocina — everything that our customers told us is important to them,” he added.

Fresco y Más grocery supermarket services:
- A full-service Latin butcher shop (Carniceria) offering an expanded selection of fresh cut meats to better serve the customers.
- A café with expanded seating area serving authentic Hispanic breakfast, pastries, drinks and hot and cold sandwiches.
- A new “Cocina” offering daily specials of freshly-prepared, homemade favorites.
- Made-to-order personalized party platter packages available to serve 25, 50 or 100 people (includes personalized cake, croquettes (croquetas), pastries (pastelitos) and fried stuffed potatoes (papas rellenas).
- $1 Zone within the store, with savings on more than 300 popular items for only $1, including cleaning products, baby products, bath and health products, foil ware and value greeting cards.

Save-A-Lot to revamp the weekly ads

Eric Claus, CEO of Save-A-Lot detailed some initiatives designed to boost sales at the limited assortment discounter.

One of the strategies will be to revamp the Save-A-Lot Weekly Ad Circulars including changes in content, cadence and timing of this ads.
The new Save-A-Lot weekly ad will make a stronger price impression on customers while emphasizing the differentiating fresh departments.

Other changes will encourage shoppers to increase the number of units they purchase on each trip, with a goal of increasing basket size.

The grocery retailer will offer one or two national brands, and make the stores a place where customers can make a complete shop.

Instacart to deliver Food Lion groceries in Charlotte

The agreement between Food Lion and Instacart is the first between these two companies and it's the Food Lion's debut on online shopping and home delivery. This new service will allow customers to order and receive their groceries in as little as an hour.

"As part of our ongoing commitment to making grocery shopping easy, Food Lion is proud to partner with Instacart in the Charlotte market," said Keith Nicks, vice president of customer engagement at Food Lion. "Through Instacart's speedy delivery service, our customers can enjoy fresh, quality groceries at the affordable prices they expect from Food Lion, now at the convenience of their doorstep."

Shoppers in the delivery area, which include the Charlotte, N.C., zip codes 28202, 28203, 28204, 28205, 28207, 28209, 28210 and 28211, can shop using Food Lion's website at www.foodlion.com/homedelivery or the Instacart app.

Additionally, by linking their personal MVP cards to their Instacart accounts, Food Lion customers can continue to take advantage of Food Lion's weekly savings specials, including MVP discounts. Food Lion customers using Instacart for the first time will receive their first home delivery fee for free.

How to order on Instacart?

Customers can visit www.foodlion.com/homedelivery or open the Instacart mobile app on their iPhone or Android device, enter their zip code and Food Lion store, add items to a virtual cart, and then choose a delivery window (within one hour, within two hours, or some scheduled time in the future) and check out. An Instacart Personal Shopper accepts the order on his/her smartphone, uses the Instacart shopper app to guide them through shopping, and then delivers the order to the customer in the designated delivery timeframe.

Instacart also offers deliveries to the Orange County customers in California.

Food Lion is based in Salisbury, N.C., has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 65,000 associates.

Instacart to start deliveries in the Orange County, California

Instacart delivery service will be available in Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Newport Beach.

Instacart customers from Orange County will be able to receive delivieres from Costco Wholesale, Gelson’s Market, H Mart, Ralphs, Smart & Final, Stater Bros. Markets, Whole Foods Market and Petco.

The company said taht during 2015, deliveries had grown by over 300% in Los Angeles.

“We are passionate about saving our customers time and money, which is why we partner with local and national retailers to bring our customers groceries from their favorite stores wherever and whenever they want them,” said CEO Apoorva Mehta.

Harris Teeter will offer grocery home delivery through Uber

Harris Teeter Express Lane click-and-collect online shopping will include home delivery through a partnership with UberRUSH.

The delivery option is limited to mobile shoppers at Harris Teeter's Constitution Square store in Washington, D.C., and is only available to consumers within a five-mile radius of that store.

“Harris Teeter is excited to enhance the online ordering process by offering home delivery,” said Danna Robinson, communication manager for Harris Teeter, a Matthews, N.C., operating division of Kroger. “UberRUSH delivery will help us reach our customers where they are by making the grocery shopping experience even more convenient.”

Shoppers can log on to Harris Teeter’s mobile app, order their groceries and upon checkout, can choose delivery or pickup. For delivery option, an UberRUSH driver is dispatched, collects the order and delivers the groceries.

Uber, the on-demand ride service, launched UberRUSH last year as a means of providing a convenient delivery option.

Fred Meyer stores to give free fruits to kids

Fred Meyer grocery chain offers free fruits to kids. For years, Fred Meyer have been giving out bakery cookies

The grocery chain stores have clementines, apples and bananas for kids. This fruits can be taken by kids for free.

The Fruit for Kids program is available in all Fred Meyer and QFC stores.

Fred Meyer stores are located in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. Fred Meyer grocery specials can be found in the latest weekly ad.

The retailer offers: food, clothing, groceries, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, toys, garden supplies and housewares.

Pork sales lower in 2015

The average U.S. household spent less on pork in 2015, with an annual average of $64.69, compared to $66.71 in 2014.

In 2015, 41% of consumers participating in a Nielsen Omnibus survey reported that they bought less meat as a result of increased pricing.

The pork cuts which consumers are buying more often include: pork loin, pork shoulder butt and pork side.

Pork prices had decreased during last year, with prices for shoulder butt lower by 18%, and those for pork loin and shoulder butt are lower by 10.5%.

Weis Markets to introduce Nutri-Facts

Weis Markets announced its new shelf tag program, Nutri-Facts. Customers will see brightly-colored icons on pricing tags to help them easily identify the foods that meet their unique health and lifestyle needs.

“Weis Markets is committed to helping our customers live well. We can accomplish this goal by providing tools and resources on healthy eating and simplifying the process of finding nutritious foods in our stores,” said Beth Stark, Manager of Lifestyle Initiatives for Weis Markets. “Our Nutri-Facts program is designed to provide a snapshot of food products so that at a glance, a customer can determine if its nutrition or lifestyle profile fits their individual needs and the needs of their family.”

Using U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines, the Weis Dietitians developed Nutri-Facts icons that include popular dietary and health identifiers that are in demand by customers, including organic, gluten free, whole grain, carb conscious, heart healthy, vegan, no added sugar, low sodium, vegan and more.

The Weis Dietitian team also recently launched its Fresh for You and Superfoods programs. The Superfoods program highlights nutrient-rich foods that naturally contain significant amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Food Lion Opens a New Store in Edenton, NC

The new Food Lion store is located at 300 Virginia Road in Edenton, NC.

Food Lion will give to first 100 customers $10 gift cards, between April 6-9, at the opening of a New Store in Edenton, NC, and wiil donate $2,000 in fresh meals, or the equivalent of 22,000 meals, to the Food Bank of Albemarle.

"Food Lion has been a proud member of the Edenton community for more than 25 years and we look forward to creating an easier shopping experience for our customers," said Rodney Jackson, Director of Operations for Food Lion, including the Edenton area. "Over the past year, we have listened to our customers in this market and we look forward to bringing an expanded assortment of quality, fresh products to our customers, while keeping the low prices they expect from Food Lion. On behalf of our 130 associates at this store, we want to thank our customers and the entire community for your patience during the new store transition as we bring our new and improved shopping experience to Edenton. We look forward to welcoming you to our new store."

Featuring Food Lion's newest format, the new store is easier to navigate so customers can get in and more quickly. It also features a walk-in produce cooler that keeps produce fresher, longer. Additional features of the new store include:
• A new assortment of products with an abundant selection of fresh meat and produce backed by Food Lion's promise of 100 percent fresh or double-your-money-back guarantee
• A dedicated gluten-free section
• A growing selection of Nature's Place beef, pork and poultry items free from unwanted ingredients
For the latest offers and specials don't miss the Food Lion Edenton Weekly Ad Specials.

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has nearly 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 65,000 associates.

Fry's Food to open six large-scale Marketplace stores in 2016

Fry's Food is a division of Kroger, the largest grocery retailer in the US, and one of the largest in the world.
The grocery chain plans to expand its presence in Arizona with six new large-scale Marketplace stores in 2016.

The expansion will create more than 2,000 jobs, and will require an investment of $260 million

"Fry's is a company that is focused on smart, strategic growth and providing a highly-satisfied customer shopping experience," Steve McKinney, president of Fry's. "We've operated here since 1960. In that period, we've grown our footprint to 119 stores and 82 fuel centers. Fry's successfully reached this point by closely monitoring the unique needs of this market and evolving to meet the requests of our customers.

The new Fry's Food locations will open in: Mesa, Phoenix, Litchfield Park, Chandler, and Peoria.

The Marketplace stores at Peoria and North Valley Parkway will feature Power Parasol parking areas shaded by solar energy collectors.

McDonald’s to add 1,000 restaurants in China

McDonald’s aims to have 3,500 restaurants by 2020 in China, up from 2,200 now, Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

The expansion plans came after McDonald’s announcement last year that it was closing 350 restaurants in China, Japan and the US.

The fast food restaurant chain wants to add more than 1,500 restaurants in China, Hong Kong and South Korea.

McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain in the world, with locations in about 120 countries. McDonald’s menu prices are very competitive, starting from $1 a piece for its value menu.

Target plans to sell more food in its stores

Target CEO Brian Cornell said that the retailer was "doubling down" on efforts to transform its food business, but cautioned it would be a long ride.

Food is a $18.5 billion business for Target, which has more than 1,800 stores, and has a huge potential for growth.

The retailer will focus first on expanded assortments of natural, organic and fresh foods, and also improving the supply chain to ensure fresher items at stores. More food offers will be showed in Target Weekly Circular, where Target features its best deals for the week.

Comparable store sales in grocery had outpaced the total store growth in Target's two most recent quarters.