Personnel Updates
7-Eleven promoted Dennis Phelps to VP, Fresh Food Merchandising.
Food City promoted Dan Glei to Exec VP, Merchandising and Marketing.
Kroger Co announced that Lynn Marmer plans to retire in early 2016.
K-VA-T Food Stores announced that Ross Purdy joined the company as VP, Center Store Operations.
Love’s promoted Roger Ahuja to VP, Operations.
Southeastern Grocers announced several changes. Mark Scates was named Senior VP, Store Operations. Bill Nashaan will be appointed to a new role overseeing the Harveys banner as well as the company’s Winn-Dixie stores in South Florida. Following the recently announced sale of Bi-Lo’s stores in Chattanooga, the banner will be split into Bi-Lo East and Bi-Lo West. Bi-Lo East will be led by Gordon Schmidt and Bi-Lo West will be led by Fred Shropshier. At Winn-Dixie, Shawn Sloan has been named Regional VP of North Florida; Eddie Garcia will be Regional VP of Central Florida; and Joey Medina will be Regional VP of West Florida. Drew Elkins has been named Regional VP of Alabama and Mississippi; and Tracey Edwards, Regional VP of Louisiana.
Sprouts Farmers Market announced that Doug Sanders has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Board, Amin Maredia will become the new CEO, and Jim Nielsen will become the President and COO.
Unified Grocers announced that Mary M. Kasper will become Senior VP, General Counsel and Secretary.
Whole Foods promoted Jason Buechel to Exec VP and CIO.
Industry Insight
Albertsons selected KeHE Distributors as its primary distribution partner for natural and organic, specialty, and fresh products.
Kroger Co. will be expanding its online ordering options to Carmel, IN.
Raley’s Supermarkets will switch to United Natural Foods Inc as its primary supplier of natural and organic foods.
Shipt announced that it will begin grocery delivery for Publix in the Tampa Bay area in August.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Getty Realty Corp. closed on its acquisition of 77 convenience stores and gas stations in the western portion of the United States from Pacific Convenience and Fuels LLC. The stores operate under the 76, Conoco, Circle K, 7-Eleven and My Goods Market brand names. They are located in Northern California, Southern California, Colorado, Washington, Nevada and Oregon.
Kum & Go LC acquired three convenience stores in the Iowa City-Coralville area.
MKM Oil Co. closed on the sale of 35 Fresh & Fast convenience stores in Central Illinois to TravelCenters of America LLC.
Quality Oil Co. LLC closed on the purchase of the assets of GOGAS Corp. which includes 20 high-volume gas stations in southeastern North Carolina.
Real Estate
7-Eleven Inc. is selling 25 gas stations and convenience stores, including six locations in Virginia, three in Colorado, Illinois, Texas and West Virginia, two in Florida and Missouri, and one in Nevada, New York and South Carolina.
Circle K is selling 26 former Circle K gas stations and convenience stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri.
Earth Fare opened a location at 3045 SW 34th Street, Suite 30, Gainesville, Florida.
Fresh & Easy will close 14 stores in Southern California.
The Fresh Market Inc. will open a store in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
Two Grocery Outlet stores opened; one at 6969 W Overland Rd, Boise, Idaho; and one at 4907 Cleveland Blvd, Caldwell, Idaho.
Haggen announced that it will close 27 stores.
Hannaford’s new 20,000 sq.-ft. small store concept is scheduled to open next week in North Berwick, Maine.
H-E-B purchased an 80,000-sq.-ft. industrial building at 4702 Goldfield Drive, San Antonio, Texas.
King Soopers opened a 46,000 sq.-ft. downtown Denver, CO, store at 20th Street and Chestnut Place.
Martin Bros has planned a $16M expansion to its distribution center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
MOM’s will open a new location in Woodbridge, Connecticut, in September, at 14470 Smoketown Rd. It will also open its first Baltimore, Maryland, store at 711 W 40th St this fall.
Natural Grocers opened its first Phoenix, Arizona, store at 13802 N Scottsdale Road.
PCC Natural Markets opened its newest 25,000 sq.-ft. store at 3610 S Edmunds Street, Seattle, Washington, on July 24.
Publix plans to open its first store in Wilmington, North Carolina, in late 2016.
RaceTrac will open a new 6,000 sq.-ft. convenience store/gas station in Volusia County, Florida. An additional five RaceTrac stores are also planned to open between 2016 and 2017 in the Volusia-Flagler area.
Sheetz closed its store in State College, Pennsylvania, to make room for a new location.
Stripes will open three convenience stores in San Antonio, Texas, and has plans to open up to 40 stores in Texas this year.
Trader Joe’s will open a store at 3684 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, on September 25, and a store in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 2.
Walmart Stores Inc. will open two Neighborhood Markets in St. Peters, Missouri, in early 2016, and a store in Alabaster, Alabama, on September 30.
Wegmans Food Markets will open a store in Westwood, Massachusetts, and a 125,000-sq.-ft. store at Natick Mall in Natick, Massachusetts, by spring 2017.
Whole Foods announced that its first five “365 by Whole Foods Market” stores will open between now and 2017 in: Bellevue, Washington; Houston, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Santa Monica, California, and the first store opened will be in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. The company will also open a Whole Foods in Kirkland, Washington.
Green Initiatives
Raley’s Supermarkets has received the GreenChill Partnership’s gold level certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the seventh consecutive year.
