Personnel Updates

• Albertsons announced that Kevin Turner has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Managers of AB Acquisition LLC and Senior Advisor to the Chairman and CEO.

• Fiesta Mart Inc. named Sid Keswani CEO.

• The National Grocers Association promoted Laura Strange to VP of Industry Relations, Communications, and Marketing.

• Southeastern Grocers named Anthony Hucker CEO on a permanent basis.

• RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. announced that Allison Moran has stepped down as CEO and an interim leadership structure has been put in place.

Industry Insight

• Instacart will work with Wegmans, Whole Foods Market, Costco and Petco to deliver groceries in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley market reaching an estimated 206,000 households. Wegmans and Instacart will also begin delivery in the Rochester, NY market.

• Rutter’s is expanding its headquarters to 23,000 sq. ft. at an estimated cost of $2 million.  The expansion is expected to be completed in February 2018 adding space for a technology lab, employee recruiting, and an architectural and engineering department.

• Sprouts Farmers Market plans to expand its relationship with Amazon Prime Now to 20 locations across the chain’s major markets for grocery delivery.

Real Estate

• Aldi will spend $28 million to renovate 20 stores in the Detroit, MI area by 2019. The remodels will focus on fresh items as well as architectural designs with open ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally-friendly materials.

• Lucky’s Market will open a new store in Oakland Park, FL its third location in the South Florida market.

• Kroger Co. will renovate and reopen seven former Marsh Supermarkets stores under the Kroger and Pay Less banners at a cost of $20 million.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• GPM Investments LLC acquired seven convenience stores from Jiffy Stop Food Mart.

• Kwik Trip Inc. has agreed to acquire employee-owned retailer PDQ Food Stores; PDQ has 34 company-operated convenience stores in southern Wisconsin.