Personnel Updates

• Acosta Sales & Marketing, Inc (21) has named Taylor Crown as President of Foodservice.

• Ahold-Delhaize (90) has named Natalie Knight as CFO.

• Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (53) announced that Dan Funk was promoted to COO, effective Jan. 1, 2020. Tye Anthony was appointed to the role of Senior VP, Merchandising.

• Big Y Foods Inc. (81) appointed Eric Swensen as VP of Fresh Foods and Michael Cormier as Senior Director of Center Store.

• Casey’s General Stores Inc. (101) has named Tom Brennan as Chief Merchandising Officer.

• The Fresh Market Inc. (122) has hired Dan Portnoy as Chief Merchandising Officer.

• GPM Investments LLC (87) announced Rich Mione is leaving company.

• The Grocery Manufacturers Association (12) recently named Bryan Zumwalt, Exec VP of Public Affairs; Dr. Betsy Booren, Senior VP of Regulatory and Technical Affairs; Stacy Papadopoulos, General Counsel and Senior VP of Operations and Special Initiatives; Brandon Partridge, Senior VP of Member Engagement; Mike Gruber, VP of Federal Affairs; Tom Madrecki, VP of Supply Chain and Logistics; Katie McBreen, VP of Communications and Research; Bill Pappas, VP of Accounting and Finance; and Meghan Stasz, VP of Packaging and Sustainability.

• The Kroger Co. (277) has hired Nancy Lebold as VP of Merchandising for Food 4 Less/Foods Co. She succeeds Mike Servold, who was recently promoted to VP of Operations of Kroger’s Atlanta division.

• Kum & Go LLC (86) appointed Jeff Shamburger as the new VP of Foodservice. The retailer has also appointed Reed Rainey as COO.

• MAPCO Express Inc. (91) announced its CEO, Hal Adams, is no longer with the company.

• Publix Super Markets Inc. (373) announced that Jeff Chamberlain, Senior VP of Real Estate and Facilities, plans to retire at the end of the year. The company also has promoted Kris Jonczyk to Atlanta division VP effective Jan. 1, 2020. He will succeed Joe DiBenedetto, who is retiring at the end of the year.

• Stater Bros. Holdings Inc. (82) announced Dennis McIntyre, current Exec VP Marketing, will assume the additional role of Chief Marketing Officer.

• Wegmans Food Markets Inc. (249) announced Jack DePeters, Senior VP of Store Operations, plans to retire at the end of 2019. Bob Farr will be taking over the role.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Alex Lee Inc. announced plans to buy fellow grocery wholesaler and retailer W. Lee Flowers & Co.

• Atlantis Management Group has acquired Americana Petroleum Corp. and Major Fuel Carriers Corp. The assets, all located in Suffolk County, NY, consist of eight retail gas locations with convenience stores or service bays, a wholesale fuels business and delivery trucks.

• Campbell Oil Co. has acquired The Hartley Co., which directly operates 16 Starfire convenience stores and petroleum marketing locations in Ohio and distributes wholesale fuels to multiple company-owned, dealer-operated sites and open dealers.

• Cash-Wa Distributing Co. Inc. will acquire Food Services of America’s distribution operation in Fargo, ND.

• EG America LLC completed its acquisition of Cumberland Farms Inc., which operates 567 c-stores in seven Northeast states and Florida.

• GPM Investments LLC has signed an agreement with Riiser Fuels LLC to acquire 63 convenience stores with gasoline in Wisconsin. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

• GPM Investments LLC has taken ownership of five convenience stores with gasoline in Arkansas from Cash and Sons L-P Gas Co. Inc.

• Harbor Wholesale Foods acquired a significant portion of the Food Services of America’s Seattle business. The deal includes a 250,000 sq. ft. distribution facility in Kent, WA, which serves roughly 1,700 independent restaurant operators.

• Majors Management LLC has purchased 18 convenience stores under the Summit Food Store brand in west central Georgia from McDonald Oil Co.

• Stinker Stores is expanding its presence in Wyoming with the acquisition of J.H. Kasper Oil Co. The deal includes one truck stop, three convenience stores, two card locks, and a bulk fuel and lubes business.

• U.S. Foods Inc. has acquired five companies within the Services Group of America Food Group. The acquired companies are Food Services of America Inc., Systems Services of America Inc., Amerifresh Inc., Ameristar Meats Inc. and GAMPAC Express Inc. U.S. Foods will divest three distribution facilities located in Kent, WA, Meridian, ID, and Fargo, ND.

• Weis Markets Inc. is acquiring two stores in northeastern Pennsylvania. It plans to buy Thomas’ Food Markets SuperFoodtown in Dallas, PA, and Thomas’ Food Basics in Shavertown, PA, from T. C. D. Realty Inc. Plans call for Weis to convert and reopen the Dallas store after the deal closes. The Shavertown store won’t be reopened.

• Yesway has agreed to purchase Allsup’s Convenience Stores Inc.

Industry Insight

• Amazon.com Inc. is preparing to open more than 12 grocery stores in the greater Los Angeles area.

• The Grocery Manufacturers Association will become the Consumer Brands Association, effective January 2020.

• KeHE Distributors has renewed and expanded its distribution partnership with The Save Mart Cos.

Real Estate

• Giant Food Stores LLC plans to reopen stores in November in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster and Lebanon counties from its acquisition of independent grocer Musser’s Market. Each location will be closed for about a week to be converted to a Giant supermarket.

• The Kroger Co. has opened the doors to its new 52,000 sq. ft. store in downtown Cincinnati, OH. It includes a food hall and expanded grab-and-go and ready-to-heat options.

• Lidl US, LLC will open a second wave of stores across New York’s Long Island by next summer. Stores in East Meadow, Oakdale, Patchogue, Lake Grove, Plainview, West Babylon, Huntington, and Center Moriches are set to open early next year.

• Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. reached the milestone of 500 stores.

• Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. is opening its first-ever store in the state of Louisiana. The store, located at 1925 Kaliste Saloom Road in Lafayette

• Schnuck Markets Inc. plans to close three underperforming stores in the St. Louis, MO area next month.

• Wawa Inc. plans to open two to three new stores per year in Northern Virginia, with the goal of having 40 new stores in the market in the next 15 years.

• Wegmans Food Markets has opened its first store in North Carolina. The new location is in Raleigh and is the company’s 100th store.

Technology News

• Food Lion LLC plans to launch its Food Lion To-Go online grocery pickup service at 50 more stores in Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

• Sobeys Inc. has entered into a partnership with AI-powered smart shopping cart company Caper to streamline the checkout process. The Caper Smart Carts are now live at the Sobeys location in Oakville, ON.

• Wakefern Food Corp. plans a 50-store test of a computer vision system that automatically identifies when product stock runs outs on shelves. The retailer is working with retail automation specialist Focal Systems.