Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store

• Ahold-Delhaize announced that Jan Hommen will be retiring as Chairman by the end of 2020, and Peter Agnefjall will be appointed his successor.

• Albertsons LLC announced it is going public, under the ticker symbol ACI.

• Amazon.com Inc. is planning to open cashier-less “Go” grocery stores in Redmond, WA, and Washington, DC. Traditional grocery stores are also in the works in California and Illinois.

• Buehler’s Fresh Foods has named Paul Stefaniuk as VP Operations.

• Cardenas Markets LLC opened its first store in the Los Angeles metropolitan area on July 1, in Whittier, CA.

• The Food Industry Association announced Robert Garfield has retired. David Fikes has been named the Executive Director of the FMI Foundation. Heather Garlich is now Senior VP, Communications, Marketing and Consumer/Community Affairs.

• Foxtrot Ventures Inc. has recently opened a new location in Chicago, IL. The retailer plans to open two new stores in Dallas, TX and two in Washington DC, as well as three others with locations not named yet.

• The Kroger Co. announced Stuart W. Aitken will become Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer on Aug. 1. Joe Grieshaber, Senior VP and Chief Merchant, is retiring.

• Raley’s Family of Fine Stores has opened its first-ever Raley’s O-N-E Market, in Truckee, CA. The 35,000 sq. ft. store is designed to create a unique shopping destination with a highly curated product selection and a commitment to transparency and healthy eating.

• Raley’s Family of Fine Stores has promoted Laura Croff to Senior VP of People.

• Rouses Enterprises LLC has partnered with Deuce Drone for a delivery pilot program to launch this fall with an Aerial Drone Delivery Interface System.

• Tri Star Energy LLC will acquire certain retail fuel outlets and other assets from Hollingsworth Oil Co.

Retail

• Ace Hardware Corp. said it will relocate its Tampa, FL, distribution center to Plant City, FL adding more than 315,000 sq. ft. Construction is expected to begin in October 2020 and be completed in November 2021.

• Amazon.com Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Zoox, an autonomous vehicle provider.

• Amazon.com Inc. announced it is opening its first fulfillment center in Arkansas, in 2021.

• American Construction Source has acquired Weaver Lumber.

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. has added a new store format, called Unsubscribed. The first store opened in East Hampton, NY, and features “consciously made” women’s wear and accessories.

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. plans to close about 200 stores during the next two years.

• Crate & Barrel announced that its CEO, Neela Montgomery, has decided to leave the company on August 1. Janet Hayes has been named as the new CEO.

• CVS Health is soon adding a men’s cosmetic line to 2,000 of its stores.

• CVS Health is launching a new app feature for visually impaired customers called Spoken Rx. By the end of this year, 1,500 CVS Pharmacy locations will be equipped with prescription labels that can be scanned and the prescription label information will be spoken out loud.

• Francesca’s Holdings Corp. is partnering with SaaS retail app platform Poq to launch its first mobile shopping app.

• Lowe’s Companies Inc. has appointed Janice Dupre Little as Exec VP, Human Resources.

• Lululemon Athletica Inc. is buying at-home fitness company Mirror. The startup sells a tech-enabled mirror with a camera and speakers so customers can participate in live fitness classes at home.

• Modell’s Sporting Goods Inc. has reopened its stores for a short while before closing them permanently. The struggling retailer has resumed going-out-of-business sales at 107 of its remaining locations.

• National Association of Chain Drug Stores has promoted Christie Boutte, to the position of Senior VP of State Strategic Affairs and Advocacy.

• Nike Inc. is planning to open 150 to 200 small footprint, digitally-enabled stores in North America, the Middle East and Africa.

• Nouria Energy Corporation has acquired the branded fuel distributorship business of Roberts Energy.

• Office Depot Inc. has named Terry Leeper as Exec VP and Chief Technology Officer.

• Orgill Inc. hired Marc Hamer to fill the newly created role of Exec VP, Chief Digital and Information Officer.

• The Palmer-Donavin Manufacturing Co. announced Robyn Pollina, currently CFO, has been named as CEO effective August 1.

• Do it Best Corp. announced their acquisition of Build Rite Lumber & Supply Inc.

• Sephora USA Inc. is opening a digital storefront on the Instagram social platform with the Instagram Checkout feature.

• Target Corporation is expanding its assortment of grocery items that customers can order online and pick up the same day in the store or at curbside. The newly expanded assortment includes 750 items across produce, dairy, bakery, meat and frozen products.

• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. is expanding an existing strategic partnership with Microsoft and Adobe to launch a digital experience and customer insights platform. Walgreens will use the new platform to launch an individually tailored prescription experience.

• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has rolled out a new kind of store that shrinks down its square footage and focuses on the pharmacy. It has opened more than 30 small-format pharmacies as part of a pilot.

• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has entered into a partnership with VillageMD to offer full-service doctor offices co-located at its stores. The retailer will open 500 to 700 “Village Medical at Walgreens” primary care clinics in more than 30 U.S. markets during the next five years, with a plan to build hundreds after that.

• Walmart Stores Inc. will introduce a new annual membership program by the end of July. Walmart+ will cost $98 per year, and offer same-day delivery of groceries and other items, and provide fuel discounts and early access to discounts.

Restaurant

• Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar has revived a classic menu item to coincide with the reopening of its dining rooms.

• Captain D’s is adding a new franchised location in Shreveport, LA. The location will keep its dining room closed and instead offer drive-thru and delivery options.

• Del Taco has partnered with Beyond Meat and DoorDash to create a new meatless burrito that will be offered with free delivery.

• Denny’s Corporation is partnering with St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and will be donating a portion of the proceeds from every purchase off of the kids menu to the hospital.

• Dog Haus International LLC has opened its newest location in Austin, TX.

• Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. will be closing 450 locations by the end of 2020. All of the locations are located in Speedway gas stations and the closures come as part of an agreement for the two brands to part ways.

• Farmer Boys Food Inc. has hired Joseph Ortiz as the President of Finance and Accounting. They have also promoted John Lucas to VP of Brand Consistency.

• Ledo Pizza System Inc. has promoted Will Robinson from VP of Marketing to Chief Marketing Officer.

• Mountain Mike’s Pizza has opened a new location Temecula, CA.

• Pieology Pizzeria has signed a new franchise agreement with Pizzarium LLC that will develop new locations in Florida.

• Slim Chickens has opened a new franchised location in Lehi, UT

• The Halal Guys are planning to bring five new franchised locations Canada over the next year.

• Uber Eats has purchased rival delivery service Postmates for $2.56 billion. Uber plans to keep the Postmates brand intact and operate it as a separate entity.

• WaBa Grill Franchise Corp is opening a new location in Hollywood, CA. The dining room will be open in the new restaurant and the company is offering free delivery through their website until the end of July.

• Zaxby’s Franchising Inc. is opening a new location in Blythewood, SC. The location will open on July 13 and owned and operated by Jim and Britt Poston.