Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store
• BP Products North America Inc. is taking full ownership of Thorntons LLC after more than two years as part owner as part of a joint venture.
• Hy-Vee Inc. announced it has named Dr. Daniel Fick as its first Chief Medical Officer.
• The Kroger Co. announced that Steve McKinney, Senior VP of Retail Divisions, will retire effective August 7. Valerie Jabbar has been named as his successor.
• McLane Company, Inc. is hosting a national hiring day on July 16 in hopes of hiring more than 2,000 people.
• Save-A-Lot Holdings, Inc. reported it has a goal of remodeling more than a third of its locations by the end of this year.
• SpartanNash Company plans to launch its first micro-fulfillment center, in Caledonia, MI, to fill orders for its Fast Lane online grocery service.
Retail
• Amazon.com Inc. has pledged to hire more 100,000 U.S. veterans and military spouses by 2024.
• Big Lots Stores Inc. has appointed Gurmeet Singh as its new Exec VP, Chief Technology Officer. He will replace Stew Wenerstrom who will be officially retiring in October following a transition period.
• Dollar General Corp. reported it is looking to hire up to 50,000 employees between now and Labor Day.
• Fossil Group, Inc. has appointed Holly Briedis to the new role of Exec VP, Chief Digital Officer.
• L & W Supply reported that it has acquired the assets of DAICO Supply, with locations in Carrollton and Ft. Worth, TX.
• Nordstrom Inc. has acquired a minority interest in four apparel brands, including Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT.
• Ross Stores Inc. announced that Travis Marquette, Exec VP and CFO, has resigned.
• Sam’s Club has reportedly begun testing a new in-store service that provides a ship-to-home option in which customers scan products in store.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and VillageMD announced plans to open 29 Village Medical locations in Houston, Austin and El Paso, TX, by the end of the year. The companies will open the co-located clinics at Walgreens stores as they continue to push for 600 of the clinics over the next four years.
• Walmart Stores Inc. announced a pilot program with The Back Space, in which some locations will feature health care centers specializing in chiropractic and spinal care services. The company has revealed 5 of its 10 planned locations in Walmart stores.
Restaurant
• Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop Inc. will be opening 15 new franchised locations in Florida. The first two locations are set to open later this summer.
• Dickey’s Barbecue Pit announced that their virtual brand Wing Boss is planning to open their first physical location later this summer in Texas.
• Farmer Boys Food Inc. will be opening a new location in Chino, CA, next month.
• Krystal has hired Kaitlin Stoehr as Director of Marketing.
• Long John Silver’s has partnered with a new network systems provider across all of their locations in order to provide employees with tablets and Wi-Fi for customers.
• Panda Express is testing a plant-based version of their original orange chicken in select locations in New York and California.
• Panera Bread has launched a swim wear line and merchandise that is based off of their most famous soups.
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. will be adding chicken nuggets to the menu at the end of July. The nuggets are battered and fried in the same style as their popular chicken sandwich.
• Rush Bowls will be opening a new location in Dallas, TX.
• Subway has launched their new menu refresh and the company has recruited 5 popular athletes to push the campaign.
• Taco Bell is releasing their limited time offering Nacho Fries for the seventh time.
• Tony Roma’s has named Ramon Bourgeois as COO and acting CEO after being acquired by Equity Investors of New England Inc.
• Union Square Hospitality Group has hired Marissa Freeman as Chief Marketing Officer.
• Walk-On’s Enterprises has opened a new location in Hammond, LA.