Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store
• Casey’s General Stores Inc. announced it will acquire CEFCO Inc. during the fourth quarter of this year.
• Gelson’s Markets has appointed John Barker as COO. Rick Williams has been named as its new Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer.
• Maverik Inc. has named Crystal Maggelet as its new CEO and Chief Adventure Guide.
• Save-A-Lot Holdings, Inc. announced a new partnership with DoorDash to offer delivery from its stores.
• Wawa Inc. will open its first store in West Virginia, on August 14, in the city of Inwood.
Retail
• Hibbett Inc. announced Jared Briskin will assume the role of COO.
• Jo-Ann Stores Inc. announced that Senior VP and CFO Scott Sekella has left the company. Jeff Dwyer will act as Interim CFO. John Stalcup has been promoted to Exec VP, Chief Digital Officer.
• Kohl’s Corporation has partnered with Toys “R” Us Ltd. to open Babies “R” Us shops inside 200 of its stores by the end of September.
• Macy’s Inc. has promoted Sabina Israelian-Garcia to Senior VP, GMM of Home, Foods and Toys.
• The Michaels Companies, Inc. has partnered with DoorDash and Uber Eats for same day delivery options.
• Primark USA announced it plans to open its first store in Michigan. The 36,600 sq. ft. store will open on Sept. 12 in Auburn Hills. The retailer will open a new two-level 36,200 sq. ft. location in Orlando, FL, on August 29.
• Toys ”R” Us Ltd. announced it has partnered with Navy Exchange Service Command to open Toys “R” Us shop-in-shops in its stores.
• Uniqlo reported it will open four new stores in Canada before the end of the year. The retailer will open locations in Langley, BC, Brampton ON, Mississauga, ON, and Toronto, ON.
Restaurant
• Blaze Pizza has signed a franchise agreement to open six locations in the United Arab Emirates.
• Chipotle has partnered with cosmetics brand Wonderskin to create Lipotle, a lip stain that is guac-proof.
• Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ announced a new partnership with Walmart that will launch their new Crave Express Model within select Walmart locations. The smaller footprint stores will offer the full menu along with third-party delivery.
• Denny’s is joining the value menu chase as they relaunch their $2-$4-$6-$8 value menu. The new version of the menu will also feature a $10 option.
• McDonald’s has reported their first same-store sales decline since 2020. The company is currently trying to fix their traffic decline by extending their $5 value meal. The company is also testing a new bigger burger called the ‘Big Arch’ in three international markets and it could be added to the permanent national menu.
• Papa Johns has named Todd Penegor as President and CEO. Penegor was also named to the company’s board of directors and becomes only the fifth CEO in company history.
• SPB Hospitality will be adding Amada Tapas Y Vino and Village Whiskey to their portfolio.
• Starbucks has reported a 3% decline in same-store sales, the second straight quarter where they have seen a decline due to low traffic.
• Taco Bell is planning to expand their AI drive-thru system to several hundred restaurants by the end of the year.
