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Bread & Circus Inc's new store, which opened in Washington, D.C. about three weeks prior to Feb 19, 1996, has generally met or slightly exceeded sales projections. The upscale supermarket retailer is planning to open a second store in Arlington, VA, towards the later part of Feb 1996, and plans to open a third store in Vienna, VA, in fall 1996. Bread & Circus places a heavy emphasis on the presentation of fresh foods., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Bread & Circus has exported its first natural foods supermarket outside New England to a posh location here -- and is happy with the early performance of [...]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is tailoring its produce offerings to the consumption profiles of different stores to compete better with Super K and other supercenter operators. The aim is better inventory management, not better quality, which the retailer says is superior. To track inventory, Wal-Mart will make better use of existing data instead of installing a new system. Ninety-two to 97 new Wal-Mart supercenters are planned for 1995., Fayetteville, Ark. (FNS) - Wal-Mart Stores is redoubling its efforts to improve supercenter fresh food sections. The giant retailer is attempting to lure more supercenter shoppers into the supermarket section [...]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's market share of the $425 billion food industry 'is growing very, very rapidly,' according to CFO John Menzer. In 1995, Wal-Mart held a 3.16% dollar share of the food retail sector, which is predicted to reach 8.67% by the year 2000. The company plans to continue increasing its market share in this sector by converting its discount stores to supercenters., FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (FNS) -- Wal-Mart Stores aims to snare the market penetration in food that it has achieved in hard- and soft-line goods, John Menzer, chief financial officer, told about [...]

Giant Food Inc is launching a co-branded credit card, which offers various rebates. Customers shopping at Giant Food and using the card will earn a 3% rebate, whereas when shopping elsewhere and using the card they will only earn a 1% rebate, with an overall rebate limit of $500 per year. The supermarket retailer has entered into an agreement with Visa USA Inc and Manufacturers and Traders Trust Co in order to offer the new service., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Giant Food, Landover, Md., is the latest chain to offer a co-branded credit card featuring substantial rebates for customers using the card. With the co-branded card, customers [...]

The Stop and Shop Companies reached agreement with the Massachusetts' attorney general's office and the Federal Trade Commission to complete its acquisition of Purity Supreme. The company will divest 17 of its stores to allay concerns that merging with Purity would create a monopoly in certain areas. The agreement will allow Stop and Shop to keep many of its strongest performing units. Investment firm Furman Selz has been retained by Stop and Shop to coordinate the bidding process for the 17 stores., QUINCY, Mass. (FNS) - Stop & Shop Cos. here last week completed its acquisition of Purity Supreme, North Billerica, Mass., by agreeing with regulators to divest 17 Massachusetts stores. Now, [...]

Speakers at the Agriculture Dept's Access to Food conference indicated that success in opening supermarkets in distressed urban or rural areas can depend on the strength of partnerships that include local officials, federal agencies, banks, and other individuals and organizations. Covington, IN's Covington Foods, for example, obtained a Agriculture Dept loan guarantee that enabled the family-owned firm to rebuild its original store., WASHINGTON (FNS) - Strong public-private partnerships are the key to successfully launching supermarkets in distressed areas, according to industry experts speaking at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conference on Access [...]

Giant Food Inc has stepped up its expansion program, adding three stores to the 18 originally scheduled to open by late-1996. Another 20 to 30 existing stores will be expanded afterward. Giant has signed leases for stores in Carroll County, MD, and Prince George's County, MD. The third store is the company's 12th in its new service area, the Delaware Valley. Half of the stores slated for expansion are in this region., LANDOVER, Md. (FNS) -- Giant Food here is accelerating expansion plans. The operator has added three more stores to the 18 it had said it would open by the end [...]

CULPEPER, Va. (FNS) -- Shoppers interviewed at the six-month-old Wal-Mart Supercenter here had mixed but mostly positive reviews for the megastore. But, to varying degrees, they also continue to rely [...]

The expiration on Jul 31, 1995 of a federal duty-free trade program will cause tariff rates as high as 25% to be paid by frozen-vegetable importers if it is not renewed. The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) allowed 2.5 million kilograms of frozen vegetables to be imported to the US in 1994. If the GSP is renewed by Washington it will cost the US Treasury $2.3 billion in tariff revenues through the year 2000., WASHINGTON (FNS) - Frozen-vegetable importers will have to pay regular tariff rates, as high as 25%, if a federal duty-free trade program scheduled to expire July 31 is not renewed. [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) - 'Green' issues may not be the galvanizing force they once were among consumers, but Earth-friendly initiatives continue to pay off for retailers. That was the consensus among [...]

LANDOVER, Md. (FNS) -- Giant Food here is set to make an all-out move north into Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. At the annual meeting here, Giant's management said it [...]

An American Gastroenterological Assn Foundation panel of 14 medical experts believes grocery employees should receive training in beef handling in order to prevent E coli bacteria-related illnesses and deaths. Other recommendations include better training of federal beef inspectors and marketing irradiated beef. Grocery store employee training costs would probably affect retailer expenses but would be valuable as grocery stores participate in greater food preparation., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- A panel of medical experts meeting in Washington recommended that beef-handling safety measures be stepped up 'all along the food chain,' from farms to supermarkets to consumers' [...]

The Federal Reserve Board has decided to extend its Regulation E to electronic funds transfer systems. Under the Fed's ruling, the states will be liable for financial losses from the fraudulent use of electronic benefits transfer cards above the $50 threshold for which cardholders are liable. The Fed imposed a three year moratorium on the implementation of the regulation to study its financial effects. In light of the ruling, some states may opt out of electronic funds transfer systems due to the increased financial risk., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- In a long-awaited ruling published this month, the Federal Reserve Board has decided to make states liable for fraudulent purchases made with electronic benefit transfer cards. But [...]

Grocery industry suppliers and their organizations, including the National Grocers Assn and the National-American Wholesale Grocers' Assn, are carefully watching federal proposals to regulate their industry. Potential regulation changes encompass child labor policies, tax audits, seafood inspection, striker replacement laws and other issues. Some sources feel that the industry's success in delaying implementation of the US Dept of Agriculture's meat labeling regulation means that it will be taken more seriously in the future., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- With a full plate of regulatory measures under consideration at the executive and legislative levels this year, retailers and wholesalers are concerned about how the industry would [...]

Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, an advocacy group, is trying to win Congressional backing for its plan to create 'food empowerment zones.' The zones, modeled after Enterprise Zones, would provide economic incentives to encourage the development of supermarket-anchored shopping centers in low-income urban areas. Those incentives would include lease guarantees, low-interest loans, and tax advantages., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- The advocacy group Public Voice for Food and Health Policy here is seeking congressional support to develop legislation for 'food empowerment zones,' low-income urban areas where supermarket [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Economic growth is expected to tool along at a 2% annual rate this year, a level that is moderate yet strong enough to keep consumers heading for [...]

LAKELAND, Fla. (FNS)--Despite an 8.4% sales increase last year, Publix Super Markets here plans to slow its capital expenditures for this year. Capital spending is slated to decline to $225 [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- The burden for branded manufacturers or trademark holders is to prove to overworked law enforcement officials that counterfeit cases like those involving health and beauty care products [...]

Private Label Manufacturers Assn conference attendees were told to display the private label manufacturer's name boldly on packaging to avoid lawsuits with national brands. This technique will avoid consumer confusion which is the basis for many of these lawsuits. Settlements in several packaging infringement cases are reached because private label manufacturers do not have the funds that national manufacturers have., WASHINGTON (FNS) - Prominently featuring a private-label manufacturer's name on packaging is the single best way to avoid losing a lawsuit over packaging that resembles a national brand, a panel [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) - Shoppers Food Warehouse Corp., a 34-store chain based in Lanham, Md., is placing a bigger emphasis on its club concept. The company has rolled out a new [...]

A new book, 'The Safe Shopper's Bible' lists products that contain carcinogens and irritants and those products that do not. The book was written by Samuel S. Epstein, MD, with an introduction by consumer advocate, Ralph Nader. Clairol hair dyes and Crest Tartar Control Toothpaste are two products that contain questionable ingredients. Toothpastes that are recommended for use are Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil and Toms of Maine nonfluoride., WASHINGTON (FNS) - Ralph Nader and other public health advocates are warning that certain ingredients in Crest toothpaste, Clairol hair dyes and other common consumer products are fueling the rising [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- A national standard passed unanimously by the National Conference on Weights and Measures last week should make in-store price inspections quicker and fairer, said Jennifer Colman, manager [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) - Pathmark Stores, Woodbridge, N.J., has joined a coalition here dedicated to bringing more supermarkets into low-income, urban neighborhoods. The Inner City Supermarket Task Force, which is being [...]

LAKELAND, Fla. (FNS) - Publix Super Markets, here reported a slowdown in sales growth and lower net earnings for the first quarter ended March 26, according to a report filed [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Safeway, Oakland, Calif., is defending its cheek-cashing policy after a Washington Post survey found that the company's inner-city locations tend to offer lower cash-back limits than stores [...]

Giant Food Inc opened a shopping center, called the Cascades Marketplace, which is anchored by a Giant Food supermarket. The center is unusual in that it is designed to encourage pedestrians to browse around, due to the center's walkways, gates and architecture. Sales at the center have been 50%-60% greater than projections and Giant Food hopes to expand the concept to other shopping centers., STERLING, Va. (FNS) -- Giant Food, Landover, Md., has developed a shopping center concept here that's intended to succeed by encouraging browsing. Called the Cascades Marketplace, the new center is [...]

TAMPA, Fla. (FNS)--Kash n' Karry Food Stores here, which is expected to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of the year, generated a net loss of $38 [...]

LAKELAND, Fla. (FNS) -- Net earnings at Publix Super Markets here jumped 34% in the third quarter from the comparable 1993 period, rising to $41.8 million from $31 million, the [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- The country's 22 largest cooperative supermarket wholesalers saw revenues increase by an average of just 0.9% in 1993, compared with a 3.2% annual gain among the nation's [...]

A Shaw's Supermarkets source maintains that its quick conversion from the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigeration systems to environmentally-friendly substitutes will be a competitive advantage. The Environmental Protection Agency requires the mandatory phaseout of the use of CFCs by 1995. Shaw's has found that conversion costs have been less than anticipated and that substitute hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants reduce electricity costs., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Rapid conversion to nonchlorofluorocarbon refrigerants will give Shaw's Supermarkets a competitive edge in its New England market, said Bill Burdwood, the company's refrigeration manager. 'We feel that [...]

Several supermarket chains have joined with other retailers in California to fight the Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Implementation Plan to reduce air pollution in California. The plan calls for a reduction in the number of out-of-state delivery trucks, a no-drive day, and standards for diesel-engine trucks. The retailers claim that consumer prices will increase as a result of this law. The state, which has the worst air pollution in the country, must have a completed plan by Feb 14, 1995., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- California retailers, including 13 leading supermarket chains, have banded together to fight a proposed clean-air plan for their state. The plan could lead to higher retail prices [...]

Ten institutional investors will help build supermarkets in inner-city area under The Retail Initiative, a corporate investment fund. Supermarket operators will be helped to establish about 12 to 14 stores in the mid-1990s, in such cities as Miami, FL; Los Angeles, CA; Boston, MA; and Chicago, IL. Corporate investors include such firms as Home Savings of America, Prudential Insurance Co of America and Metropolitan Life Foundation., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Supermarket operators have found a new partner to help them open stores in inner-city neighborhoods. That partner is The Retail Initiative, the first corporate investment fund to [...]

LAKELAND, Fla. (FNS) -- Publix Super Markets here said net income increased 8.3% to $49.6 million in the second quarter ended June 25. 2ND-QUARTER RESULTS Qtr Ended 6/25/94 6/26/93 Sales [...]

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- In an effort to expand its one-stop shopping concept, Safeway's Eastern division, Lanham, Md., has installed automated concert-ticket kiosks in 12 Washington-area stores. Safeway intends to offer [...]

LAKELAND, Fla. (FNS) -- Publix Super Markets here said net earnings increased 40.4% to $78 million in the first quarter ended March 26. Sales rose 11.4% to $2.16 billion in [...]

LAKELAND, Fla. (FNS) -- Publix Super Markets here said net earnings increased 8.3% to $180.3 million in the year ended Dec. 25, according to a recent filing with the Securities [...]

A Customs Service directive insisting that food packers adhere to new frozen food packaging-label requirements by May 8, 1994 has come under attack from the food packaging and frozen foods industries. Representatives of the two industries argue that the directive, which requires that the country of origin of imported fruits and vegetables included in any packaged frozen food be stated on the product's front label, defeats the Clinton administration's desire to promote international trade., WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Representatives of food packagers here are up in arms over a Customs Service ruling that requires companies to follow new packaging-label requirements for frozen produce starting May [...]

TAMPA, Fla. (FNS) -- Kash n' Karry Food Stores here reported a loss of $12 million in the fiscal year ended Aug. 1 and expects to show a loss in [...]

A National Cooperative Bank report says that Wakefern Food Corp in 1992 was the largest domestic cooperative of any kind, with annual sales of $3.6 billion. In 1991, the company was the second largest behind Farmland Industries, an agriculture cooperative in Kansas City, Missouri. The bank's report indicated that the largest 100 cooperatives included 25 food wholesalers. Wakefern is the supplier of food products to 180 ShopRite units in Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey., WASHINGTON (FNS)--Wakefern Food Corp., Elizabeth, N.J., became the nation's largest cooperative of any type in 1992, based on annual sales, according to a recent report by the National Cooperative Bank [...]