Anyone on the industry conference circuit knows this fact: The focus on industry collaboration efforts is heating up. It was high-profile at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference in January, including awards presented for collaboration-related ...

Albertsons, it appears, has acquired a succession plan for its aging lineup of leaders. When Cerberus Capital Management and its partners bought Albertsons and its sister chains from Supervalu and reunited the two Albertsons divisions a year ago...

There’s been a flood of information lately about local product merchandising. We’ve heard all about how it helps support communities and create exclusive merchandising opportunities for retailers. What’s sometimes less apparent is the behind-th...

The growth of health and wellness efforts at mainstream retail has been phenomenal over the past few years, and supermarkets are working hard to keep the  momentum going. But growth has been the only sure thing. How it’s accomplished has been a ...

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I stopped in the Whole Foods Market in New York’s Union Square. As is typical for that time and location, the store was mobbed, and it may have taken longer to check out than to find the items on my shopping list. On...

A rising economic tide can lift all boats, no question about that. The reverse is also true, as we saw last year: A tough economy and lackluster consumer confidence can cut into sales momentum for retailers, including independent operators. This...

Momentum is building to separate “natural supermarkets” from the supermarket channel. One reason is to analyze the metrics (e.g. profit, number of SKUs, customer count and square foot) to compare those with a traditional store. Another reason is ...

An interview with Margaux Drake is always a lively and educational one. Drake is D&W Fresh Market's energetic and enthusiastic Living Well Lifestyle Expert. Her mission: “to spread the gospel of health and wellness one day at a time.” I have in...

...

Opportunities usually come with challenges, but rarely are the two so linked as they are in Big Data. Everything about this emerging topic is outsized. Even if you can comprehend what it means to store exabytes of data, it’s almost impossible to...