HANNAFORD PREPARES FOR STAFF CUTS
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Hannaford Bros. last week began a “voluntary resignation” program for headquarters employees here in advance of a corporate restructuring to be announced in January, according to reports. The program will continue through Jan. 16 and will support a restructuring expected to eliminate some corporate positions and “reduce costs and keep Hannaford positioned well for the future,” Ron Hodge, Hannaford's chief executive officer, said in a memo to employees, the reports said. Retail store employees and distribution employees will reportedly not be affected.
NEW SEASONS FIGHTS SUBPOENA
PORTLAND, Ore. — A nine-store independent natural-and-organics operator here is resisting efforts by Whole Foods Market to obtain data from the smaller company. New Seasons Market has filed a motion to dismiss, or at least limit, a subpoena asking that it provide Whole Foods' attorneys with detailed information concerning its weekly sales and its marketing plans, among other data. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods wants the information to help in its defense against the antitrust case being pressed by the Federal Trade Commission following its merger with Wild Oats Market. Brian Rohter, chief executive officer of New Seasons, told SN last week that he was “unaware of any measurable impact on our business as a result of the Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger.” Whole Foods has closed or converted several Wild Oats stores in the region.
VILLAGE POSTS PROFIT GAINS IN Q1
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Village Super Market here last week said profits rose 48% in the first quarter, to $6.4 million, driven by sales from two new stores and comparable-store sales increases of 4.2%. Sales for the 13-week period, ended Oct. 25, were up 10.4% to $291 million. The company, which operates 25 ShopRites in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, said it had increases in both customer traffic and transaction size. Inflation also helped drive comps in the quarter.
FRESH & EASY EXPANDS NORTHWARD
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets opened its first two stores last week in Bakersfield, Calif., which is located about 150 miles north of Los Angeles. The two stores — and the seven scheduled to follow in the area — are the chain's northernmost sites in California, although the company said last month it was delaying plans for a full-scale move into the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento in Northern California because of the weak economy.
DOLLAR GENERAL SETTLES LAWSUIT
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General has reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit brought by shareholders over the retailer's acquisition by a private investment firm. A charge of $34.5 million related to the settlement led to a loss of $7.3 million for the third quarter ended Oct. 31, despite robust sales and higher gross profit margins, Dollar General said last week. The lawsuit charged that the company “rushed” into a deal with an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in 2007 at an “inadequate” price of $22 per share, or $7.3 billion. Dollar General officials said the settlement would be “beneficial to the company in order to avoid costly and time consuming litigation and to put this matter behind us.” Sales for the 12-week quarter increased 12.4% to $12.6 billion.
