EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Developers seek to bring another Wegmans to Bucks County

Lower Makefield (Bucks County), PA supervisors are planning to meet next week with developers to discuss a proposed mixed-use overlay zoning designation for a 36-acre property across from Shady Brook Farm. The overlay would allow for several uses – from commercial to recreation – that could pave the way for a Wegmans grocery store. Despite […]

Lidl opens 100th U.S. store

Lidl opened its 100th U.S. store earlier today in Suwanee, GA. Recent growth for the discount grocer has been steady, but when Lidl entered the U.S. market, they planned on having 100 stores by the summer of 2018. Since then, the company has seen leadership changes and real estate strategy shifts. Here is a breakdown […]

The One Reason Walmart Has A Winning Coronavirus Strategy

Seth Cohen, Forbes.com On Tuesday, Walmart reported its first quarter financial numbers, beating analyst expectations and demonstrating that it is successfully navigating the coronavirus pandemic. But the financial numbers aren’t the real story behind Walmart’s success, it’s the strategy by which it got them that provides lessons for leaders looking to navigate these uncertain times. […]

Kroger earmarks $130 million for employee thank you pay

Kroger, the largest traditional supermarket chain in the U.S., announced that it has earmarked $130 million for special Thank You Pay to hourly grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center employees for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The payment follows an Appreciation Pay made at the beginning of the pandemic in March, and […]

Avoid This Common Mistake Made by Investors in Like-Kind Exchanges

In a prior blog post, our colleague Margo McDonnell, whose 1031 Corp specializes in 1031 tax-deferred exchanges, covered some of the basics associated with this nearly century-old tax incentive. But once you’re clear on questions like “What is a like kind exchange?” or “Is a like kind exchange the same as a 1031 exchange?”, the […]

Industry leader says supply chain is stressed, not broken

Supermarket News interviewed Abe Eshkenazi, CEO of the Association for Supply Chain Management, to get some perspective on the issue of the American food supply amid the coronavirus. Here are some of the highlights. “From our perspective, we don’t think the food supply chain is broken as much as it is stressed,” Eshkenazi said. “When […]

Ahold Delhaize says Q1 2020 "unlike anything we have ever seen"

“The first quarter of 2020 was unlike anything we have ever seen before,” said Ahold Delhaize CEO Frans Muller. Mr. Muller was talking about COVID-19’s affect on Ahold’s supermarkets around the world, of course. He said that “unprecedented demand” triggered by the virus lifted global sales more than 12% in the first quarter of fiscal […]

Online grocery sales rose 37% in April

According to poll conducted in late April by Brick Meets Click and Symphony RetailAI, online grocery sales in the U.S. totaled $5.3 billion for the month of April, a 37% increase over March and a new 30-day record. Furthermore, poll results showed that the month-over-month sales growth reflected a 33% increase in the monthly number […]

Wegmans releases shop-and-scan app for quicker checkout

After a successful test with employees, Wegmans released a mobile app called SCAN that’s designed to help customers check out faster. The free app is available for use at one of the company’s Rochester, NY stores, where customers can scan groceries as they shop, put the products in their carts or bags, and quickly pay […]

Shoppers feel safer from COVID-19 at supermarkets than at other retail locations

Based on a survey of more than 500 American consumers conducted by First Insight in late April, more than half said they feel “safe” or “very safe” from COVID-19 when shopping in grocery stores. Consumers said they don’t feel as safe at any other retail locations, although drug store chains were a close second. Here […]