EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Walmart testing automated grocery pickup

Walmart announced earlier this month that it is testing an automated kiosk to distribute online grocery orders to its shoppers at a store in Oklahoma. Customers who order online can go to the store for pickup, but instead of going inside (and instead of interacting with a human being) they simply enter a confirmation code […]

Lidl stores open in three states

The first Lidl stores in the U.S. opened earlier this month in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. At 36,000 square feet, reports say the stores look more like car dealerships than grocery stores, with floor-to-ceiling glass covering much of the exterior. The selections are nearly all private brands, with the packages made specifically for the U.S. market and […]

LIDL Opens First Store

Virginia Beach, VA Supermarket News Link Hundreds of shoppers were waiting in a line that circled the parking lot early Thursday morning in Virginia Beach, Va., when Lidl US opened the doors and let them in. As they filled their carts with 89-cent pineapples, 83-cent eggs and $19.99 kettle grills they may also have been […]

Amazon Buying Whole Foods

Hot off the presses…..$13.7 Billion The online retail giant announced Friday that is buying organic grocery chain Whole Foods (WFM) for $13.7 billion in cash. The deal values Whole Foods at $42 a share, 27% higher than where the stock was trading Thursday. Amazon (AMZN) said Whole Foods stores will continue operating under that name as a separate unit […]

73 New Stores for PetSmart Opened in Last Year (FY2016)

PetSmart opened 73 new stores in fiscal 2016.  ICSC Article

Box & Junior Box Tenants are Back-Filling Space

This article is simply a pragmatic view of the vacancies in the retail world, who’s failing, and who is backfilling those empty spaces.  Some very good basic statistics are provided, including a chart which concurrently shows, space supply, demand and vacancy.  CoStar Article

First 20 Lidl stores coming this summer

Lidl revealed this morning that it plans to open 20 stores this summer, with the earliest openings coming in June. The company didn’t specify which stores would open next month, but did release a list of the first 20. They are in North Carolina (9), Virginia (9) and South Carolina (2). All 20 stores will […]

Aldi reacting to Walmart's efforts to become low price leader

Recent reports say that Aldi is responding to Walmart’s aggressive pricing in an effort to remain the nation’s overall grocery price leader. Aldi’s adoption of a more flexible pricing strategy comes as the company plans to spend $1.6 billion on store remodels (see “Aldi remodeling stores ahead of Lidl openings“) and open about 400 new stores […]

Whole Foods annouces plan to regain sales and reverse stock plunge

Earlier this week Whole Foods announced several major changes in an effort to reverse poor results and a sagging stock price. The changes include new board appointments as well as a plan to slash costs and regain sales and earnings momentum. Initiatives include the following: Accelerating an affinity loyalty rollout to all U.S. stores Completion of […]

Kroger to debut new convenience store concept

Kroger, the largest traditional grocer in the U.S., announced last week that it has a new convenience store concept called Fresh Eats MKT. A location for the store is planned for Ohio, and Supermarket News reported that the company may rebrand existing convenient stores currently under their Turkey Hill banner. According to Supermarket News, an Instagram […]