Month: February 2016

Sam’s Club has reported better annual same-store sales growth than Costco only once since 2007. To close that gap, the Walmart Stores-owned warehouse club operator is making major changes to its business model, putting a much bigger focus on improving store food brands, opening new Sam’s Club locations in higher income zip codes, and giving regional buyers more say in what the retailer sells, particularly as it pertains to gourmet and natural foods. …

German discount grocer Aldi is opening eight stores on March 24 in Southern California, the first of 45 stores in the region this year. …

After several years of pretty high customer satisfaction, supermarkets register their lowest score in more than a decade, dropping 3.9 percent to 73. A wide range in customer satisfaction for supermarkets suggests that it is possible to please customers even though overall satisfaction is down for the industry. Wegmans, one of three retailers to improve customer satisfaction, gains 1 percent to 86 and becomes one of the highest-scoring companies in the Index. Other top-scoring supermarkets include Trader Joe’s (83), H-E-B (82) and Publix (82). Giant Eagle and Wal-Mart at 67 find themselves at the opposite end of the scale. Albertsons, which recently merged with Safeway, rounds out the bottom three at 68. …

The National Grocers Association (NGA) recognized two industry leaders with top awards during the 2016 NGA Show. …

The Kroger Co. announced that Jay Cummins, president of the company's Smith's division, plans to retire on April 29, after 44 years with the company. …