Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Food sellers: I’m no Twit!
Just when it seems like everyone is using Twitter, we learn that is not really the case.
A panel discussion on Thursday at the CIES World Food Business Summit in New York featured four prominent industry leaders: Sara Lee CEO Brenda Barnes, Cargill CEO Greg Page, Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld and Jeff Noddle, executive chairman of grocery chain Supervalu. The conversation turned to how the panelists’ companies would stay relevant with the next generation of consumers.
Understanding Generation Y, whose oldest members are already in the work force, will be key to success in the future, said Noddle.
Very broadly defined, Generation Y includes more than 70 million Americans born from 1977 to 2002.
Starbucks’ cafe-to-market coupons
Starbucks cafes in the United States are handing out a limited number of coupon books designed to drive its cafe customers to grocery stores where the coffee chain’s ice cream, bottled drinks and coffee beans are sold.
“We started in the coffee aisle. But the other aisles got jealous. So now, we’re all over the grocery store,” reads the little brown book of coupons, available now in company-operated stores.
It’s 4:15 – do you know what your dinner is?
If you’re broke and in a hurry, Supervalu — the owner of grocery chains like Lucky, Albertsons, Shop ‘n Save and Shaw’s – has your number and it’s 4:15.
The third-largest U.S. supermarket operator is setting up stations in its produce, meat and deli departments that feature the fixings for fast, easy, home-cooked meals that can feed a family of four for less than $15.
Let them eat steak
Tired of paying high prices for everything from soup to cereal? See your butcher.
While food makers like Kellogg and Campbell Soup have yet to take back price hikes on boxes of cereal and cans of soup spurred by last year’s spike in commodity costs, beef companies have to move their premium, perishable product in a environment where restaurants aren’t buying and consumers are pinching pennies.
Whole Foods selling 13 stores in settlement
Natural and organic food grocer Whole Foods will sell 13 stores as part of a settlement that ends an antitrust battle with U.S. regulators over its acquisition of rival Wild Oats.
Is your store on the list?
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7133 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ
8688 E. Raintree Dr., Scottsdale, AZ
2584 Baseline Rd., Boulder, CO
1651 Broadway St., Boulder, CO
3180 New Center Pt., Colorado Springs, CO
5910 S. University Blvd., Littleton, CO
9229 N Sheridan Blvd., Westminster, CO
340 N. Main St., West Hartford, CT
4301 Main St., Kansas City, MO
1090 St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM
7250 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas, NV
19440 N.W. Cornell Rd., Hillsboro, OR
6930 S. Highland Dr., Salt Lake City, UT
(Photo\Mike Blake, Reuters)
Love? Try Aisle 5
Need a mate this Valentine’s Day? Whole Foods wants to help.
The high-end seller of organic, natural and gourmet food has been throwing singles’ mixers in stores around the country as Valentine’s Day approaches.
The chain’s hometown of Austin hosted an event called “Check Out” and to give us a flavor of the evening, it supplied this picture:
Creating a to-do list for Wal-Mart’s new CEO
This Saturday, Lee Scott will retire as CEO of Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, and Mike Duke will step in to the CEO shoes on Sunday.
Since the management change was announced in November, ShopTalk is fairly certain that Duke has come up with a pretty long list of things to do in his first few months as CEO.
Thanksgiving ’08 will gobble up more of your dollars
Thanksgiving dinner promises to take a bigger bite of your wallet this year.
“Thanksgiving food prices are up about 6 percent compared to last year,” said Corinne Alexander, a Purdue University agricultural economist.
Alexander said grocery store prices are increasing at a pace of 7.6 percent, compared with restaurants’ rise of 4.5 percent.
Browsing for butter, lip balm on Walmart.com
You can look but you can’t buy — online at least.
Wal-Mart has started allowing visitors to its website to browse some of the groceries, health and beauty, and pet products that the discount giant sells in its stores.
Instead of being able to buy the items online, Walmart.com browsers can check to see if the products are in stock at a store near them.
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Resident Shop Talk Expert
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