Tops Friendly Market Narrows Loss in Q4Tops Friendly Markets has seen its fourth-quarter loss narrow, even as sales jumped due to the acquisition of outlets from Penn Traffic. For the three months ending 1 January, the company reported a net loss of $13.8m, down from $24.3m in the previous year. Sales jumped up 25.1% to $530.8m, although adjusted like-for-like sales were down 0.7%. For the full year, the grocery chain reported a loss of $27m, slightly up from the $26m loss in the year ago. Sales were up 33.1% to $2.26bn, and like-for-like sales edged up 0.1%.
Kam City
Foodtown Holds Four Grand OpeningsFoodtown Inc. held April 1 grand openings for four New York stores. Foodtown of Williamsburg is located on 159 North 3rd Street in Brooklyn. A rebuilt Foodtown of Bainbridge is reopening at 283 East 204th Street in the Bronx, after it burned down in a devastating fire in 2009. Two locations owned by Mauricio's Marketplace opened at 235 E. 106th Street and between 107th and 108th Streets in Manhattan. N.J.-based Foodtown is a cooperative of independently operated grocery stores in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Progressive Grocer
Last Call for Ultimate ElectronicsIt's last call for Ultimate Electronics Inc., the 46-store electronics chain. The Colorado-based chain filed for protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in January but quickly opted to liquidate rather than reorganize. Ultimate Electronics will ring up its final sale and close all 46 of its stores on or about April 10, after opting to liquidate rather than reorganize in its most recent bankruptcy filing. Current owner Mark Wattles paid $47 million to acquire the Colorado-based chain out of an earlier bankruptcy in 2005.
Portland Business Journal
Ikea Introduces Sustainable Product Score CardIkea, the world's largest home furnishing retailer, has introduced a Sustainability Product Score card to help the company with product development and purchasing using a range of environmental impact criteria. The announcement was part of Ikea's 2010 Sustainability Report, published this week. Other highlights from 2010 include the increased use of certified wood-- 23.6%, up from 16.2% in 2009. And it more than doubled its use of sustainable cotton year-over-year to 13.4%. Over 80,000 farmers in India and Pakistan are farming organically because of Ikea's purchases.
Sustainable Business
Oregon Supermarket Installs Solar-Electric SystemA Rosauers Supermarket in Hood River, Ore., now features a 15,000-square-foot 91.9-kilowatt solar electric system designed. The installation was part of Rosauers' overall sustainability initiative, which also includes the adoption of recycling, reclamation, reusable bags, and high-efficiency lighting and refrigeration, as well as partnerships with local suppliers. The Hood River system is one of the first in Oregon to be completed under the state's Feed-in Tariff Pilot Program and designed to provide a reasonable return on investments in solar-power generation systems.
Progressive Grocer
A&P Shows Appreciation for SeniorsGrocer A&P is launching a discount program that offers seniors savings on groceries purchased at A&P, Pathmark, Waldbaum's, Food Emporium and Superfresh banner stores. On April 4, the company is launching its "Senior Appreciation Days" program, starting with "Senior Appreciation Mondays," a new special discount program for seniors in all Pathmark banner stores. Through the program, every Monday, customers older than 55 years will be able to save 5% on their grocery purchases of more than $30, excluding pharmacy items, milk, tobacco products, beer, wine and spirits.
Drug Store News
Target Promoting Earth Month with New Website and Promo Target is preparing to kick off its Earth Month celebration with a reusable bag giveaway, the launch of a new online boutique for green products and a sweepstakes contest with eco-friendly prizes. The grand prize of Target's Earth Month sweepstakes contest is a "Refresh Your Nest" home makeover, worth $50,000. Other sweepstakes prizes include $5,000 worth of energy-efficient lighting and appliances, eco-vacations including travel and hotel accommodations, the opportunity to design your own line of eco-friendly cleaning products, and giveaways of other green products. Shoppers can enter the contest at Target's new online green boutique.
Earth 911
Macy's to Remodel Famous Chicago Store After 15 YearsMacy's is undertaking a multimillion-dollar renovation of its Water Tower Place store in a move to bring new life to the Magnificent Mile outpost. The department store chain is concentrating its efforts on the first three floors, where it generates most of its business. Cosmetics, women's accessories, shoes and intimate apparel account for 36 percent of total revenue at Macy's Inc. nationwide. The last time the eight-level, 227,000-square-foot store had a makeover was in 1996 when it was a Marshall Field's.
Chicago Tribune
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