Griffin Report March 2010 : A1
THE All That’s News in the Food Industry www.griffinreport.com Supermarket Report Deadline Looms For Stop & Shop Contract.........A4 Acosta Presents Check To MDA......................…..A4 Big Y Plans Major Store In Lee, Mass ..................A4 Florida Temps Cause Tomato Problem............…..A7 NOTHING PERSONAL Food Service Report Latest Highlights Of N.E. Food Show ..................B1 New Data Security Regs To Impact Mass Firms ..B1 Blount Seafood Breaks Ground On Expansion ....B1 Mass. Unveils New Food Allergy Rules ................B5 The C-Store Report of Food Marketing New Channels Report Turn ‘Green’ Into $$$$$ ....................................C1 Sheetz Supports Better Beer Laws In Pa ............C1 Beverage Industry To Make Calorie Info Clearer ..C1 CEO Lessons From Going Undercover ................C2 March 2010 Volume 44 No. 03 Cuban Dishes On the Rise In Floria ....................D1 Solar Panels Are Going Green ............................D1 About Slip & Fall Cases ....................................D1 Walgreens To Purchase Duane Reade Chain ......D1 Wakefern Ups Its Impact In N.E. With Shaw’s Buy BY KEVIN GRIFFIN PUBLISHER The Passing Of Lillian Bozzuto We received the sad word that Lillian Lillian Bozzuto (Brangel) Bozzuto, 95, the widow of Adam Boz- zuto, founder of Bozzuto’s passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 3. She devoted much of her life to being a wife and mother and will be sorely missed by her daughter, Jayne and son, Michael, both of whom are leading Bozzuto’s today. Lillian worked as a children’s clothing buyer early in her career at the former Engleman’s Dept. Store in Water- bury, Conn. She loved spending her summers on Cape Cod, enjoyed cooking and fishing and had a zest for life. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the Adam J. and Lillian Boz- zuto Building Fund for Special Olympics, 2666 State Street, Suite 1, Hamden, Conn., 06517, and the Hometown Foundation Inc. 275 Schoolhouse Rd., Cheshire, Conn. 06410. Wakefern & New England While we are disappointed to hear that Shaw’s has sold its stores in Connecticut, one retailer who is eager to seize on the Connecticut food market is Wakefern Food Corp. of Keasbey, N.J., the retail merchandising and distribution company that supplies and supports ShopRite and PriceRite supermarkets. Wakefern has stores in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsyl- vania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and now Massachusetts. Prior to the Shaw’s announcement, Wakefern had 13 ShopRite stores and eight PriceRite stores throughout Connecticut. At the very end of last year, Wakefern announced a record $11.7 billion in retail sales. How is this hap- pening in a down and challenging economy? Joseph Colalillo, Wakefern’s chairman and chief executive officer, attributes the company’s success to its unique cooperative structure shared by its 44 member companies. “Wakefern’s focus is to help the independent retailer do what they could not do if they were going it alone, which is especially important in this economy,” said Mr. Colalillo. “We are dedicated to helping our members, on a store-by-store basis, achieve the results they require and to respond to any competitive threat they may face.” Cathy Green & WOI Cathy Green is an amazing food executive. Start- ing as a store clerk at Hannaford, she has spent more than 22 years in the supermarket industry, rising quick- ly through many executive positions at Hannaford and Food Lion. The Hannaford team knows her quite well as she held the title of vice president of fresh mer- chandising at Hannaford. Ron Hodge, now the head of Delhaize USA, who knew her talents when she worked at Hannaford, speaks quite highly of her and says she is a leader who operates with the customer in mind and has a drive and passion for the business. We wish her well as she leads the Food Lion banner of stores. Of Note… Those of you who know Jerry Larsson of Johnson O’Hare and as a leader of the New England Food Foundation know that Jerry is quite a nice guy. We are sad to hear of the passing of his father, Valfrid Ellis Larsson. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod, 765 Attucks Lane, Hyannis, MA 02601 or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 780. We have also been informed that Edward Corbeil, who had worked at the Big Y Supermarket for 27 years and who was the owner and president of Big E Supermarket in East- hampton, Mass., passed away in February. Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to the Shriner’s Hospital, 516 Carew St., Springfield, Mass., 01104 or the Easthampton Learning Foundation, P.O. Box 1100, Easthampton, Mass., 01027. ners, Cathy Green is known as a retail supermarket executive from Maine to Miami. Starting as a store clerk at Han- W naford, she has spent more than 22 years in the supermarket industry, rising quickly through many executive posi- tions at Hannaford and Food Lion. Ms. Green recently assumed leader- ship as president of the Food Lion fam- ily of banners, which includes Food Lion, Bloom, Harveys and Reid's. In her new role, Ms. Green will lead all banner operations for the Food Lion Shown here is a recent new ShopRite store in Bayonne, N.J. More ShopRite stores will be on the horizon in Connecticut with the purchase of 11 Shaw’s. Photo, courtesy of Insight Photography/Steve Berg. early February, Wakefern, which man- ages ShopRite and Price Rite, is very excited about increasing its presence despite a crowded retail competitive environment. W ith 11 new Connecticut loca- tions from the purchase of Shaw’s stores announced in “The acquisition of these stores rep- resents an exceptional growth opportu- nity for Wakefern and its members,” said Joseph Colalillo, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Wakefern. Once the acquisition is complete, ten store locations will be operated as Cathy Green Is 2010 Woman Executive Of The Year ShopRite supermarkets and one store will become a PriceRite. Currently, there are 13 ShopRite stores and eight PriceRite stores throughout Connecticut. “The Connecticut market has been very supportive of ShopRite and PriceRite over the years, and the addition of these stores allows us to expand our presence in the market,” added Mr. Colalillo. He added, “We look forward to increasing our presence in Connecticut. Each one of our members who lives and works in the area is excited to bring the high quality, low prices, great service and the sense of family and community spir- (Continues on page A2) Filterfresh Is About Choices & One Stop Beverage Solutions I Cathy Green ith her familiarity of Han- naford and her firsthand knowledge of Food Lion ban- family, including store financial per- formance, merchandising, pricing, cus- tomer service and marketing. "Cathy is an outstanding leader with significant retail expertise," said Ron Hodge, Delhaize USA President. "Her in-depth knowledge of the grocery industry will significantly benefit the Food Lion family of banners. She is a leader who operates with the customer in mind, focused on delivering excellent service, quality products and lower prices to our customers. Her leadership will be visible to customers and associ- ates through her drive and passion for the business." (Continues on page C9) C&S Spring Trade Show Here is a sample Filterfresh beverage center which can be adapted to an operator’s program in supermarkets, food service, and convenience stores. n today’s 24/7 business mentality, convenience and one-stop shopping drive decision-making. In the beverage world, leaders of Fil- terfresh Coffee Service of Westwood, Mass. are poised to capitalize on both. They are focused on answering these demands in the marketplace via their national network of branches, and they believe they have the philosophy, tools and experience needed to do it. Filterfresh Coffee Service, a division of Van Houtte Inc. of Canada, has been in the coffee service business for more than 20 years. Over the past several years, they have successfully expanded their comprehensive beverage solution programs beyond offices into supermar- kets, convenience stores, food services and homes. They boast among their long-term clientele, some of the most recognized names in these industries. The company prides itself on provid- ing, “Choices@Work.”, and lots of them. These choices begin with many varieties of coffee, but Filterfresh also carries a broad spectrum of beverages, snacks (Continues on page A4) Jim Wallace (left) of C&S Wholesale Grocers greeted representatives of D’Agostino’s Supermarkets including Nick D’Agostino III, Robert Fonti, and Luigi Mucciacciaro at the C&S Spring Trade show held at Mohegan Sun in mid-February. Turn to Section D, pgs. 6-7 for more photo highlights. Fun in the Sun. We’ve Got You Covered. www.imperialdistributors.com
