KASH N' KARRY DEBUTS NEW 'SWEETBAY' CONCEPT
scheduled to debut its new Sweetbay Supermarket concept here on Saturday as a conversion vehicle for its entire Kash n' Karry chain. "It will be a completely different store -- with different offerings, a different decor and a different culture," said Steve Smith, vice president, marketing for Tampa, Fla.-based Kash n' Karry, in an interview with SN last week before the grand opening. "We intentionally went and borrowed parts of Delhaize's sister chains. We borrowed from Delhaize Belgium, we borrowed from Bloom [the new Food Lion concept] and the architecture is similar to that of Hannaford." The new banner was designed to focus on fresh, local offerings and to be unlike any other players in the Florida market, Smith said.
FOOD LION SAID TO BUY FIVE WINN-DIXIES IN VIRGINIA
SALISBURY, N.C. -- Food Lion is finalizing the acquisition of five Winn-Dixie supermarkets in various markets in southern Virginia, according to reports. Employees at Winn-Dixie stores in Stanleytown, Clarksville, Danville, South Hill and Ridgeway all confirmed to SN last week that they have been told their stores were acquired and that they would be converted to Food Lion stores in the next two weeks. A spokesman for Food Lion declined to comment, and a spokeswoman for Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla., could not be reached for comment. Winn-Dixie is in the process of divesting or closing 156 stores in various markets in the Southeast.
JUDGE DEFERS RULING ON REVENUE-SHARING PACT
LOS ANGELES -- A magistrate judge in U.S. District Court here declined to rule last week on a motion by Bill Lockyer, California's attorney general, who was seeking to unseal and make public the profit-sharing agreement among the chains involved in last winter's 141-day strike-lockout in Southern California. According to a spokesman for Lockyer's office, the judge ruled that, given the significance of the matter and the fact a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the AG's lawsuit against the chains was already scheduled, it made more sense to refer the issue to the trial judge for resolution. The motion by the chains asking for dismissal of the lawsuit is scheduled for Friday. Lockyer filed the suit last January against Albertsons, Kroger and Safeway -- the three parties to the profit-sharing agreement -- charging the agreement was anti-competitive and was not covered by a collective-bargaining exemption.
SCHNUCKS CLERKS AGREE TO MODIFY CONTRACT
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- Union clerks at a struggling Schnucks Market location here have agreed to a modified contract that will allow the store to remain open at least through the end of the year, but meat and deli workers rejected a similar offer. Schnucks, St. Louis, had earlier announced it would close its East St. Louis store, citing high rent, high labor costs and low sales. In a special vote Oct. 28, clerks represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 534 agreed to a 5% wage rollback, lower compensation for new hires and higher requirements for health care eligibility in exchange for an opportunity to share in profits should the store return to profitability. Clerks were previously working under a contract extension.
