Newswatch 2010-05-03 (1)

RIPA TO PITCH A&P'S ‘PRICE PROJECT’

MONTVALE, N.J. — Kelly Ripa, co-host of the morning television program “Live with Regis & Kelly,” has been signed as an official spokeswoman of A&P's “Lower Price Project,” the retailer's comprehensive everyday-lower-price program. Ripa, who shops regularly at A&P, will be promoting A&P's new prices in upcoming television and radio commercials. The “Lower Price Project,” launched in March, is rolling out 10,000 lower everyday prices at A&P, Waldbaums and SuperFresh stores operated by A&P here.

PA. RETAILER NAMED IN MILK SUIT

PITTSBURGH — Specialty retailer McGinnis Sisters here was named along with milk supplier Pasture Maid Creamery in a lawsuit filed by a couple allegedly sickened by raw milk purchased at McGinnis Sisters' Mars, Pa., store. According to the complaint filed last week in Alleghany County Court, James Orchard and Maureen Orchard became ill as a result of drinking raw milk purchased March 16 from Pasture Maid. James Orchard developed a Campylobacter infection and remains hospitalized, but is expected to recover, reports said. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture last month said that the permit for Pasture Maid to sell raw milk for human consumption was suspended after tests found Campylobacter in samples.

FOOD LION ADDS COUPON KIOSKS

SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion here is rolling out new store kiosks that will generate and print out coupons for its shoppers based on their own shopping habits. The MVP Savings Center units were rolled out in around 100 Food Lion stores in the Charlotte market earlier this month, with further expansion planned in the weeks ahead, Christy Phillips-Brown, a Food Lion spokeswoman, told SN. The units are expected to debut in stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia this year. Customers swipe their MVP loyalty cards at the kiosks, which then searches for available offers based on purchasing habits. The coupons include offers of money off for their orders, as well as private- and national-brand product savings.

SHOPRITE, WAL-MART EYE BROOKLYN

NEW YORK — Food retailers ShopRite and Wal-Mart last week were said to be separately preparing to build new store sites in Brooklyn, though neither retailer had made an official announcement. ShopRite was named as a tenant in a plan by a developer selected to build a new retail project at the site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The project would redevelop a portion of a federally owned former shipbuilding site. A Wakefern Food Corp. spokeswoman told SN last week the retailer is interested in building a store at the Navy Yard but has not yet signed a lease. Reports of a potential arrival of Wal-Mart at a shopping center near Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn — also unconfirmed by Wal-Mart — drew strong reaction from local labor groups, which accused Wal-Mart and developers of subverting city officials in pursuit of its first New York City store.

HARPS' GIVEAWAY PROMOTES WEBSITE

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Harps Food Stores here is giving away gift cards daily and a $1,000 grand prize in a contest designed to draw shoppers to its revamped website. Shoppers who register on the website are eligible for daily drawings as well as a May 11 grand prize drawing, the retailer said. The event calls attention to a state-of-the-art website including an expanded recipe database and advanced weekly online ad.