GOODNIGHT 1999

David Merrefield

As the year draws to a close, SN, as usual, is taking a special look at the events of the year and what they mean for the industry, and its future. Take a look for yourself at this week's issue for the "Year in Review" logo that's inset into this column to get the full picture.

No doubt, when it comes to retail and financial news, the continuation of the trend toward consolidation was the big news of 1999, but more in the context of the aftermath of how some of the megadeals of 1998 played out. Much of the action also started to shift to the buyout of midsized companies by larger retailers.

A quick summary of this type of activity, as is outlined on Page 10, includes the closing of Albertson's buyout of American Stores Co. and of Kroger Co.'s buyout of Fred Meyer, Inc. Smaller deals by big players include the completion of Safeway's buyout of Randall's Food Markets and Carr Gottstein Foods Co. Pending for the new year is Food Lion's proposed buyout of Hannaford Bros.

Each section of this week's SN also features a review of what happened and what was important. Let's quickly review what you'll see in each section this week:

Technology Solutions: The big news is this section was -- what else? -- Y2K. The vexing date-related computer problem engendered much spending on many new systems. But maybe it wasn't all bad. At least the industry moves into the future with solid and up-to-date information systems.

Fresh Market: An eclectic suite of issues marked the year in fresh merchandising. Certainly, the outcry about food safety increased its crescendo. Other considerations included the move to specialty formats, the continued growth of destination departments in conventional stores and the profitability of perishable categories.

Center Store: This section remains at the core of food retailing, but it has seen more than its share of change this year. During the year, many retailers made changes concerning private label, ethnic foods and specialty categories. In all, it's indicative of a renewed commitment of catering to what consumers want.

Home & Health: The components of this section about non-edible products saw quite a bit of change too. One of the biggest was the advent and growth of DVD in video departments. The year now finishing will probably be regarded as the beginning of changes that will sweep supermarket video offerings. Many other stores expanded offerings in a bid to become a destination store. Categories involved include kitchenware, candle sets and office supplies.

So, in all, it was quite a year. Who knows what the new year holds? But one thing's for certain: At this time next year we'll probably consider it to have been quite eventful too.