PLEASANTON, CA – In its quest to gain regulatory approval for its pending merger with Albertsons, Safeway has completed the sale of roughly $830 million in real estate owned by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Property Development Centers (PDC), to Terramar Retail Centers.
According to a press release, the estimated total cash payment to Safeway stockholders for PDC is $2.45/share. $2.38 of this amount is estimated to be paid at the close of the merger. Contingent on approval from federal regulators, this deal is expected to close in January 2015.
In order to gain regulatory approval for this move, Safeway and Albertsons have launched a flurry of deals over the past month. The largest of these headlines was the retailers' 168 store sale to Associated Food Stores, Associated Wholesale Grocers, SUPERVALU and Haggen. This sale catapulted Haggen into the retail spotlight, expanding the company's store base from less than 20 stores to 164.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more updates on Safeway and the North American retail game.
DALLAS, TX - Avocados from Mexico (AFM) is extending its Guac Fiesta campaign to reach the Hispanic trade in key markets.
From January 1 to February 1, 2015, the Guac Fiesta program will target 1,000 Hispanic chain stores and independents throughout California, Arizona, Texas, Chicago, New York, and Miami. The program will feature a mobile sweepstakes and an AFM coupon offer that also gives shoppers a fun new recipe to try, according to a press release.
“Guac Fiesta is a great way to reach the bicultural Hispanic who loves American football,” said Stephanie Bazan, AFM’s Hispanic Marketing Director. “Last year was the first year the Big Game was broadcast in Spanish and the sport is a great way to engage Hispanics during the top U.S. occasion in which guacamole is consumed.”
Retailers will receive support such as tear pad coupons and in-store purchase coupons to promote the product and ultimately increase consumption of avocados from Mexico.
The interest in NFL football and college football among Hispanics has increased between the years of 2010 and 2014, according to Experien Simmons data. In addition, data from Nielsen revealed that though the amount of Spanish speaking Hispanics that watch the NFL has increased, the majority of Hispanics who watch the NFL are bi-cultural and English speaking.
There’s no better time than now to start gearing up for prime football season.
Carroll Little Kester, the retired President & CEO of the Piggly Wiggly Corporation, has passed away at the age of 89.
Born in Concord, North Carolina, Carroll was the son of the late Rev. Dr. Moses Lee and Annie Melinda Little Kester.
He graduated from Newberry College with a Bachelor of Science and attended the University of South Carolina for post-graduate study before beginning his career at Piggly Wiggly. On November 27, 1955, Carroll married Kay Frances Milhouse.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Kay; son, Anthony Carroll Kester (Rita), of Columbia; grandchildren, Elliott Paul Kester and Stephen Carroll Kester, of Columbia; and sister, Mary Elliott, of Aiken. He was preceded in death by brothers, Virgil Kester and John Kester, and sister, Ruth Davis.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1500 Sunset Blvd., W. Columbia, SC 29169, Newberry College, 2100 College Street, Newberry, SC 29108 or the charity of one’s choice.
AndNowUKnow would like to offer its deepest condolences to Carroll’s family and friends.
PORTERVILLE, CA - As 2014 comes to a close, Homegrown Organic Farms is reflecting on another successful year of expansion and evolution, while also looking ahead to a promising 2015.
“As a company dedicated to organic produce we are one of the few growers able to provide a one-stop-organic-shop all year round. From blueberries and stonefruit in the summer, to specialty fall fruit and citrus in the winter, we always have something to offer for any retailers looking to grow in the organic category,” Cherie France, Homegrown’s Marketing Manager, tells me.
2014 has marked a bustling year for Homegrown, full of countless growth opportunities for both new and existing customers, growers, and products. The company continues to see an increase in excitement and commitment from retailer partners looking to enhance their organic programs.
“Over the next 18 months we have significant growth slated for the organic citrus category with new grower partnerships, and newly converted organic acreage. We hope to feature the most complete full-line organic citrus program in the U.S.,” Cherie notes. “Homegrown remains committed to our customers and our growers and hope to better serve both, through the anticipated growth along with everything that 2015 has in store.”
The beginning of December marked a great start to Homegrown’s full citrus offerings for the 2014/2015 winter season to further complement the growing momentum of organic produce.
Current production includes Organic Navels, Cara Caras, Lemons, Grapefruit, Pummelos, Clementines, and Limes (imported from Mexico under its Bella Terra Organics label). The company will begin its W. Murcotts in February and Gold Nuggets in March.
The company is looking forward to another bright year as one of the organic industry’s leading fresh fruit growers and marketers.
MIAMI, FL – Since its launch, ONE. The Better Banana Company has obtained distribution in several different regions including the West Coast, the Gulf Region and the Mid Atlantic.
As we previously reported, ONE BANANA is the latest venture from AgroAmerica. It is currently the only family-owned, vertically-integrated, from farm-to-store, banana company doing business in the United States where consumers are able to see bananas branded with the same company that farmed them, transported them to retailers and marketed them.
Through AgroAmerica, ONE BANANA has helped over 60,000 people in 60 different communities in Guatemala, according to a press release. The company has done this through a variety of efforts including:
- Offering 9 onsite medical clinics, staffed by full-time nurses
- Partnering with the University of Colorado and investing $2 million to build and manage a Human Development Center that offers maternity services, general medical services, pediatric and dental care, and aims to serve 5,000 families and 30,000 rural people within Guatemala
- Offering its own private school for the employees' children
- In partnership with USAID, donating 700 water filters to local communities within Guatemala since August
- Launching its Happy Families Program (a food and security parent training program created to reduce infant mortality and malnutrition) which has helped over 12,000 people
- Paying its employees a living wage and setting its own minimum salary as a company, which is higher than the minimum wage set by the government
- Donating over 375,000 bananas in 2014 to children in rural Guatemalan schools
- Creating the Local Coordinator for Disaster Reduction to support local communities in disaster preparedness
Starting in January 2015, AgroAmerica will begin a formal partnership with Water and Sanitation Health, a non-profit that helps bring clean drinking water to communities in Guatemala. Also in 2015, the company will be implementing a healthy school snack program for children.
It is always great to see companies in our industry going the extra mile to improve the lives of others. Great job, AgroAmerica!
IMMOKALEE, FL - Lipman Produce is showing its support for family literacy this holiday season with a $10,000 donation to the Collier County Housing Authority’s Family Literacy Academy of Immokalee.
As Lipman explained, the company has a particular interest in youth education, having donated more than $150,000 to educational and life-bettering causes over the past two years. In August alone, Lipman distributed 1,400 backpacks full of school supplies to Immokalee children.
Managed by Jump Start, the Family Literacy Academy of Immokalee provides full-service family literacy programs to Immokalee families with children through age five. Classes are structured to involve the whole family and include:
- Preschool instruction and educational play (age: 0 to 5)
- Classes in English as a second language
- Reading and parenting classes for adults
Great work this holiday season, Lipman Produce!
HOUSTON, TX - While Sysco and US Foods are hard at work to gain regulatory approval from the FTC for their proposed $3.5 billion merger agreement, analysts are beginning to voice concerns that the gap between the two parties may be too large to bridge.
As the only two companies with national distribution services to hospitals, restaurants and schools, Sysco and US Foods have proposed selling assets to Performance Food Group (PFG) in order to alleviate monopolistic concerns. Analysts quoted in Reuters point out, however, that PFG lacks a strong presence in the western United States, the home of many of the distribution centers Sysco and US Foods are looking to sell.
Andre Barlow of Doyle, Barlow and Mazard PLLC shares that product avaliability may also be a concern. Sysco and US Foods both offer over 350,000 different products for sale. PFG only offers 150,000.
"That seems like a big discrepancy," he said. "If you want to restore that lost competition, you want someone to also provide those SKUs."
"They [the FTC] will take this seriously," agreed Carl Hittinger, an antitrust expert with Baker Hostetler.
Bob Goldin, EVP of the consulting firm Technomic, cautions not to count PFG out too quicky, however.
"If it's an available item, a powerful enough customer can pull the product through the system,” he explained to Reuters. “It's all about leverage."
Sysco and US Foods' latest offer would involve the sale of $5 billion worth of assets. Whether this will be enough will be up to the FTC to decide. To keep up to date with the latest, make sure you stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Federal mediators have offered to assist in negotiations to resolve the labor dispute between longshoremen and shipping lines that has disrupted movement of goods through West Coast ports.
The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announced yesterday that it would reach out promptly to both sides. No scheduled talks were immediately announced.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) asked for the mediators to help in negotiations after seven months of contract gridlock.
A spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) stated that its negotiators have not requested federal mediation, according to KPCC. At this stage, without an agreement from both sides, federal mediation cannot begin.
This news of potential federal mediation comes after U.S. Senators from California, Oregon and Washington urged leaders from the ILUW and the PMA to continue to work together toward a fair and amicable settlement.
The dockworkers have currently been working without a contract since July, while management and the union have been throwing public accusations at each other.
For now, it is unclear when talks, with the help of the mediators, will take place. Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow this ongoing situation.
PELION, SC - WP Rawl is taking the holidays to heart this season with a generous donation of fresh produce to Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia, SC. Last week, the company donated 500 mixed gift boxes of fresh produce to Harvest Hope which included apples, oranges, regular and sweet potatoes, celery & onion mix, collards, butternut squash, cabbage, squash, and zucchini, according to a press release.
This is just one of many ways that WP Rawl has helped Harvest Hope throughout the year. Last summer for example, the grower hosted the Katie’s Krops Camp at its headquarters, which included a service project at the food bank. The campers built a raised bed-vegetable garden with 12 beds and various types of vegetables per bed to serve as a sustainable source of fresh produce for Harvest Hope.
“As a family and as a company, it is important to us to share with our global and local communities,” said Ashley Rawl, Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Product Development at WP Rawl. “It is so satisfying to see that the Harvest Hope staff and volunteers have enjoyed maintaining the raised beds that the Katie’s Krops campers built this summer and we are happy to continue to help them in various ways throughout the year.”
Harvest Hope CEO Denise Holland showed her appreciation for the benevolence WP Rawl has shown the food bank this year. “This donation of packed fruits and vegetables for our clients during the Christmas season is such a thoughtful and generous gift; these boxes will be used throughout our Emergency Food Pantries and Mobile Food Pantries. Having fresh fruit and vegetables is very important to our clients at this time of year and some have little to no access to it otherwise. I am so thankful for the support from WP Rawl for their help in providing delicious, fresh produce to struggling families in our community.”
We’d like to thank WP Rawl for helping increase fresh produce consumption during the holidays and throughout the year.
SALINAS, CA - Mann Packing is debuting a new packaging line for its vegetable trays this holiday season, complete with seasonal Winter graphics.
Available in both 18-ounce and 40-ounce sizes in the United States and Canada, the trays will be marketed through February. According to Mann's, they are poised to offer incremental sales for retailers and a tempting offer for consumers looking to entertain during the holiday season.
Also released this holiday season is the latest edition of Mann's popular Girlfriends Guide for Moms electronic brochure. Available for download on the company's website, Facebook page and Twitter account, the publication is an important part of Mann's “Moms Helping Moms” initiative.
“The Holiday Guide was created to provide moms with fun, festive healthy recipes and entertaining ideas in one printable brochure so they can serve a great meal and enjoy the holidays at the same time,” said Gina Nucci, Director of Healthy Culinary Innovation. “Knowing how easy it is to get caught up in the chaos of the season, we’ve put together some easy holiday recipes that everyone will love.”
“Bon appétit and happy holidays busy moms,” Nucci added. “We’ll get through this holiday season together and create some beautiful memories along the way.”
The holiday inspired recipes in the publication feature Mann's pre-packaged, ready-to-eat/use premium fresh vegetables, including:
- Butternut squash
- Broccolini®
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli Cole Slaw
Great work this holiday season, Mann Packing!