News Briefs

Southeastern Grocers Inc. is launching its annual community donation program supporting nine children’s hospitals in the region. From now through April 25, shoppers at its banners Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie can donate $1 or $5 or round up their total grocery bill.

All donations will support local children’s hospital partners that provide crucial care for area children and their families. Participating hospitals include Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, Studer Family Children’s Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., Children’s of Alabama, Children’s of Mississippi and Ochsner Hospital for Children in New Orleans.

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Since Southeastern Grocers introduced the program in 2021, the retailer has raised more than $858,000 for its children’s hospital partners.

“At Southeastern Grocers, we are dedicated to giving back to our local communities and believe every child deserves access to the best possible care. We are proud to join like-minded individuals to make a significant impact in the lives of local children with this initiative. Our heartfelt hope is that, together, we can make a meaningful difference and support the invaluable work of these remarkable hospitals,” said Raymond Rhee, Southeastern Grocers’ chief people officer.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers is one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the United States, with more than 420 grocery stores, approximately 180 liquor stores and more than 230 in-store pharmacies serving communities throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The company is No. 39 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Insite AI, which offers category and assortment optimization solutions for large consumer brands, has tapped seasoned CPG pro Capri Brixey as its new EVP of strategy consulting.

Brixey joins Insite AI from The Coca Cola Co., where she was VP of sales and customer leadership. Her background also includes a five-year role at Keurig Dr Pepper, where she managed the national Kroger warehouse direct portfolio, and a tenure at Delhaize America/Food Lion, where she was an assistant category manager and competitive market analyst. In her role at Insite AI, Brixey will work with CPG executives to address issues such category strategies, revenue management, product affordability and availability.

Insite AI CEO Shaveer Mirpuri welcomed Brixey to the company, as it continues to add CPG leaders to its executive roster. “Capri’s renowned experience across channels in food and beverage makes her an invaluable asset to executives at large CPGs looking to solve today’s key problems. Insite AI is thrilled to provide our global top 50 brand partners with her market intelligence and history of driving difference-making change,” said Mirpuri.

“Whether it is a sales team, category advisory team, financial team or any business unit throughout the organization, every CPG company today is having to do more with less, but you cannot continue to apply the same legacy processes and expect to accelerate volume, achieve sales growth and become category leaders with fewer resources,” Brixey declared. “CPG companies have evolved so quickly in terms of technology and data usage, but they have not caught up with how to resource against those assets appropriately. AI is where CPGs need to evolve, and Insite AI is a critical piece of this evolution.”

Bee Cave, Texas-based Insite AI completed a $19 million Series A funding round last fall and reported it has tripled in revenue over the last 15 months.

The Save Mart Cos. is spotlighting some of California’s trailblazing women winemakers this month at several Save Mart and Lucky locations. Nearly 20 vintners will be represented as their women winemakers make special appearances at in-store tastings during the new “Women in Wine” series.

The series will take place at select Lucky and Save Mart stores in California’s Greater Bay Area and Central Valley from April 14-23. Vintners featured include Apothic, Bogle, Kendall Jackson, La Crema, Louis Martini, Oak Ridge and many more.

[Read more: "Save Mart to Close Lucky Store in SF Bay Area"]

“We are very proud of our longstanding relationships with these California vintners and pleased to feature these award-winning brands which are accessible and readily available to our shoppers every day,” said Jeff Feist, director of alcohol, wine and beer for The Save Mart Cos. “This is an exciting opportunity for our shoppers to visit ‘wine country’ inside our stores and enjoy a fun and educational tasting room experience while meeting creative and innovative women winemakers at their local Save Mart and Lucky grocery store.”

Based in Modesto, Calif., The Save Mart Cos. operates more than 200 retail stores under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx. The company also operates SMART Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries. Save Mart is No. 55 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Fresh Thyme Market is rolling out a new pickup service. The retailer is adding its own e-commerce offering, dubbed  "Real At Your Fingertips,” that gives shoppers access to the same prices as goods sold in its physical stores.

According to the retailer, orders are picked by team members who are trained to choose high-quality products that reflect its standards. Flexibility is part of the service, too, as customers have the ability to edit or cancel their order until the picking process begins.

[Read more: "Fresh Thyme Features Tiesta Tea Kiosk at All Stores"]

Shoppers pay a convenience fee of $1.95 for pickup orders over $35. Delivery of groceries from Fresh Thyme stores is already available through the third-party Instacart platform.

"We are excited to bring a more convenient way of shopping to our loyal and new customers with this e-commerce launch," said Liz Zolcak, president of Fresh Thyme Market. "We are proud to be able to bring our great in-store shopping experience to life, online. With our new appealing and convenient e-comm experience, we can provide more shoppers with savings without sacrificing quality or freshness."

This is the latest service that Fresh Thyme has added to enhance the shopper experience, whether in store or online. In March, Fresh Thyme became the first retailer to offer a smart shelf tag technology from the Learn & Earn program powered by Merryfield Rewards, to engage and educate shoppers about products at the point of sale.

With 71 stores in 10 states throughout the Midwest, Downers Grove, Ill.-based Fresh Thyme Market is No. 91 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Leon Levine, who founded the Family Dollar discount store chain, died earlier this month at 85, according to The Leon Levine Foundation, a philanthropic organization Levine later established. No cause of death was given.

A college dropout, Levine opened the first Family Dollar store in 1959 at the age 22 in Charlotte, N.C., with a cousin, selling clothes, cleaning supplies and staple items for less than $2, CNN reported. By 1969, the chain operated 50 stores across the rural South. It went public in 1970. When Levine retired from the company in the early 2000s, it had around 4,500 stores. Dollar Tree bought the chain in 2015 for nearly $9 billion, and more than 8,000 stores currently operate under the Family Dollar banner.

According to CNN, Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are now the fastest-growing U.S. retailers. 

After his retirement, Levine became a notable philanthropist, donating generously to universities, hospitals and Jewish organizations. As his death notice observed, “In the same way his style shaped Family Dollar Stores … he shaped what has become one of the most impactful philanthropic foundations in the Carolinas and the Southeast.”

Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree operated 16,293 stores under the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada banners across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of Oct. 29. The company is No. 29 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. With 19,147 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico, Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General is No. 15 on PG’s list.

Harris Teeter has revealed that it will offer a paid parental leave benefit to all full-time associates, effective immediately. Offering much-needed time off to bond with their child, the benefit provides parents four weeks of paid parental leave within the first 12 months after the birth or adoption of a child.

“Family is at the core of our business as our friendly associates serve millions of families every day with our fresh, high-quality product,” said Ted Harrington, VP of human resources. “Harris Teeter is committed to enriching the lives of our associates and their families, and we are proud to offer this new policy to demonstrate our support for working families.”

[Read more: “Harris Teeter Refreshes Brand Image”]

This benefit adds to Harris Teeter’s comprehensive compensation and benefit program, which includes competitive health care, life insurance, paid time off, education assistance and profit-sharing benefits.

“I’m incredibly proud to work for a company that is a champion for parents and families,” said LeAnn Sek, Harris Teeter’s Women Empowerment Group (WEG) co-chair and district manager. “When surveyed, our valued associates ranked paid parental leave as the No. 1 way Harris Teeter could better support parents throughout the organization, so I’m thrilled to see the policy be put into place.”

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co., which is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter employs 36,000 associates across more than 250 stores and 60 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.