Trading Partners

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- As one of the first M&A deals in what is expected to be an active year for M&A activity in the retail food sector in the coming year, Fresh Brands, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of the Chicago-based grocery wholesale cooperative, Certified Grocers Midwest, Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately $100 million.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--ACNielsen U.S. said yesterday it had completed the expansion of its Homescan consumer panel, the end of a two-year initiative that has more than doubled the size of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry's leading source of consumer and shopper insights.

WASHINGTON -- A new report released yesterday by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM) here claimed food and beverage marketing aimed at kids points them to high-calorie, low-nutrient products. In the industry's defense, GMA, meanwhile, claimed its members were already doing many things to offer kids healthy choices.

PARIS -- Carrefour Group, the world's second-largest retailer, with annual revenues of more than $110 billion, plans to deploy an enterprisewide data management suite for strategic corporate and operating company data management across its four largest markets, called the G4 Group.

NEW YORK -- Although organic and functional foods have generated a healthy amount of interest in the United States in recent years, these categories still have a lot of room to grow -- especially when compared to other markets around the globe. That's the conclusion of global consumer and marketplace information provider ACNielsen, which released results from a new global online survey yesterday.

SCARBOROUGH, Maine -- Hannaford Brothers Co. has successfully implemented the IBM System z9 mainframe as the nerve center of its on-demand supply chain for over 300 retail stores and five major distribution centers. The new system is the culmination of a three-year, $1.2-billion development effort involving 5,000 IBM engineers, software developers, and security experts worldwide.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- Piggly Wiggly and Fresh Brands here have pledged 1million pounds of food donations to the Hunger Task Force through a new yearlong "Stomp Out Hunger" campaign.

ISSIQUAH, Wash. -- Following a successful pilot earlier this year, warehouse club retailer Costco Wholesale and marketing information company Information Resources, Inc. have fully deployed the Costco Collaborative Retail Exchange (CRX) program across Costco's major food and nonfood departments in the United States.