Trading Partners

It's been a challenging year for dairy and frozen departments, with constantly rising costs and commodity prices leading to retail price hikes. How are the departments coping?

Store brand unit shares are growing, the market data firm reports, which means that shoppers are beginning to switch away from national brands.

Private label sales are going gangbusters nationally, but that’s no excuse for dropping the ball on high quality standards, cautioned Brian Sharoff, president of the Private Label Manufacturers Association, speaking at the trade association’s annual conference in Chicago this weekend.

The chairman said Loblaw is "preparing for a challenging close to the current year and start to the next."

While shrink as a percentage of total sales has dropped, the overall cost has jumped, and represents an annual "tax" on honest consumers of nearly $230 per household.

The trade association also approved the memberships of six companies, including Kroger.

The independent grocer was the only food retailer to make the Boston Globe's list, and ranked 26th overall.

Industry association vet named to lead the reusable packaging systems group.