Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MarginMAX’s software platform more than doubles Storewise’s visibility into store operations through DSD item coverage and the vendor portal that already includes more than 600 registered vendors. As a result, more items are captured and analyzed within the Storewise platform, generating greater results and profitability. As part of the Storewise platform, independent grocers will gain the capability to optimize pricing, movement and margins for every item in the store.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome MarginMAX to Storewise,” said Christopher Greco, president and CEO.

“The acquisition underscores our commitment to equip independent grocers with a simple, unified software platform to optimize their operations. MarginMAX perfectly complements our platform, enabling independent grocers to manage both DSD and wholesaler items. The MarginMax team also brings greater wholesale and retail operator know-how to Storewise.”

The addition of MarginMAX further strengthens its position as a platform for independent grocers. The combined platform enhances the capabilities of the pricing, risk and sales reporting solution and allows customers to automate discount configuration and price optimization with more wholesalers and DSD vendors.

“MarginMAX and Storewise have a common goal of empowering independent grocers, which makes this combination a perfect match,” said Steve Miller, CEO of MarginMAX.

“We are eager to integrate our expertise in vendor management into Storewise’s platform and look forward to bringing even more value to our customers in the independent grocery sector.”

MarginMAX is Storewise’s first acquisition since Nexa Equity, an application software and fintech-focused private equity firm, invested in the company. The MarginMAX management team will join Storewise. Greco and management will lead the combined entity.

“This strategic combination furthers Storewise’s mission to develop a unified, end-to-end platform for independent grocers,” said Vlad Besprozvany, founder and managing partner of Nexa Equity. “We foresee this as the first of many strategic initiatives to empower independent grocers with enhanced technology.”

For more information, visit storewise.io.

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Pasch will play a role in advancing the company’s merchandising transformation, developing strategy and driving results in a major segment of SpartanNash’s business.

“Brandon is a skilled leader in merchandising, with extensive experience across many categories within the retail and grocery industry,” said Bennett Morgan, SVP and chief merchandising officer.

“We’re thrilled to have his unique perspective and unyielding work ethic to help improve the in-store guest experience at our retail locations and for our independent wholesale customers.”

Pasch joins the team following the recent hire of Arpen Shah as VP of merchandising strategy and analytics, last month. These additions reflect the company’s commitment to its merchandising transformation, which leverages key insights to drive enhanced category planning, promotional effectiveness and customer-centric innovation.

The company recently shared it has entered the next phase of its merchandising transformation, and Pasch’s leadership will be pivotal.

Pasch most recently served as VP of merchandising, center store at Giant Eagle Inc., a supermarket chain with more than 400 retail locations. Prior to Giant Eagle, Pasch held leadership roles in merchandising, planning and buying at Meijer and Target. He also served as a financial analyst at Ford.

SpartanNash has a diverse group of national accounts, distributing grocery and household goods, including its Our Family portfolio of products, to locations in all 50 states, in addition to distributing to the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan.

To support its distribution business, it operates a network of distribution facilities and a nationwide transportation fleet. In addition, the company owns and operates 147 supermarkets – under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets and D&W Fresh Market.

For more information about the distributor, visit spartannash.com.

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On June 9, the store will hold an open house and ribbon cutting from 1-6 p.m. with representatives from the mayor’s office and the EDC of Fosston. The retailer will have samples available in every department, as well as prize giveaways, 25-cent root beer floats, cake and ice cream. It will also have a beer tasting at its Bistro’s outdoor beer garden and a photo opportunity with the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

North Dakota-based Hugo’s Family Marketplace, along with Hugo’s Family Pharmacy, Bistro 300, Hugo’s Wine & Spirits and the Hugo’s Xpress Gas Station/Convenience Store, offers items for every customer. The produce, meat, deli and bakery departments offer a wide selection of fresh product.

During the three-week grand opening celebration, customers can register in the Fosston store for a chance to win a Samsung Smart TV or a Pit Boss Smoker with an “Ultimate Meat Bundle.”

All customers can register at any Hugo’s Family Marketplace for a chance to win more prizes. Hugo’s Wine & Spirits and Hugo’s Xpress will also be giving away additional prizes. There will be samples in every department, with all Hugo’s Family Marketplace locations joining in the celebration.  

“We are beyond excited to join the Fosston community,” said Kristi Magnuson Nelson, Hugo’s president and CEO.

“The store, our associates, the community and everyone we have met are outstanding. We welcome everyone to check us out and look forward to making new friends as we continue to serve the Fosston community for many years to come.”

For more information about the store and the services it offers, visit gohugos.com/fosston.

To read more independent store news from The Shelby Report, click here.

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Throughout tournament week on June 15-18, Meijer will collaborate with local, diverse-owned food and beverage restaurants and vendors to supply experiences for spectators.

“Our purpose at Meijer is to enrich lives in the communities we serve, and we believe supplier diversity plays a vital role,” said Carla Hendon, director of supplier diversity and indirect procurement.

“By partnering with diverse restaurants at the Meijer LPGA Classic, we aren’t just supporting their founders, we’re intentionally helping to grow their communities with the thousands of spectators who attend the tournament.”

Food and beverage offerings will include Tuscan Mediterranean salad, jerk chicken puffs and specialty items from Soldadera Coffee, Rani Indian Catering and Pochi’s Sweet Designs. Restaurants new to J. Brewer’s in 2023 include Irie Kitchen, Monsoon and Tacos El Cunado. For a full list of restaurant partners, click here.

In addition to the diverse food and beverage offerings, the Meijer LPGA Classic is excited to welcome the John Shippen National Women’s Golf Invitational champion as a sponsor exemption into the 2023 tournament. That event will also be held at Blythefield Country Club on June 6-7 and is named for the first Black professional golfer in the U.S.

“We’re excited to welcome back so many diverse-owned restaurants to this year’s tournament – and invite new ones – to partner with us to share their wonderful menus and expand upon the traditional offerings typically seen at golf events,” said Cathy Cooper, executive director.

The 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic will host a field of 144 of the best female golfers for 72 holes of stroke play over four days of competition. Proceeds from the tournament – and each of the week’s festivities – will benefit the Meijer Simply Give program that feeds families by restocking the shelves of food pantries across the Midwest.

The 2022 tournament raised $1.25 million for local food pantries. In total, the eight tournaments combined have generated more than $8.65 million for the hunger relief program. Additionally, Meijer also donated $25,000 to a hunger relief organization of tournament champion Jennifer Kupcho’s choice. She selected Grand Rapids-based Kids’ Food Basket as a thank you to her host family, who had ties to the organization.

For more information on the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give or to purchase tickets, visit meijerLPGAclassic.com.

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Work to clear the site will begin this month and a groundbreaking ceremony will take place in early 2024.

“Communities depend on a local grocer to offer high quality products and unmatched service. Fareway values the communities and people it serves, and we look forward to building a new Fareway store in Story City,” said CEO Reynolds W. Cramer. “We want to thank city officials and economic development for helping make this project possible.”

Fareway provides customers with full-service butcher counters, as well as a large grocery selection with farm-fresh produce, healthy varieties, locally-sourced items and a variety of craft beers, fine wines and spirits.

The location will have FastLanes, a self-service checkout option, and online ordering with curbside pickup available at shop.fareway.com.

“This is a significant win for Story City. There was a lot of hard work and dedication from the Story Economic Development Corporation over the past two years to get us here today,” said Story Economic Development Corporation President Tyler Frederiksen.

“This happened while working with amazing partners, which include the Story City Mayor and Council and the Ames EDC. We look forward to having Fareway be part of the Story City community and continuing the mission of Story City, the best place to live, work, and do business.”

Fareway Stores Inc. operates 135 stores in a seven-state region. The stores are known for its meat departments, farm-fresh produce and curbside delivery customer service. Fareway is a family-owned business, recognized as a top 10 employer in Iowa and has more than 12,000 employees.

For more independent store news by The Shelby Report, click here.

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From convenience items such as prepared foods, snacks and drinks to grocery staples and household essentials, Aldi Express gives customers access to about 2,000 popular ALDI items, delivered in as fast as 30-minutes. Aldi Express convenience delivery is available to customers from more than 2,100 Aldi locations across the country.

“We know our customers live hectic lives, and sometimes that means they don’t have time to make it to the grocery store – even for a quick trip. Through Aldi Express, we’re making shopping more convenient so you can satisfy a craving or get a missing ingredient in minutes,” said Scott Patton, VP of national buying.

“Together with Instacart, we’ll continue to find ways to innovate and make the online grocery experience even more effortless and accessible.”

Aldi began offering delivery services through Instacart in 2017. Instacart delivers from more than 2,200 Aldi stores and powers pickup for more than 1,500 Aldi stores nationwide. The companies expanded their partnership in 2018 to include alcohol delivery, and Aldi was one of the first retailers to accept EBT SNAP online through Instacart in November 2020.

“We’re proud to deepen our partnership with Aldi through the introduction of Aldi Express. With this launch, we’re making it easier for customers nationwide to get their favorite Aldi staples delivered faster than ever before,” said Ryan Hamburger, VP of retail at Instacart.

“We know how important it is to get what you need when you want it – whether it’s a last-minute delivery for a missing dinner ingredient, milk for the baby or simply wanting a late-night snack.”

To place an order and learn more about Aldi Express powered by Instacart, visit instacart.com/store/aldi-express/storefront or Instacart’s Convenience Hub at instacart.com/store/hub/convenience.

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“Our new location will serve as the gateway to the Norwalk Central development in the heart of the city and we want to thank city officials for their commitment to growth with Fareway,” said Reynolds W. Cramer, CEO.

“We look forward to continuing to serve area residents with a larger, updated shopping experience with improved access and aesthetics.”

Site work has begun, with anticipated construction completion in early 2024. The new, larger store will feature a modern look, with additional natural lighting and improved aesthetics, better access and parking and energy efficiencies, such as rooftop solar panels.

“Fareway has been a longstanding and valuable asset to the community of Norwalk,” said Tom Phillips, mayor.

“We are grateful for their commitment to Norwalk, the high-quality goods and services they provide, and the investment they’re making that will benefit all residents and visitors for years to come. This new Fareway store will be a great cornerstone for the entryway into Norwalk Central.”

The new location will provide customers with fresh meat, a butcher counter, farm-fresh produce, competitive prices and services, including carryout.

In addition, the new store will continue to offer FastLanes, a self-service checkout option, and curbside pick-up, available at shop.fareway.com.

“All around our city, you can see Fareway’s impact,” said Norwalk Area Chamber of Commerce President Travis Stanley.

“Fareway not only provides Norwalk with groceries, but they help create a wonderful community by sponsoring events, providing space for numerous fundraisers, donating to local causes, and making you feel at home every time you enter. We are so proud to have Fareway as a long-time Chamber member, and we are excited to see their impact grow.”

Also, Fareway has partnered with the City of Norwalk and Heartland Sports Properties on multi-year, exclusive naming rights opportunities at Norwalk Central Sports Campus. The outdoor turf fields will be known as “Fareway Fields” and the indoor basketball/volleyball court at the fieldhouse will be named “Fareway Court.”

Fareway Stores Inc. is a growing Midwest grocery company, operating 135 stores in a seven-state region. Fareway is a family-owned business, recognized as a top 10 employer in Iowa and has more than 12,000 employees.

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Since 2019, Tony the Tiger and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes have embarked on a mission to give more kids access to the benefits of sports with the launch of Mission Tiger, an initiative to help save middle schools sports. Meijer and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes are joining forces to bring the mission to the Michigan community by helping fund the purchase of new sports equipment at Waverly Middle School through DonorsChoose.

“At Meijer, our mission is to enrich lives in the communities we serve, and as a family company, supporting kids is so important to us,” said Calli Schmid, VP of merchandising.

“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Mission Tiger to make a larger local impact and help children have more opportunities to take part in school sports.”

Representatives from both companies will attend a school assembly at Waverly Middle School, where students will celebrate the donation with a teacher versus student basketball game and receive Mission Tiger jerseys and goodie bags.

“Tony and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes have always believed in the power of sport. When we learned that middle school sports are disappearing, we knew something needed to be done,” said Amy Davis, VP sales account at Kellogg Co.

“We are thrilled to announce this donation to help support local middle school sports, thanks to support from Meijer. Together, we can help all kids play like tigers.”

Since it began, Mission Tiger has helped more than 1 million kids across the country by repaving courts, refurbishing sports facilities, providing new training equipment and more. Fans can help schools in their communities by joining the mission, grabbing a box of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and uploading their receipt to MissionTiger.com to spark a $2 donation to DonorsChoose.

Mission Tiger is part of Kellogg’s Better Days Promise strategy, which aims to create better days for 3 billion people by 2030.

For more information about the companies, visit meijer.com or kelloggcompany.com.

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Customers who visit any participating SpartanNash-owned retail stores including Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, D&W Fresh Market, Forest Hills Foods and fuel centers during the fundraiser can choose to donate $1, $5 or $10 at checkout or round up their totals to the nearest dollar. Online donations are also possible through Fast Lane.

All funds raised during the fundraiser will be equally distributed among the three nonprofits.

“Thanks to the generosity of our store guests and our Associates, we are honored to extend the spirit of Memorial Day to support our troops, Veterans, their families and those in need,” said SpartanNash EVP and Chief Customer Officer David Sisk, who also serves on the board of directors for Honor and Remember.

“Our trio of partners make a difference for our heroes and their families every day, and we are incredibly proud to support and elevate their life-enhancing work.”

Since 2015, SpartanNash and its communities have provided $2 million in donations to patriotic and hero partners through the SpartanNash Foundation. The recipient organizations benefiting from this fundraiser will provide support to people in need, including providing disaster response, honoring fallen service members and offering financial aid and support to military families.

“We cannot thank SpartanNash enough for their generosity and support of Honor and Remember over the past seven years. Their support is instrumental in recognizing our nation’s fallen heroes and their family’s enduring sacrifice,” said George Lutz, Honor and Remember founder, who will spend time visiting store guests and employees ahead of the fundraiser.

“Because of their store guests’ generosity, we have fulfilled countless flag requests for Gold Star Families. We look forward to continuing the patriotism, honor and remembrance tradition with SpartanNash.”

To learn more about the SpartanNash Foundation and its impact, visit spartannash.com/foundation.

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To celebrate the grand opening, a celebration featuring a “bread breaking” ceremony, vendor sampling, specialty presentations, giveaways and drawings was held on May 24 to officially welcome Carmel guests to The Fresh Market. The store will be offering special deals and promotions throughout Memorial Day weekend.

The store, located at 1392 S. Rangeline Road, offers a selection of fresh produce, meats, seafood and bakery items, as well as a variety of prepared foods, a large gourmet cheese selection and wines. It features a floral department and a center store culinary kitchen called The Square. Guests can shop a made-to-order station featuring hot soups, customizable burrito bowls and wraps, torta and Cuban sandwiches and build your own salads.

Guests can also choose from an assortment of fresh hot foods including roasted salmon, in-house slow roasted pulled pork with signature sauce, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, in-house fried chicken and hot sides. All items are created with distinct flavors, fresh ingredients and recipes developed by The Fresh Market. Customers can also visit The Fresh Market’s $0.99 Coffee by the Cup, which offers an array of curated flavors, including seasonal blends.⁠

“We’re proud to expand in the Carmel community and provide guests with an inspired, unique shopping experience that will pique the interest of food lovers,” said Jason Potter, CEO of The Fresh Market.

“Our team has worked hard to create a store that not only offers the freshest and highest-quality products, but also provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere for our guests.”

Guests will also be able to sign up and start saving with The Fresh Market’s The Ultimate Loyalty Experience. Members of the program can take advantage of loaded and curated member-only loyalty offers, digital coupons and “The Club Hub” purchase frequency programs, which allow guests to earn free items or dollars off items and a free slice of “Ultimate Birthday Cake” during the member’s birthday month.

The new store is open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. seven days a week. Customers can also shop online with curbside pickup or home delivery through The Fresh Market’s website or mobile app.

In addition, The Fresh Market supports the communities it serves through Feeding America food banks. The new store in Carmel has partnered with the Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana to donate food to people in need.

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