Whole Foods Market turns 30 this September, celebrating three decades of offering the highest quality natural and organic foods and supporting organic agriculture, environmental stewardship and local producers.  With a birthday bash at its world headquarters and festivities at all of its stores, Whole Foods Market will acknowledge not only its past accomplishments, but also future food, farming and environmental initiatives for healthier communities and planet.

Nineteen Team Members helped open Whole Foods Market in Austin on September 20, 1980, with a simple goal of providing a more natural alternative to conventional grocery offerings. At the same time, the organization that became the Organic Trade Association was established, giving the organic movement new momentum.  After Whole Foods Market was in business for a decade, U.S. organic retail sales reached $1 billion in 1990; today these sales represent a $24 billion industry.  America’s first National Certified Organic Grocer, Whole Foods Market today employs more than 55,000 Team Members in its 298 stores in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom and reached sales of $8 billion in 2009.

“Whole Foods Market was started to offer people healthy, high quality food in its purest state, and we’re still committed to that mission 30 years later,” said co-founder and co-CEO John Mackey.  ”It has been extremely rewarding to see that Whole Foods Market is much more than a grocery store to our shoppers and our Team Members.  It is a catalyst for helping make our world a better place to live. We now have the scale, visibility and opportunity to have a larger influence than ever before.”

In a recent online survey conducted in June by Harris Interactive® for Whole Foods Market, more than four-fifths of Baby Boomers say they are now more concerned with the foods they eat (84 percent), read nutrition labels more closely today (84%) and have a better understanding of how their food is produced (83 percent) than they did three decades ago.

World Headquarters Birthday Bash & Store Celebrations

To commemorate its 30th birthday, 30 shoppers (and their guests) were selected from more than 5,600 entries from the Company’s “A Heart as Big as Texas” short essay contest to win a trip to Whole Foods Market’s world headquarters in Austin for an expense-paid VIP culinary weekend, September 17-19, presented by Texas Tourism, JetBlue Airways and Radisson Austin.  The winners, who will enjoy a weekend of parties, events and culinary delights, include:

All 298 stores companywide will also celebrate this milestone with parties and events from September 17-20.  Visit local store web pages to learn about their 30th birthday festivities at wholefoodsmarket.com/stores

To celebrate the one year anniversary of eValues, Sam’s Club is giving all members a chance to try the program for six days in September. During the event, Sam’s Club is offering more than $300 worth of eValues on more than a dozen items, and giving all of its members access to Early Shopping Hours beginning at 7 a.m. daily except on Sundays. Early Shopping Hours are another benefit of being a Plus Member at Sam’s Club.

“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the one year anniversary of eValues than to give all 47 million members a chance to try eValues,” said Cindy Davis, executive vice president, Membership, Marketing and Dotcom at Sam’s Club. “We want to appreciate our members, and show them how simple it is to save even more money year-round.”

The additional savings are on products in several categories from everyday needs such as $2 off Tide detergent to fresh items such as $1 off red seedless grapes to electronics — including $100 off an HP Desktop or Laptop. To learn more about the special anniversary eValues offers and items, visit samsclub.com/evaluescelebration. Existing Plus Members will receive these extra eValues, in addition to their personalized discounts loaded onto their account. Multiple redemptions are not permitted and sales are limited while supplies last.

Since the launch of eValues last August, Sam’s Club estimates it is has offered more than $3.2 billion in additional savings to its Plus Members. On average, members who take advantage of eValues offers save nearly 20 percent on the featured items, over and above the 30% savings they receive every day**.

Plus Membership at Sam’s Club costs $100 annually and, in addition to eValues and Early Shopping Hours, benefits include up to 2 percent cash back on any purchase anywhere when using a Sam’s Club Discover Card as well as other privileges. Non-members who join Sam’s Club Sept. 1-6 at any membership level will also get the special anniversary offers.

Beginning August 30, every time Kroger customers in the area make a purchase with their Kroger Plus Card, they not only save money on their grocery bill but also earn Fuel Points that can be used at the pump. Kroger customers have the opportunity to redeem 100 points per visit to save 10 cents per gallon instantly at Kroger Fuel Centers and now at participating Shell stations. This offer is valid up to 35 gallons per fuel purchase.

“Adding value and savings is an important part of Kroger’s commitment to providing our customers the best possible shopping experience,” said Bill Breetz, president of the Kroger Southwest Division. “In today’s economic times, it’s more important than ever for companies like Kroger and Shell to join forces to offer our customers optimum savings and rewards.”

“We are excited to be teaming up with Kroger to help fill customers’ gas tanks for less,” said Dan Little, North America fuels marketing manager for Shell Oil Products U.S. “With 82 Kroger stores throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area and more than 400 conveniently located participating Shell stations nearby, it’s never been easier for customers to save on high-quality Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines.”

Customers earn one Fuel Point for every dollar spent on most items when they use their Kroger Plus Card during shopping trips at participating Kroger stores. To help shoppers build up their savings quickly, additional Fuel Points can be earned by purchasing prescriptions or gift cards at Kroger. Customers earn 50 Fuel Points for each filled eligible prescription and two Fuel Points for every dollar spent on third-party gift cards from Kroger’s in-store Gift Card Malls. Shoppers can visit any Kroger store for more details. Fuel Points will be automatically added to Kroger Plus Card accounts and will be reflected on customers’ grocery receipt after every purchase. Customers also have the option of looking online on their “My Kroger” page at www.kroger.com to check how many Fuel Points they have earned. Fuel Points must be used during the month they are earned or by the end of the following calendar month.

Customers may redeem their Fuel Points at Kroger Fuel Centers or participating Shell stations by using their Kroger Plus Card at the pump, manually entering their card number or entering their alternate ID, which will initiate the fuel savings. Customers with questions about the grocer rewards program can call Kroger Customer Service at 1-800-576-4377, or they can contact Shell Customer Service at 1-888-GO-SHELL for assistance identifying participating Shell locations.

For additional information, please visit www.shell.us/kroger or www.kroger.com/fuel.

“Prevention is a top healthcare priority at Target and we’re committed to helping guests stay healthy throughout the year. This cold and flu season Target will be the complete prevention destination,” says Keri Jones, senior vice president, merchandising, Target. “Our guests can feel confident that they will save time and money by visiting Target for flu shots, over-the-counter and prescription medications and sound advice from healthcare professionals they can trust.”

This year’s flu vaccine provides protection against both the seasonal flu and H1N1 virus. All flu vaccinations will be administered by Target pharmacists and Target Clinic providers and available during regular Target Pharmacy and Target Clinic hours, including weekday evenings and weekends. No appointment is needed. Guests can visit Target.com/flu for the hours of their nearest Target Pharmacy or Target Clinic. Target Pharmacy and Target Clinic accept many major insurance plans, which may cover the full cost of the flu vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the flu vaccine for everyone six months and older. Additional information on how to stay healthy throughout cold and flu season is available at Target.com/flu.

ShopRite

The

retailer is offering a $2 shopping discount to all those who create an account at shoprite.com by providing their email and other information.

The company plans to demo new grocery products in licensed Starbucks cafes located inside food retail locations like Target.

Safeway adds kid’s bakery.

Safeway has added a “kids” section to its in-store bakeries, according to the Safeway blog.

The section is filled with cupcakes and small and large cakes that have children-appealing designs, according to the blog, written by “Bob,” who is described as a 40-year Safeway bakery veteran.

As an example of store offerings, the blog includes a picture of small and large cupcakes with cat and dog designs.

In other bakery news, Safeway is building its cupcake business. It now has about 20 different designs for “cupcake” cakes, which is when cupcakes are arranged to form a cake.

“I think you will be impressed with the designs and as always with the quality,” Bob wrote in a previous blog.

Kroger energy savings can power Memphis for a year!

Kroger’s report includes updates in many areas, including the company’s four core priorities:

• Reducing its carbon footprint, especially by decreasing energy usage;
• Eliminating and recycling waste including reducing plastic bag use;
• Lowering the impact of its transportation operations; and
• Enabling Customers to make sustainable choices.

“The Kroger team continues to make strong progress in every area of our Sustainability Agenda and we are pleased to share our progress.  We also know there is much more to do and we look forward to continuing to partner with our customers, communities and associates on this important work,” said Rodney McMullen, president and chief operating officer of Kroger.

Highlights of our progress:

• Kroger has reduced its normalized carbon footprint by more than 5% since 2006.  Kroger’s total carbon footprint has remained flat, despite growth in square footage, tonnage and sales.  Kroger found that nearly three-quarters of its carbon footprint is attributed to energy use and electricity the company purchases from utilities.

• Since 2000, Kroger has reduced overall energy consumption in its stores by more than 27%. That is enough electricity to power every single family home in Memphis, Tenn. for one year. Kroger’s goal for 2010 is to reduce our stores’ energy use by 30% from our baseline year of 2000.

• Today, one of Kroger’s new stores will consume 25% less energy than a store built in 2000.  Kroger is achieving this goal through several strategies, including replacing lighting with LED fixtures.  These lights use 75% less energy.  By the end of 2010, LED lighting will be installed in nearly every store.

• Kroger’s trucks travel millions of miles each year to deliver fresh, wholesome food to Kroger stores. In 2009, Kroger’s transportation efficiency (cases shipped per gallon) improved by 7%.

• At Kroger, Less Plastic is Fantastic.  With the help of associates and customers, Kroger saved more than 200 million plastic bags in 2009 through better bagging techniques and increased use of reusable bags.

• Through Kroger’s Plastic Recycling Program, 22.6 million pounds of plastic were recycled from our stores and distribution centers last year.  This represents a 144% increase in plastic recycling since 2007.  Our goal for 2010 is to recycle more than 25 million pounds of plastic.

• Kroger customers continue to do their part by purchasing and using reusable bags.  Each of these colorful bags has the potential to replace 1,000 plastic bags in its lifetime.  In 2009, Kroger sold and provided nearly 7 million reusable bags in 2009 – potentially replacing about 7 billion plastic bags.

• In 2009, every Kroger manufacturing plant received full Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI) certifications.  These standards are best-in-class and require constant improvement in food safety as measured by certified third-party auditing companies.

• Safety is a core value at Kroger.  As a result of safety programs that are a fundamental part of daily practices, Kroger stores, plants and distribution centers are among the safest places to work in America.  Kroger has reduced accident rates by more than 70% over the past 14 years.  Kroger’s safety goal is zero accidents – both at work and at home.

• Kroger donated enough food to create 40 million meals to feed hungry families in the communities it serves in 2009.

Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer, employs more than 334,000 associates who serve customers in 2,470 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s.  The Company also operates 779 convenience stores, 375 fine jewelry stores, 909 supermarket fuel centers and 40 food processing plants in the U.S.  Kroger, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, focuses its charitable efforts on supporting hunger relief, health and wellness initiatives, and local organizations in the communities it serves.  For more information about Kroger, please visit www.kroger.com.

Publix Super Markets

Publix will use APT’s Test & Learn for Sites software to assist in measuring the impact of new capital allocation, merchandising, marketing, pricing, and operations initiatives and targeting the rollout of these initiatives across its more than 1,000 supermarkets in five states.

Test & Learn provides insights into how customers responded to initiatives when they are implemented in a subset of stores, measuring changes in sales, margin, transactions, and customer satisfaction against control locations.

Publix chose to license APT’s Test & Learn Management System after using the software on a trial basis to evaluate various initiatives, ranging from understanding the impact of store remodels to marketing effectiveness. Publix also used APT software to better understand the competitive dynamics in its core markets.

“At Publix, we are passionately focused on customer value,” said Publix Director of Media and Community Relations Maria Brous in a statement. “APT’s Test and Learn approach has helped us better understand which investments create the most value for our customers so we can continue to better serve them.”