RETAIL NEWS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President-elect Donald Trump will name Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as labor secretary, according to several media reports.

Puzder, whose company operates the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger retail chains, has argued against raising the minimum wage to more than $9 per hour. He also has been an advocate of cutting back or eliminating regulations he claims have been a detriment to the restaurant industry and has been critical of the Affordable Care Act.

SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion customers in the Charlotte, N.C., area can now order beer and wine when ordering grocery home delivery.

Via its partnership with Instacart, customers in 40 ZIP codes in the Charlotte region over the age of 21 can purchase alcohol. They must provide their date of birth during the checkout process and need to be present to sign for the delivery and present a photo ID. This option became effective Dec. 8.

SAN ANTONIO — H-E-B on Tuesday annoubnced its H-E-B Specialty Pharmacy division has received full accreditation to deliver specialized clinical services to patients with complex and chronic diseases in more than 260 H-E-B stores across the state of Texas.

LONDON — Ahold Delhaize introduced its “Better Together” strategy, intended to capture benefits of international scale combined with local brands and associate expertise to drive profitable growth in its supermarkets, ecommerce and smaller formats, during its Capital Markets Day here Wednesday.

CHICAGO — Wrigley and Mars Chocolate North America say they are driving sales and increasing shopper engagement by working with retailers to implement their Transaction Zone Vision.

Since launching the program in 2015, the companies say they have used research-driven insights to help retail partners boost sales at checkout through channel-specific recommendations.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association recently submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the implementation of Sec. 704 (also known as the pharmacy “lock-in” provision) in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, the association announced Tuesday. According to NCPA, at-risk Medicare Part D beneficiaries are the target of this initiative trying to stem the rise of opioid abuse.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale reported 2017 fiscal first-quarter net income rose 13% to $545 million ($1.24 per share), compared to $480 million ($1.09 per diluted share) during its 2016 fiscal first quarter. 2017 fiscal Q1 earnings benefitted from a non-recurring $51 million legal settlement.

For the quarter ended Nov. 20, net sales enjoyed a 3% percent year-over-year increase to $27.47 billion. In the United States, comparable store sales rose 1 percent year over year. Total revenues increased to $28.1 billion, helped by a $37 million increase in membership fees.

CINCINNATI -- Kroger on Tuesday announced that as a result of its one-day Honoring our Heroes hiring event held Nov. 9, the company hired more than 4,000 military veterans and their family members.

"I'm so proud of our store teams for their outstanding efforts during our national hiring event in November," stated Tim Massa, Kroger's group VP human resources and labor relations. "We can all be proud of hiring 4,000 veterans and family members in one day. We are delighted to welcome them to our Kroger family."