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Retailer News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS FEBRUARY 2020 www.gourmetnews.com RETAILER NEWS 9 Kroger and Walgreens Form Group Purchasing Organization Building on a unique collaboration that first brought together The Kroger Co.'s food and grocery experience with Walgreens' expertise in health and beauty, the companies have formed a new group purchasing organization (GPO) aimed at delivering purchasing efficiencies, lower costs and combined resources to help drive further innovation. The new joint venture will be called Retail Procurement Alliance. Kroger and Walgreens initially announced an exploratory pilot in October 2018 to develop a one-stop shopping experience, which launched in December 2018 as the Kroger Express concept in 13 Walgreens stores in northern Kentucky. In August 2019, Walgreens and Kroger announced an expansion of the pilot at 35 Walgreens locations in Knoxville, Tennessee and introduced a curated assortment of Walgreens health and beauty products at 17 Kroger stores in the same area. Report Breaks Down Blurred Line Between Online and Brick-and-Mortar The line between online and brick-and-mortar shopping is becoming blurred, with grocery retailers making substantial investments in creating a seamless experience for shoppers. "Online Grocery Pickup Accelerates Omnichannel Sales," a new report from Acosta explores how the online shopping trend is fundamentally changing the way consumers shop for groceries. According to the report, the average online grocery shopper now spends 32.7 percent of their grocery budget online. Almost half (46 percent) of online grocery shoppers are getting their orders fulfilled via pickup services at the store. Twenty-six percent reported getting groceries delivered to their home via a delivery service. Fifty-four percent of online grocery pickup shoppers still make weekly in-store stock-up trips (to purchase more than 10 items), and 45 percent make weekly fill-in trips (to purchase less than 10 items). Natural Grocers Launches Innovative Strategic Partnership with Jack and Jill of America Inc. Natural Grocers, has joined forces with Jack and Jill of America, Inc. (JJOA) for a first-of- its-kind innovative partnership to "Support America's Families Together." The program incorporates a multi-faceted approach that includes an investment campaign inclusive of donations, customer fundraising and ongoing sales-based giveback; support for JJOA's Graduation Assistance Program (GAP) Fund and access to job and internships opportunities, as well as Natural Grocers' Store Manager Accelerated Readiness Training (SMART) program. Local Focus Drives Sales for Chicago's Garden Gourmet BY LORRIE BAUMANN Tucked in among the restaurants on the Wicker Park neighborhood side of Division Street, Garden Gourmet offers Chicago, Illinois, com- muters a taste of fresh and local in an easy stop on their way home from the nearby subway station. In- side the 2,500 square-foot space, they find abundant choices for craft beers and wines; fresh, organic pro- duce; a cheese case, grass-fed meats and a selection of packaged products to round out meals. "What distin- guishes us is that we buy from a lot of local vendors here in Chicago," said Owner Maher Farhan. "I buy from a lot of up-and- coming companies, mainly because they have good products. They're not always there yet [with the power to distribute their products through distributors], and I know how it feels to start a business." Those local selections include the gour- met cuts of grass-fed meats, much of the seasonal produce, pasta sauces, chocolate and the artisanal small-batch coffees from Intelligentsia and Dark Matters. "Our cus- tomers are will- ing to try local," Farhan said. "I think it's great that people are willing to buy things just be- cause they're local – or they're just starting – and they'd like to help out." "We have a local salad guy who comes in and makes vegan salads and little vegetable salads, and people just love his stuff. He has a great following," he added. "There's a lot of new CBD prod- ucts that are local. People come to us first to sell their products." Farhan opened the store in 2010. He and his wife were both recent college graduates – he'd been a politi- cal science major at the University of Illinois, Chicago and had graduated in 2008 and she'd grad- uated in 2009. Both Chicago natives, they wanted to stay in the city, but the local economy was reeling in the midst of the Great Recession. "It was very hard to find a decent job back then," Farhan said. "There was really nothing available – there was nothing available for a new graduate. It was either start your own business or sell insurance door to door. I didn't want to do that.... I followed in the family footsteps and started my own store." During his childhood years, Farhan's family had owned a grocery store about a mile and a half from where he operates today. Since he was fa- miliar with the area, that's where he started looking for a location to open his own store. "I found a space that wasn't for rent, but when I asked the land- lord, they were more than willing to rent it to me," he said. "It turned out to be a good location because of its proximity to the busy intersection and the busy train station. I have customers who stop in twice a day." The store's Wicker Park neighborhood offers a traditional downtown area with its row of bars and cafes along Division Street, and it's revitalizing with new apartment buildings that are attracting residents into the area along with tourism traffic from Airbnb rentals. "We all add to the appeal of the neighborhood. It's kind of what brings people to the neighborhood," Farhan said. "It has ambiance. It draws people who want to experience the neighborhood." Farhan operates the store with four em- ployees who have a voice in the products that he stocks. "People send us samples all the time. We buy what we like," he said. "Instead of a salesman coming through the door, we tend to buy what we like, and it's been working out for us." That focus on buying the products that interest the store's staff translates into the staff 's ability to provide customer service and to influence shoppers' purchasing de- cisions, Farhan said. "We can vouch for the products. You've got to know what you're selling," he said. "One of the main things I live by is just product knowledge. You've got to know what you're selling, and it just drives sales." GN world's only Munchie's Food Hall. Ameri- can Dream will be the second largest retail and entertainment center in the United States covering approximately 3 million square feet with a su- perb location 20 minutes out- side New York City. "Creating a candy depart- ment store has been a long- time dream of mine," said Jeff Rubin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of IT'SUGAR. "I've been thinking about this concept for over 25 years, and our IT'- SUGAR team is thrilled to partner with American Dream to make it a reality. There is nowhere else like American Dream, and we look forward to immersing the property's mil- lions of guests into the world of IT'SUGAR." IT'SUGAR is located in A m e r i c a n Dream, at 1 American Dream Way, Space G134. For more information, visit www .itsugar.com. GN IT'SUGAR Continued from PAGE 1 Park and Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park. American Dream will include more than 450 retail, food and specialty shops. These are complemented by entertainment offer- ings including fully-enclosed DreamWorks Water Park and Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park; a 16-story Big Snow Indoor Ski & Snow Park; Kidzania; a live Perform- ing Arts Theater; a 300-foot tall Observa- tion Wheel; a Sea Life Aquarium, Legoland Discovery Center; The Rink (NHL-sized ice rink); and The Dining Terrace with more than 15 full-service restaurants and the

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