The Save Mart Cos. is spotlighting some of California’s trailblazing women winemakers this month at several Save Mart and Lucky locations. Nearly 20 vintners will be represented as their women winemakers make special appearances at in-store tastings during the new “Women in Wine” series.

The series will take place at select Lucky and Save Mart stores in California’s Greater Bay Area and Central Valley from April 14-23. Vintners featured include Apothic, Bogle, Kendall Jackson, La Crema, Louis Martini, Oak Ridge and many more.

[Read more: "Save Mart to Close Lucky Store in SF Bay Area"]

“We are very proud of our longstanding relationships with these California vintners and pleased to feature these award-winning brands which are accessible and readily available to our shoppers every day,” said Jeff Feist, director of alcohol, wine and beer for The Save Mart Cos. “This is an exciting opportunity for our shoppers to visit ‘wine country’ inside our stores and enjoy a fun and educational tasting room experience while meeting creative and innovative women winemakers at their local Save Mart and Lucky grocery store.”

Based in Modesto, Calif., The Save Mart Cos. operates more than 200 retail stores under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx. The company also operates SMART Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries. Save Mart is No. 55 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Online grocery store Martie, which sells heavily discounted surplus groceries and household items to prevent waste while saving shoppers up to 70%, is now up and running in Texas. A new 38,000-square-foot warehouse in Dallas will now serve as the nationwide shipping center for Martie’s 800-plus SKUs

The company works with popular brands and producers to shop their supplies of surplus pantry goods – mainly items that would otherwise be discarded due to overstock, package changes or seasonality – and then sells them online directly to consumers at a steep discount. Martie shoppers get shelf-stable pantry goods, cooking essentials and household items shipped directly to their doors, with no subscription or membership necessary. According to the company, its shoppers save on average $54 per order, or $600 per year.

[Read more: "How E-Grocers Are Setting the Pace of Change in Grocery"]

Martie has sold the surplus and overstock inventory of more than 1,500 partner brands, including Kind, Kellogg’s, Quaker and Annie’s Homegrown.

“Martie is the first online grocery store designed to save shoppers money while simultaneously helping the environment,” noted Louise Fritjofsson, co-founder of the Los Angeles-based company. “We offer the best deals on products you know and love, ship everywhere within the states we operate (including rural ZIP codes), and enable shoppers to make a sustainable choice. We’re very excited to have launched in Texas, a strategically important market for us as we continue our expansion from the West Coast towards the East.”

According to Martie, since its 2021 launch, it has saved more than 1 million pounds of food from going to the landfill and saved shoppers more than $2 million. The company currently ships to shoppers in Texas, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.

Fresh Thyme Market is rolling out a new pickup service. The retailer is adding its own e-commerce offering, dubbed  "Real At Your Fingertips,” that gives shoppers access to the same prices as goods sold in its physical stores.

According to the retailer, orders are picked by team members who are trained to choose high-quality products that reflect its standards. Flexibility is part of the service, too, as customers have the ability to edit or cancel their order until the picking process begins.

[Read more: "Fresh Thyme Features Tiesta Tea Kiosk at All Stores"]

Shoppers pay a convenience fee of $1.95 for pickup orders over $35. Delivery of groceries from Fresh Thyme stores is already available through the third-party Instacart platform.

"We are excited to bring a more convenient way of shopping to our loyal and new customers with this e-commerce launch," said Liz Zolcak, president of Fresh Thyme Market. "We are proud to be able to bring our great in-store shopping experience to life, online. With our new appealing and convenient e-comm experience, we can provide more shoppers with savings without sacrificing quality or freshness."

This is the latest service that Fresh Thyme has added to enhance the shopper experience, whether in store or online. In March, Fresh Thyme became the first retailer to offer a smart shelf tag technology from the Learn & Earn program powered by Merryfield Rewards, to engage and educate shoppers about products at the point of sale.

With 71 stores in 10 states throughout the Midwest, Downers Grove, Ill.-based Fresh Thyme Market is No. 91 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Leon Levine, who founded the Family Dollar discount store chain, died earlier this month at 85, according to The Leon Levine Foundation, a philanthropic organization Levine later established. No cause of death was given.

A college dropout, Levine opened the first Family Dollar store in 1959 at the age 22 in Charlotte, N.C., with a cousin, selling clothes, cleaning supplies and staple items for less than $2, CNN reported. By 1969, the chain operated 50 stores across the rural South. It went public in 1970. When Levine retired from the company in the early 2000s, it had around 4,500 stores. Dollar Tree bought the chain in 2015 for nearly $9 billion, and more than 8,000 stores currently operate under the Family Dollar banner.

According to CNN, Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are now the fastest-growing U.S. retailers. 

After his retirement, Levine became a notable philanthropist, donating generously to universities, hospitals and Jewish organizations. As his death notice observed, “In the same way his style shaped Family Dollar Stores … he shaped what has become one of the most impactful philanthropic foundations in the Carolinas and the Southeast.”

Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree operated 16,293 stores under the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada banners across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of Oct. 29. The company is No. 29 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. With 19,147 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico, Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General is No. 15 on PG’s list.

Harris Teeter has revealed that it will offer a paid parental leave benefit to all full-time associates, effective immediately. Offering much-needed time off to bond with their child, the benefit provides parents four weeks of paid parental leave within the first 12 months after the birth or adoption of a child.

“Family is at the core of our business as our friendly associates serve millions of families every day with our fresh, high-quality product,” said Ted Harrington, VP of human resources. “Harris Teeter is committed to enriching the lives of our associates and their families, and we are proud to offer this new policy to demonstrate our support for working families.”

[Read more: “Harris Teeter Refreshes Brand Image”]

This benefit adds to Harris Teeter’s comprehensive compensation and benefit program, which includes competitive health care, life insurance, paid time off, education assistance and profit-sharing benefits.

“I’m incredibly proud to work for a company that is a champion for parents and families,” said LeAnn Sek, Harris Teeter’s Women Empowerment Group (WEG) co-chair and district manager. “When surveyed, our valued associates ranked paid parental leave as the No. 1 way Harris Teeter could better support parents throughout the organization, so I’m thrilled to see the policy be put into place.”

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co., which is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter employs 36,000 associates across more than 250 stores and 60 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.

SpartanNash has promoted David Sisk from SVP to EVP, chief customer officer. In the role, Sisk oversees customer engagements for all national accounts, independent and chain grocers, e-commerce retailers, and the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency and military Exchanges worldwide.

Sisk began his career with SpartanNash in 2020 as president of SpartanNash Military, and also held positions at OSC-WEBco and Procter & Gamble. 

[Read more: "SpartanNash Taps Todd Riksen to Lead Accounting Functions"]

"David's role is vital to delivering on our signature strength to be the most customer-focused, innovative food solutions company," said SpartanNash CEO Tony Sarsam. "He and his team have greatly enhanced the support and services we provide to our customers, helping the company grow market share in our wholesale distribution business."

SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 41 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan. SpartanNash also operates 147 supermarkets and employs 17,500-plus associates.