Walmart to spend $83 million on PA remodels this year

Walmart announced last month that it plans to spend approximately $83 million this year to remodel 15 Pennsylvania stores. Stores set for improvements include locations in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Quakertown, among others.

The $83 million planned for Pennsylvania stores is part of about $11 billion in total capital expenditures planned by the company in fiscal 2020. Nationwide, Walmart plans to add 1,200 autonomous floor scrubbers, 300 autonomous shelf-scanners, 1,200 FAST unloaders and 900 pickup towers to stores around the country. In addition, the company plans to expand online grocery pickup to 1,000 more stores and add another 800 stores.

Vince 'Jim' Genuardi, supermarket pioneer, dead at 88

Vincent "Jim" Genuardi, who along with his brothers built the Genuardi's Family Markets supermarket chain, died earlier this month. He was 88 years old.

At its height, the Genuardi's chain had 33 stores and 7,000 employees in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Genuardi's daughter, Lisa Genuardi Wilson, said her father "was part of the committee within the National Grocers Association that paved the way for beer and wine in supermarkets. He spend a lot of time way back in the late '80s in Harrisburg, fighting for the rights we have in select (grocery) stores today."

Jim Vuotto, who worked for Genuardi's for 48 years, said Genuardi "was a pioneer for using bar codes. We were also the first company where every manager in the store was food certified. That was huge."

"They were all an incredible, community-oriented family," Vuotto said. "All the brothers had their own expertise area. Jim was groceries, Charles ran produce, Joe ran frozen food, Tom ran meat, and Frank did real estate."

Weis Markets unveils in-store pub, ice cream shop and drive-thru pharmacy

Weis Markets unveiled its "Community Market," a new store prototype, last week in Enola, PA, near Harrisburg. The 65,000 square foot store incorporates an in-store pub, ice cream shop, juice bar and expansive food court.

According to a PennLive.com story that was reported in Supermarket News, the store is designed to take Weis' service to the next level.

"We are sort of a middle-of-the-road supermarket," said CEO Jonathan Weis in the PennLive story. "We always have one eye on pricing and we compete with massive competitors such as Royal Ahold, Walmart and Wegmans, and others who do a tremendous volume. So that tempers our thinking. But, on the other hand, we have to be on trend. We want to be interesting, not boring or dull. We just have a philosophy that we're not going to be afraid to fail."

The new store protoype also includes a drive-thru pharmacy, a fuel center, and online ordering for in-store pickup. The company says it intends to incorporate elements of the new prototype into existing stores.

Peapod now available in Harrisburg and York PA market

Ahold (Giant) announced last month that Peapod, its online grocery ordering and delivery service, is now available in the Harrisburg and York, PA markets. The area is serviced by a new fulfillment center in Camp Hill, PA.

Peapod allows customers to create personal lists, read nutritional information and sort products by price. Customers can earn Giant Gas Rewards, and groceries can be delivered the day after an order has been placed.

Peapod began service to the Philadelphia community in 2011 and has been expanding throughout the PA and NJ suburbs ever since. Last year Peapod began servicing the Lehigh Valley.