Retail & FoodService

Those coupons that used to be available from red dispensers on grocery store shelves and have moved more recently to offers printed at checkout, are increasingly moving to mobile phones. That’s courtesy of Catalina, a marketing company which helps retailers and grocery chains understand what individual customers want and then goes to work encouraging them to buy. …

Nash Finch Co. will close distribution operations at its Blue Ash center in February, resulting in layoffs for 60 employees. …

Kroger, the largest U.S. grocery-store chain, intends to sell benchmark debt, typically at least $500 million, to fund its acquisition of Matthews, North Carolina-based Harris Teeter. The operator of the Kroger and Ralphs supermarkets may sell three-, five- and seven-year fixed-rate notes as soon as today, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be identified because terms aren’t set. It may also issue three-year, floating-rate securities. …

graze.com, an online retailer of healthier snacks, announces its official nationwide* launch following a successful BETA testing period. The company, formed by seven friends in 2008, is the pioneer of portioned, healthier and mailbox friendly snack boxes. graze already has over 55,000 customers or ‘grazers’ in the U.S. and over 350 employees internationally. In November 2012, The Carlyle Group became the majority shareholder, with Octopus Investments, DFJ Esprit and management owning the remaining share. In the last two years, the company has experienced international growth of over 130% and reported over $65m of revenue for the year to 28 February 2013. …

A month after announcing a possible second Fort Worth e-commerce fulfillment center, Wal-Mart has scrapped those plans. …