Content about Retailers' cooperatives

Westlake Ace Hardware is showing off a new, fresh design at its location in Bolivar, Missouri. The 17,845-sq.-ft. store has an organic and modern feel, with a wood and metal façade and polished concrete floors. Garage-style doors (kept open, weather permitting) and skylights allow natural light into the space. The format works to encourage browsing and helps make Westlake a preferred destination for project needs. (Westlake was designed by JGA, Southfield, Mich.)

Denver -- Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage said Wednesday it plans to open seven new stores by March 2013, bringing the total count to 64 in 12 states.

In addition, the company said it has relocated and expanded one of its flagship Denver stores.

The seven new stores will be opened during the next six months in Sedona, Ariz.; Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Helena and Missoula, Mont.; Omaha, Neb.; and Denton and Lubbock, Texas.

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets announced that the company has entered into an agreement with GU Markets LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., to acquire 21 supermarkets located in upstate New York and Vermont.

This acquisition will bring the number of Tops stores to 153 and will expand Tops' footprint further into areas of northern and eastern New York State and neighboring northern Vermont. The planned acquisition of the 21 stores follows up on the 2010 acquisition of the Penn Traffic stores.

Dallas -- The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) announced that it has entered into a strategic business partnership with TopSource LLC, a sourcing company and wholly owned subsidiary of Topco Associates LLC. FMI said the partnership will provide its members the opportunity to support the foundations of their growing businesses with significant savings related to costs in not-for-resale areas.

Westlake Village, Calif. -- In a survey released Tuesday by J.D. Power and Associates, which polled customers about their expectations of their pharmacists, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Health Mart, Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy, Publix and Target rank highest in pharmacy customer satisfaction in their respective segments.

Boulder, Col. -- Discount grocer Aldi ranks as the nation’s low-price grocery leader, according to a recent consumer survey conducted by Market Force Information.

Wyckoff, N.J. -- Inserra Supermarkets said Wednesday that its redevelopment plans for a 7.6-acre underutilized site in the heart of Wyckoff, N.J., which has been vacant for more than 10 years, are progressing.

The Mahwah, N.J.-based supermarket chain plans to raze an uninhabitable 53,000-sq.-ft. building to develop a new 62,174-sq.-ft. ShopRite within the Township’s central business district.