Whole Foods Market has revealed the two recipients of the Supplier of the Year award in its 2017 Supplier Awards. Rainier Fruit received the Supplier of the Year award as well as one for Excellence in Product Quality. The company is recognized for a strong partnership that continues to expand and evolve, and its investment in state-of-the-art growing techniques and packing facilities to ensure that it provides consistent, high-quality produce. (progressivegrocer.com) UK: Amazon's 23% sales growth boosted
Amazon recorded net sales of more than $35.7bn for the three months ending March 31, a 23% increase from $29.1bn recorded during the same period last year. The figures also included a net income rise from of more than $200m on the same quarter last year, to $724m. CEO Jeff Bezos attributed the positive start to the financial year to the company's expansion into India’s fledgling market. "Our India team is moving fast and delivering for customers and sellers," he said. (igd.com)Another big investor tells Whole Foods to explore sale
Amid reports that Whole Foods Market could be the target of a takeover bid by supermarket chain Albertsons, another big investor in the Austin-based company is calling on management to consider a sale. Mutual-fund manager Neuberger Berman, which owns a 2.7% stake in Whole Foods, wrote to the company’s board this week calling on it to “immediately engage advisors” to review options -- including a sale or joint venture. The letter from Neuberger Berman was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. (kiro7.com) US: Aldi's private label items dominate Best New Product Awards
BrandSpark International has awarded discount grocer Aldi several awards in its 2017 Best New Product Awards list, according to the Shelby Report. NPA award recipients are chosen solely by the votes and opinions of more than 10,000 American consumers. (fooddive.com) CA: Metro to finalize Adonis acquisition
Metro Inc. said this week it would complete an acquisition it began in 2011. Metro, which is Canada’s third largest grocer, had previously obtained a 55% interest in Marché Adonis, an ethnically oriented food retailer, and its distributor, Phoenicia Products. While reviewing second quarter earnings this week, President and CEO Eric R. La Flèche said the remaining holdings of Adonis and Phoenicia would be purchased by Metro “shortly after this fiscal year.” The company will continue to be run independently and report to Metro. (supermarketnews.com) Lidl confirms Ohio in future growth plans
Lidl is setting its sights further afield with future stores on tap across the Appalachians in Western Pennsylvania and into Ohio, sources told SN Thursday. Will Harwood, a spokesman for Lidl US, confirmed that the German discounter was also looking at sites in Ohio, but said the company was not yet prepared to formally expand there. (supermarketnews.com) Britain's M&S to trial online grocery service
British retailer Marks & Spencer is to trial an online grocery shopping service this year, it said on Thursday, conceding it could no longer ignore the fastest growing segment of the market. For years M&S has resisted giving its customers the option of ordering food online for home delivery, saying it did not make economic sense for its offering. But with Britain's online food market expected to nearly double to £17.2bn in the five years to 2020, according to industry research group IGD, M&S changed its mind. (Reuters)Big Basket's big plans for organic farmers in Karnataka
Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Thursday said "Big Basket," an online grocery store, had expressed interest in collaborating with 2 organic farmers' federations to supply and procure organic produce. The proposal is to supply and procure organic products including millets of approximately 800 metric tonnes, valued at Rs 14.50 crore from the two federations, he said. (indiatimes.com) Candando opens second hypermarket in Angola
A second Candando hypermarket has opened in Talatona, near Luanda, less than a year after the launch of the retail banner in Angola, reports Dinheiro Vivo. The first Candando hypermarket opened also in Luanda in May 2016, as part of a $40m (€37.2m) investment. (esmmagazine.com) Portugal: Sonae acquires organic supermarket chain Brio
Portuguese retail and telecoms conglomerate Sonae has acquired the organic supermarket chain Brio, which has six stores in the Lisbon area. The move follows Sonae's acquisition of a 51% stake in the Go Natural supermarket in Lisbon last December, as part of the retailer's 'strategy of investing in the area of health and wellness'. (esmmagazine.com) Australia's first rescued-food supermarket opens in Sydney
Australia’s first rescued-food supermarket, called OzHarvest Market, has opened in Sydney, providing donated or surplus produce to customers on a pay-what-they-can basis, in an effort to reduce the estimated $8bn to $10bn of food discarded each year. The supermarket's offer includes fresh produce. (theguardian.com) Walmex says net profit up 6.1%
Wal-Mart de Mexico, posted a 6.1% year-on-year rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday, while warning it was unclear how recent factors threatening to dampen consumer confidence would play out. The company, known as Walmex, said its revenue rose by 7.2% to 132.56bn pesos, offsetting higher costs. (Reuters) Israel's Shufersal accepts 214 mln shekels in offers for shares
Shufersal, Israel's largest supermarket chain, said on Thursday it received bids of 379m shekels ($104m) in an equity offering to institutional investors. * It accepted pre-commitments of 214m shekels. Next week Shufersal will sell shares to the public. (Reuters)AU:Coles is cutting out specials
Coles will cut promotions to stamp-out shopper distrust in the supermarket giant as intense competition forces it to invest in service and every-day low prices to stay ahead of the game. The strategy to move more products across to every-day low prices was about cementing trust in Coles pricing, according its CEO Mr Goyder who said the business was as "promotionally heavy" as it had ever been. (smh.com.au) Chile: Walmart remodels Ekono brand
The CEO of Walmart Chile (Lider) confirmed recently that Walmart would continue to invest in Chile. As part of Walmart’s plan to make its existing portfolio more profitable it has closed supermarket stores, and is remodelling its Ekono brand, traditionally more discount focused, into convenience stores. It will keep the same low-price strategy as in previous stores. It also plans to have a stronger focus on fresh. (igd.com)Finland's Kesko sees sales rise 29% in Q1, driven by acquisition
The recent acquisition of the Suomen Lähikauppa business has boosted Finnish retail conglomerate Kesko's first quarter sales by 29%, with the group posting net sales for January to March of €2,597m. If acquisitions and disposals are excluded, sales were up 2.4%. As well as the Suomen Lähikauppa acquisition, Kesko also recently announced the disposal of its Russian grocery business. Operating profit was €16.6m for the quarter, down from €33.5m a year earlier, again as a result of the recent acquisition. (esmmagazine.com) Brazil: GPA swings to profit in first quarter
GPA SA, Brazil's biggest retailer, posted net income of 215m reais ($68m) in the first quarter, compared to a net loss of 157m reais a year earlier, according to a securities filing on Thursday. (Reuters)