Chinese online retailer JD.com plans to develop heavy-duty drones capable of carrying a tonne or more for long-distance deliveries. It says it will test the drones on a network it is developing in the northern Chinese province of Shaanxi. The drones will take farm produce to the cities and carry consumer goods to remote areas.(insideretail.asia) Michigan Walmart to remodel stores; focus on fresh and organic
Twelve Walmart stores in Michigan will get new looks in 2017, part of a multi-million dollar plan to update the chain's U.S. store portfolio. Among other things, Walmart will incrase the number of fresh and organic items in the new stores. The remodels, it hopes, will retain existing customers and attract new ones. Besides Michigan stores, another 400-640 stores will get new looks this year. (mlive.com)US: Wegmans to open first store in Washington, D.C.
Wegmans first store in D.C will be part of the former Fannie Mae headquarters complex on Wisconsin Avenue NW, in Washington. Although it’s the supermarket chain’s first store in DC, it has been growing in that region; it now has 10 locations in Virginia and eight in Maryland with other stores in the planning stages. The new Wegmans in DC is expected to open by 2022. (wxxinews.org) US: Seasons Kosher Supermarkets to add stores
Seasons Kosher Supermarkets will open three new stores: Scarsdale, New York; Baltimore and Cleveland, according to Progressive Grocer. The Baltimore store will open in July followed by Scarsdale a month later. The Cleveland location will open in 2018. (fooddive.com)US: Lowes expands further to South Carolina
Lowes Foods’ expansion into South Carolina continues this week with the planned opening of the first of two new stores in Lexington, S.C., and news that it will take over the site of a former Bi-Lo store in nearby Columbia with eyes on opening there in 2018. (supermarketnews.coAmazon's fresh produce up to 49% cheaper than rivals
For two weeks, AmazonFresh Germany has been supplying shoppers in parts of Berlin and Potsdam with food including fresh produce. The comparison portal guenstiger.de showed the price differences of 100 products from AmazonFresh and the competing delivery services by Rewe and Kaufland. The result: every other item was cheaper at AmazonFresh. According to the study, Amazon provided the best price for 50 of the 100 examined products, and in a further 37 cases, the best offer together with another supplier. Ten items were listed for the same amount for all three delivery services. Only one item was more expensive at AmazonFresh than its competitors: one kilo of courgette costs €1.6 from AmazonFresh, while at Kaufland €1.39 and Rewe €1.49. AmazonFresh demonstrated a high potential for savings mainly in the fruit and chilled food sector. The price for a lemon at Amazon was € 0.35 and thus 49% less than at Rewe (€0.69). (guenstiger.de)
UK: Extra large avocado most popular at Waitrose 1
British supermarket chain Waitrose is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its premium private label range, Waitrose 1. The range was originally launched with over 500 products, but now features over 700 as seasonal products were added throughout the year. The extra large avocado is the most popular item which costs £1.89 each. (esmmagazine.com)UK: Co-op to sell only Faitrade bananas
Co-op has pledged to make all of its own-brand packaging recyclable. The motion was passed alongside bills to tackle modern slavery and source £2.5bn worth of UK farm products over the next three years. The retailer has also re-committed to Fairtrade values, extending a policy to source 100% Fairtrade bananas to products such as tea and coffee. (edie.net) AU: Aldi continues to gain market share from rivals
Aldi Australia continues to capture market share from its main grocery rivals in the country, according to new figures from research firm Roy Morgan. Woolworths continued to lead the market, but its market share slipped to 35.7% (A$32.2bn), while Coles maintained its share at 33.2% (A$30bn). However, Aldi saw its share of the market grow to 13.2% (A$11.9bn), helping it pull further away from IGA, which had a share of just 9.3% (A$8.4bn). (kamcity.com) AU: Woolworths offers free food for reviews
Woolworths has created an online taste testing club, offering free food for reviews as part of the supermarket giant's effort to improve its own brand products. Customers are given full-sized portions to test and are allowed to give unfiltered reviews on The Bunch website. (sbs.com.au)Lidl launches Chinese web shop
German supermarket chain Lidl launched its own web shop in China on Alibaba’s online platform, Tmall Global, similar to what many other Western companies have done. The web shop, launched this week, will offer several of Lidl’s private labels. For the time being, it will focus on cereal and dry food brands, but the company will most likely expand its product range if the web shop is deemed a success. (retaildetail.eu) 
Supermarkets in UAE make sense for farm operator RoseberryPlease, click here to read the article.
Suppliers to Croatia's Agrokor threaten to halt deliveries
Local suppliers of Croatia's Agrokor said on Monday they would halt deliveries at the end of May to the indebted food and retail giant unless some debts were repaid and other cash due to them was treated as a priority for repayment. Suppliers made a similar threat to halt deliveries in April, just before Agrokor was put under state control after struggling to repay debts built up during a rapid expansion of its business, notably in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Serbia. (Reuters)Japan: Major supermarkets opening fewer stores
Japan's major supermarkets are opening 10% fewer stores this fiscal year than last, instead remodeling more existing locations to expand pre-cooked food offerings to compete with convenience stores and cater to elderly and single customers. The Nikkei asked 27 supermarket companies how many stores they opened and closed from fiscal 2012 to fiscal 2017, and 15 responded. Those companies launched fewer stores year-on-year for four consecutive years, and are set to open just 62 in fiscal 2017, the lowest count of the years in the survey. (asia.nikkei.com) China: Consumers turning to smaller local shops: experts
Foreign supermarkets are struggling to compete in China's big cities where consumers are increasingly going to online shops and local, community-centered shops, experts said on Thursday. Earlier this week, Japanese supermarket chain Ito-Yokado shut down another of its stores in Beijing after 13 years of operation, according to a statement posted on the website of the company's China unit. This marked Ito-Yokado's seventh closure in the capital in recent years. "Supermarkets and megastores can no longer meet the new consumer trend in China, in first- and second-tier cities in particular," Chen Yuefeng, editor-in-chief of China Chain Store magazine, told the Global Times Thursday. He said that customers prefer smaller shops. (globaltimes.cn)