The Fresh Market will open six newly updated stores on July 12, according to The Shelby Report. The stores, located in North Carolina and South Carolina, are the latest in a round of remodels that incorporate more prepared foods, local products and everyday grocery items. (fooddive.com) Albertsons one of 6 companies to eye Whole Foods
Whole Foods Market Inc. entertained several suitors and sought a higher share price before accepting Amazon.com Inc.'s offer to buy the natural-foods grocer. Supermarket operator Albertsons Cos. was one of two companies and four private-equity firms that sought to make a deal with Whole Foods as the chain fought sagging sales and impatient investors earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter. (marketwatch.com) Amazon cornered Whole Foods into not seeking more bids, filing shows
Amazon told Whole Foods Market it would not engage in a sale process for the U.S. grocer that involved other bidders, a regulatory filing showed on Friday, shedding new light on the $13.7 billion acquisition. The previously undisclosed details on the negotiations show how Amazon used its deep pockets and brand as leverage to convince Whole Foods to accept a sale process that would not result in a bidding war. (Reuters)
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Ex-Sainsbury’s CEO: Brexit means poorer quality at supermarkets
Former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King says UK shoppers are “completely in the dark” about what Brexit will mean for supermarkets. King, who was in charge of Sainsbury’s for a decade until 2014, told BBC’s Panorama programme: “One can say very clearly what the direction will be: higher prices, less choice, and poorer quality, because all of those dimensions have been improved by these open trading relationships that we’ve had over the last 40 years. (businessinsider.nl) Sweden's ICA Gruppen sees sales rise
Swedish retailer ICA Gruppen saw its sales rise by 3.4% in June, according to an update posted by the retailer this morning. Like-for-like sales were up 2.6%. In the month of June, sales across the Swedish ICA stores totalled SEK 10.09 billion (€1.05 billion) excluding VAT, which is an increase of 3.4% on the same month in the previous year. (esmmagazine.com) Italy’s Dico TuoDì up for sale
Italian discount supermarket chain Dico TuoDì has been put up for sale, with a number of parties said to be interested in acquiring the business. The decision comes after the business posted a loss of €40 million in 2015 and failed to sell 80 stores to an international retailer, reports daily Il Sole 24 Ore. According to reports, there are allegedly already interested parties, but nothing concrete. (esmmagazine.com)SA: Small suppliers want a slice of big retailers’ supply network
The big four grocery retailers – Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Spar and Massmart – should be compelled to source products they sell from small producers in order to curb anti-competitive behaviour in SA’s retail industry, it was recommended to the Competition Commission. The commission’s grocery retail market inquiry heard fresh complaints last week from KwaZulu-Natal-based emerging suppliers on how the dominance of SA’s big four grocery retailers leaves little room for them to grow. Despite the four big retailers having enterprise and supplier development initiatives, they have been accused by small players of not stocking their products at stores. (moneyweb.co.za) 
