US: Raley's redevelops entire portfolio of private label groceries
Western grocer Raley's relaunched its private-label program, overhauling packaging design and updating formulations in accordance with its list of banned ingredients. The relaunch includes its namesake national-brand-equivalent-plus brand; Raley's Purely Made free-from, less-processed and organic brand; and Nob Hill Trading Co. premium brand. Packaging for the three received a full design overhaul to convey value and quality while leaning on the Raley's name and its 84-year history. Specifically for Purely Made, the West Sacramento, California-based grocer performed a significant expansion to feature additional standards and products for clean, affordable eating. To refresh the brand, Raley's used the most contemporary research and industry standards to update the list of banned ingredients, which includes 101-plus artificial preservatives and ingredients.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Canada: Vancouver grocery store cuts garbage to help tackle food waste
Customers at a boutique Vancouver grocery store won't find racks of individually packaged goods or rolls of plastic bags in which to lug their food home. The missing plastic and packaging isn't an oversight. A carefully constructed supply chain allows Nada to sell hundreds of food products without single-use packaging and add little waste to landfills. The store's owner is part of a wave of environmentally conscious entrepreneurs who are opening no-waste markets across Canada in an effort to help Canadians and the grocery industry reduce waste amid a global garbage glut. "There's absolutely a huge demand for this type of shopping", said Brianne Miller, founder and CEO of Nada.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
US: Farmstead launches automatic replenishment program
Online grocer Farmstead launched a new service called "Refill & Save" that brings prices down on its most popular products if customers opt-in for recurring orders, according to a release sent exclusively to Grocery Dive. Some of these products include milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, bread and yogurt. The company automatically queues up recurring weekly orders, and customers can then add or delete items, or delete the order altogether, up to an hour before the delivery window.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: C.E. Pugh becomes National Co+op Grocers CEO
National Co+op Grocers (NCG), the business services cooperative for retail food cooperatives across the United States, has named C.E. Pugh CEO of the organization. Having joined NCG in 2008, Pugh most recently held the role of COO, as well as that of interim CEO since April 2018. Before that, he was general manager of La Montañita Co-op Food Market, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for six years, and has been an executive in the grocery industry for more than four decades. “After a deliberate process and thoughtful consideration, we were proud to unanimously select C.E. as our CEO and look forward to him getting right to work on this next phase of our co-op’s journey”, noted NCG Board Chair Dan Gillotte, of Wheatsville Co-op, in Austin, Texas. “We were inspired and excited to hear C.E.’s thoughts and plans for NCG, both now and in the future. He has an established track record of success in our industry and a deep spiritual passion for the work we all do every day.”
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Amazon Q4 sales up 20%
Amazon's net sales increased by 20% to US$72.4bln and operating income was US$3.8bln, an increase of US$1.7bln year-on-year. The strong fourth quarter means full year net sales increased by 31% to US$232.9bln whilst Amazon’s operating income hit $12.4bln in 2018 versus $4.1bln in 2017. North America accounts for 61% of total net sales and in 2018, net sales grew faster in North America at +33% year-on-year, than the international business which achieved +21% year-on-year.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
German retailer Metro weighs selling majority of China unit
German food wholesaler Metro is considering selling a majority of its business in China to a local bidder. The company is willing to sell as much as 80% of the Chinese business while retaining a significant minority if an attractive offer is made, sources familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private. The sale is expected to be completed in February or March, after the Lunar New Year holidays, they said. The final stake amount will depend on the offers, and a deal may also include Metro’s real estate holdings in the country.
Source: thenational.ae
Holland: Jumbo City to offer deliveries in 45 minutes
Jumbo has partnered with local delivery start-up FoodDrop to provide its customers with home delivery in 45 minutes. Orders are placed online, prepared in-store and then delivered by FoodDrop on bikes for a cost of €2.95. Customers can choose from a limited assortment from the Jumbo City Groningen store. The range does not include crates of beer and prices are generally higher than in stores because of the fast delivery. The service is initially available to customers living in a 2.5km radius of the Jumbo City Groningen store. It will be tested for an unknown period before being rolled out to the Groningen FoodMarkt and other Jumbo branches.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Spain’s Glovo launches operations in Kenya and Morocco
The Spanish delivery company, Glovo, has launched its operations in Nairobi and Cairo. The startup uses an app designed for smartphones to enable customers to order goods and have them delivered on demand. The commodities on offer through Glovo in Kenya and Morocco include food, groceries, and gifts, having partnered with restaurants, supermarkets, butcheries, bakeries, and gift shops to supply the goods. Glovo was founded in 2015 in Barcelona, Spain, and has since expanded its operations across Europe, as well as reaching Africa and South America.
Source: africa.businesschief.com
Vietnam: Retail sales up 12.2% in January
Total revenue from retail trade and services in Vietnam reached an estimated VNĐ402.2tln (US$17.26bln) in January, up 4.4% month-on-month and 12.2% year-on-year, the latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed. GSO statisticians attributed the first month’s positive increase to the rising purchasing demand of local people for the upcoming Tết holiday and efforts of enterprises in stockpiling goods to better serve the peak demand.
Source: vietnamnews.vn
France: Carrefour seeks to lessen impact of ‘loi alimentation’ on consumers
Carrefour has set out steps to ensure that the implementation of the ‘loi alimentation’ on 1 February does not negatively impact the purchasing habits of its customers. The ‘loi alimentation’ or ‘food law’, which was made law in October of last year, seeks to guarantee a minimum price paid to farmers and other producers, which is likely to erode retailer margins and increase prices at shelf. With this in mind, Carrefour is unveiling two new campaigns to keep prices ‘affordable’ for shoppers, which will be implemented both in-store and on carrefour.fr.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Thailand: retailer Central puts $200mln into ride-hailing app Grab
Thailand's biggest shopping mall owner, the Central Group, will pour $200mln into the Singapore ride-hailing and food delivery firm Grab, the companies said, as they look to reel in customers now buying everything from food to holidays online. The investment means Central, which is also a major hotelier and supermarket chain whose business interests stretch into Europe, will acquire a non-controlling stake in Grab's Thai entity. Tos Chirathivat, CEO of Central Group, said the big buy-in will give his company's stores and hotels access to customers wherever they are.
Source: france24.com
Holland: Plus lowers prices of everyday fruit and vegetables
Dutch retailer Plus has announced that it has reduced the price of many popular fruit and vegetable SKUs. The move has been introduced to promote healthy eating among customers by offering affordable fresh produce options. The range will be known as 'Laagblijver', and will bear a distinct purple logo for easy identification. The Laagblijver range will include products including broccoli, peppers, apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes, and mushrooms.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Russia: O’Key Group sees Q4 revenue up 0.7%, however lfl sales fall
Russia’s O’Key Group posted an underlying net retail revenue increase of 0.7% in the fourth quarter of its financial year, to RUB 45.68bln (€600mln). Like-for-like net retail revenue decreased by 2.7% for the period. Its hypermarket operations saw revenue decrease by 1.3% in the quarter, as a result of the temporary closure of a hypermarket in Moscow, the group reported, as well as a weaker sales performance in October. Net retail revenue in its Da! discounter operation was up 28.8% in the quarter, driven by a growth in traffic (+22.1%) and average basket size (+5.4%).
Source: esmmagazine.com