China to send state officials to 100 private firms including Alibaba
China’s top technology hub Hangzhou plans to assign government officials to work with 100 private companies including e-commerce giant Alibaba, according to state media reports, in a move likely to raise concerns over the growing role of the state. The step underscores how Chinese government and party authorities are growing more deeply integrated into the private sector, as its economy sputters amid an intensifying trade war with the United States. The city of Hangzhou, home to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, will designate government officials to work with 100 local companies in the eastern province of Zhejiang, the local government said on its website.
Source: reuters.com
Oman: Talabat ties up with Carrefour to start online grocery service
Talabat and Carrefour have joined forces to allow customers to do their grocery shopping on the food delivery app. With Talabat being one of the most frequently-used apps in the region, this innovation drives further convenience for users in Oman. Talabat's partnership with Carrefour is also the first time a food delivery platform in the region has offered a complete grocery delivery option. The new service is available under a new filter card named 'Grocery'.
Source: menafn.com
UK: Co-op targets student sites with NUS deal
The Co-op has signed an exclusive deal with the National Union of Students (NUS) to be the grocery retail store franchise partner on NUS member locations across UK universities and colleges. The Co-op already has four franchise stores operating on university sites, including Leeds and Newcastle, and this deal now potentially could see the Co-op brand accessing a student population of up to 7mln across NUS affiliated locations.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
Germany: Aldi closes oldest branch
Aldi is to leave its founding store in Essen. One hundred years after the creation of the chain, the Huestrasse site has become too small and is to be closed. However, the move also symbolises a shift in power within the discounter’s management team. This year, Aldi Nord wants to start building a branch that is twice as large in the immediate vicinity of the building where Aldi founders Karl and Theo Albrecht were born and raised. The new store will have a total surface area of almost 1,300m² and should be completed by the end of next year. The old 'founding store' will be given a new lease of life in due course, but as of yet, it’s unclear what that will be. "Various options are currently being explored with interested parties", said Aldi to Der Spiegel, including the option for the German discounter to allow the building to be used by third parties. Because of the emotional ties, the property will remain the property of Aldi.
Source: retaildetail.eu
France: Supermarket chain to remove additives using phone app that rates products
French supermarket chain Intermarché had said it will remove 140 food additives by the end of 2020, changing 900 food recipes in the process. They will use a popular phone application used by 11mln people in France to scan products and find out what additives are present in them. "Today's consumer is ready to change their consumption habits and review their standards for products better for their health", the Intermarché marketing team told Euronews. "Through this global quality improvement plan, we have worked to best meet their expectations and as quickly as possible."
Source: euronews.com
Europe: EuroCommerce joins the Circular Plastics Alliance
EuroCommerce, the body which represents the retail and wholesale trades in Europe, has joined the Circular Plastics Alliance. The collaboration is vital for building the technical and regulatory framework to upscale circular business models, EuroCommerce said in a statement. The move demonstrates that the body supports its members in reducing the use of plastics, and reinforcing dialogue with regulators and stakeholders in the supply chain.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Daily ‘happy hour' at supermarkets in Finland
The Finnish supermarket chain, S-market, holds its own 'happy hour' every day, where the retailer applies extra large discounts to those food products nearly reaching their expiry dates. In Finland, S-market has designated a 'happy hour' for food products: at 9 p.m. - one hour before closing time - stores reduce food prices by up to 60% for hundreds of items that expire at midnight. Often, these are products for which the price has already been reduced by 30%, with the initiative forming part of a campaign to reduce food waste.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Co-op launches app for membersThe Co-op has launched an app that will give its members access to a range of offers and services. The Co-op App gives the retailer’s 4.6mln members the ability to download weekly personalised offers to save them money and track their member reward balance. Members can choose two offers every week and use them on top of any in-store promotions. Ali Jones, customer director at the Co-op, said: "We are planning to develop the app over the next few months, folding in other digital elements such as choosing your local cause, and accessing recipes."
Source: talkingretail.com
Brasil: Carrefour opens new distribution hub as e-commerce grows
Retailer Carrefour Brasil announced the opening of a new 64,000 square-meter (689,000 square-foot) distribution center in Cajamar, a city in Sao Paulo state, in a push to strengthen its logistics capabilities amid a solid growth of its e-commerce sales. The new facility will be its main logistics hub in the country, serving both online and brick-and-mortar stores, the company said in an emailed statement, without revealing the size of the investment. The local subsidiary of France’s Carrefour SA expects the new distribution center to help boost its capacity to ship deliveries by 300% nationwide.
Source: reuters.com
US: Fresh foods are where it’s at for brick-and-mortar
Brick-and-mortar stores still rule when it comes to fresh foods, including with online shoppers, according to market research giant Nielsen. Grocery retailers can keep customers coming to their physical stores with strong fresh departments - especially produce, deli and seafood - that provide a good variety of high-quality, on-trend products that meet local shoppers’ health and convenience needs, Nielsen said this week in a report titled “Fresh & Focused: The U.S. Retailer Path to Winning Brick & Mortar”.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Catsimatidis’ expanding supermarket holdings with the D’Agostino chain
Greek-American businessman and philanthropist John Catsimatidis is expanding his supermarket holdings by taking controlling ownership of the D’Agostino chain of supermarkets. Catsimatidis, the owner of the Red Apple Group, which operates the Gristedes chain of supermarkets, told Real Estate Weekly (REW) about the deal. With competition growing from Amazon and others, Catsimatidis told REW that “I’m talking about acquiring another company”, adding that “we’ve bought every competitor in the last 25 years.”
Source: thenationalherald.com
Amazon wanted to hire 30,000 workers. More than 200,000 applied
In the week after Amazon announced plans to fill 30,000 jobs in the US, the company was deluged with more than 208,000 online applications. That's more than 18 job applications uploaded per minute. And the resumes keep on coming. "People across the country understand the value of Amazon jobs with a $15 minimum wage, full benefits from day one, and upskilling opportunities", said Beth Galetti, senior vice president of HR at Amazon.
Source: edition.cnn.com
US: Giant Eagle taps Beth Newlands Campbell as president
Veteran retail executive Beth Newlands Campbell, most recently president of Mississauga, Canada-based Rexall Drugstore, has quietly swooped into the president’s chair at Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle. Campbell assumed her new role at the 460-store multiformat retailer - which operates 216 supermarkets and 202 GetGo convenience stores - in July. She departed Rexall in April after being appointed president of McKesson Canada’s pharmacy chain in 2017.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: Honeywell and KE2 Therm announce agreement aimed to deliver lower refrigeration energy costs for grocery stores
Honeywell, a global leader in connected buildings, announced it will have selling rights to KE2 Therm Solutions, including industry-leading smart controllers for the refrigeration industry, in the grocery vertical. The combined expertise of Honeywell, the inventor of the retail multi-site energy management industry, and KE2 Therm will help grocers, convenience stores and restaurants lower energy costs, reduce spoilage and meet regulatory guidelines. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, grocery stores are responsible for approximately 9% of the total energy consumed by commercial buildings in the United States, of which more than 50% is from refrigeration. With the agreement, KE2 Therm will also sell Honeywell Multisite technologies including its Novar building controls systems, E-MON electrical meters, and Manning refrigerant leak detection sensors.
Source: prnewswire.com