Amazon bringing grocery to Philadelphia
Philadelphia reportedly is about to gain its first Amazon grocery store - part of an effort by the company to bring more food retail to that general area, and the latest development in Amazon’s ongoing push to capture more grocery spending from consumers. A new report from the Philadelphia Business Journal has Amazon signing a lease for 40,000 square feet of space on the ground floor of a building located at 6th Street and Spring Garden Street in the central part of the city.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Ahold Delhaize USA offers self-distribution update
As it transitions to a fully integrated self-distribution supply-chain network, Ahold Delhaize USA has revealed that 6 distribution facilities are expected to move into the self-managed network in 2021, bringing self-distributed Ahold Delhaize USA brand center store volume to about 65%. The remaining volume is expected to come into the self-managed network by the close of 2023, as the company noted last December, when it first unveiled its plans to transform and expand its U.S. supply-chain operations over the next three years by investing $480mln.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Dollar General adds fresh produce to 6 stores in Cleveland, answering city planners' concern
Dollar General has added fresh produce to 6 of its Cleveland stores, checking off one of the reasons why Cleveland City Council approved a moratorium on building more dollar stores in the city late this spring. While remodeling the stores, Dollar General added fruits and vegetables and “refreshed” the layout of the stores to make shopping easier, the Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company said in a written statement.
Source: cleveland.com
US: eMeals expands online grocery integrations to Albertsons & Safeway
Digital meal planning service eMeals announced the expansion of its online grocery coverage to include integrations with Albertsons and Safeway, enhancing its position as the largest meal inspiration platform offering integrated online ordering from all major national grocery retailers. With a few clicks, subscribers can now send their weekly eMeals-generated shopping lists directly to Albertsons and Safeway stores as well as to Walmart, Kroger, Amazon and all the retailers served by Instacart and Shipt for curbside pickup or delivery.
Source: prnewswire.com
UK: Asda bought by billionaire Issa brothers in £6.8bln deal
Two billionaire brothers from Blackburn have won the battle to buy Asda from Walmart of the US, in a deal valuing the supermarket chain at £6.8bln. A consortium of Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital will take a majority stake in Asda. It means the grocer will return to majority UK ownership for the first time in two decades.
Source: bbc.com
UK: Morrisons to extend payments to small suppliers until the end of January
Morrisons will continue to make immediate payments to its smaller suppliers until the end of January to help them through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and to provide stability now that the UK is in a recession. The Bradford-based firm has been making these immediate payments to help small foodmakers and farmers with their cash flow since March. The firm said the payments highlight its support for British farmers in the week British Food Fortnight comes to a close. The 5% discount that Morrisons’ farmers receive on their grocery shop is also being extended to thank them as they continue to help feed the nation.
Source: yorkshirepost.co.uk
UK: Ocado sued by AutoStore over patent infringement
British online supermarket group Ocado was hit with a lawsuit by robotics company AutoStore for allegedly infringing patents, prompting it to retaliate that it would investigate whether the Norwegian firm infringed Ocado patents. Ocado - which this week became the most valuable retailer on Britain’s stock market - has only a 1.7% share of Britain’s grocery market. However, its state-of-the-art technology for robotically operated warehouses has spawned partnership deals with supermarket chains around the world, underpinning a stock market valuation of over 20bln pounds. AutoStore said it had filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom. AutoStore said Ocado has been its customer since 2012.
Source: uk.reuters.com
Italy: New SPAR video highlights fresh supply chain
DESPAR Partner, Maiora, has launched a new brand video titled ‘From the Farm to Your Plate’ that shows the journey of fresh produce being sourced for a DESPAR Own Brand of local, traceable products. The SPAR Italy Partner for the Centre-South regions, company Maiora, recently shared a new video that illustrates the safe supply chain of DESPAR’s traceable private label produce, called Passo dopo Passo (Step by step).
Source: spar-international.com
Germany: Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof gets a new start
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is now allowed to restart with 2bln euros less in debt. However, this was preceded by a major restructuring: more than 40 stores have to close down and, according to the management, some 4 000 employees will lose their jobs. Earlier, the trade unions had even talked about almost 5 000 redundancies.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Mubadala confirms Dh3.1bln deal with India's Reliance Retail
Mubadala Investment is making its second multi-billion dirham exposure in Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance this time through a Dh3.1bln (844mlnUSD) deal for a stake in Reliance Retail Ventures ltd. In June, the Abu Dhabi entity had committed $1.2bln in Reliance’s telecom and digital portal, Jio. Reliance Retail generates close to 640mln footfalls across its nearly 12,000 stores across India. The company offers access to farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises to sell their wares through these outlets.
Source: gulfnews.com
Intermarché continues opening drive in Portugal
France's Les Mousquetaires invested nearly €14mln in the opening of three new Intermarché supermarkets in Portugal during September. The retailer is planning to invest a total of €36mln in the opening of 11 Intermarche stores in Portugal during 2020. Since the start of the year, it has opened six stores, including in Samora Correia (following a €5mln investment), Armamar (€1.8mln) and Alcanede (€1.5mln).
Source: esmmagazine.com
China: SPAR unveils new flagship store in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province
SPAR China has unveiled a new flagship store in Jiangmen, a city in the southern province of Guangdong. On 29 August, shoppers could first sample the expansive assortment available at the new store in Taishan Wanda Shopping Center. With a sales area of 6,000m2, the SPAR Hypermarket has a simple yet modern look, offering customers friendly service in a premium shopping environment. The SPAR Hypermarket offers an impressive range of fresh produce, meat, fish, and seafood at competitive prices. The fresh fruit and vegetable section includes local produce but also many exotic and imported fruits that are hard to find at local markets.
Source: spar-international.com
UK & Ireland: Aldi scraps single-use bags for fruit and veg
Aldi is to save more than 100 tonnes of plastic a year by scrapping single-use bags for loose fruit and veg across all stores. The bags will be removed from all its nearly 900 stores by the end of the year. Instead, consumers will be able to bring their own containers or buy reusable drawstring produce bags, which are made from recycled bottles and cost 25p each.
Source: talkingretail.com
Belgium: Shoppers return to Colruyt stores
Despite higher costs due the coronary pandemic, Colruyt Group expects to make at least as much profit this financial year as last year. This was stated by the retailer at its General Meeting. The corona crisis had different effects on Colruyt Group, said Chairman Jef Colruyt in his speech. The food stores experienced large increases in turnover, while the non-food stores had to close temporarily. In response to the pandemic, the group made additional investments to guarantee the safety and health of customers and employees. Employees also received additional compensation. Nevertheless, the net result of the current financial year will at least match that of the previous year, says the top executive. Although that result can still be influenced by the great uncertainty caused by the crisis. Colruyt Group recorded a profit of 380mln euros in the last financial year.
Source: retaildetail.eu