UK: Simply Fresh on Sainsbury’s model acquisition trail
Simply Fresh has set out its acquisition goals for new retailers as part of the extension of the Sainsbury’s supply deal. The Sainsbury’s trial which started in January 2020 at its Willesden store in London was well-received by the retailer and customers, leading to an extension at the group’s Kenilworth store. New COO Michael O’Loughlin explained to ConvenienceStore.co.uk that now the Sainsbury’s trial is over, the partnership will be expanded upon, with Simply Fresh targeting retailers to join the group as a Sainsbury’s supplied store.
Source: conveniencestore.co.uk
UK: Co-op announces change to all stores from November to help shoppers save
Co-op has announced it is lowering the price of everyday products as it makes major changes to every store across the UK. The supermarket is reducing costs and introducing a new value range for customers shopping on a budget. The convenience retailer has dropped the price of more than 300 branded and own-brand products across its 2,600 stores. Everyday essentials have been slashed, with the average price falling almost 15% on products, including fresh fruit, vegetables, fresh British meat, rice, pasta and coffee. In addition, and to further strengthen its value offering, Co-op is launching a 50-strong own label value range, Honest Value from November.
Source: walesonline.co.uk
UK: Iceland eyes same-day delivery with Swift trademark registration
Iceland is thought to be lining up plans to offer a same-day delivery service for its groceries, according to a new trademark registration reported by Retail Week. The frozen food specialist has registered the trademark Swift with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), and is thought to be launching a rapid grocery delivery service to rival Ocado, Amazon, and the UK’s Big Four grocers. In its application to register the trademark, Iceland said ‘Swift’ would relate to “mail order retail services” and “electronic or online retail services”.
Source: chargedretail.co.uk
South Africa: FreshStop’s 330th store opens at Caltex in Bapsfontein
FreshStop, the South African convenience store chain at Caltex stations, opened its 330th store in Bapsfontein, Gauteng. The landmark site has been upgraded and now boasts a brand new FreshStop store. In addition to FreshStop Bapsfontein’s range of fresh fruit and vegetables, selection of grocery items and many convenient, on-the-go snacks and refreshments; the store will now offer Crispy Chicken and Grill to Go outlets, hot takeaways, as well as a full Barista-service House of Coffees coffee bar.
Source: petrolplaza.com
UK: Waitrose cuts the cost of hundreds of products to give affordable quality to customers
Waitrose lowered the prices of over 200 of its most popular own-label products by an average of more than 15%. The cuts quickly follow the John Lewis Partnership’s Plan which pledged to give affordable quality to customers. The price cuts will apply across a range of everyday items, from meat to fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as cleaning products.
Source: waitrose.pressarea.com
Chinese delivery platform Meituan-Dianping trials its first-ever smart AI retail store
Tencent-backed food delivery service Meituan-Dianping has proliferated its offerings over the years by expanding its ecosystem to touch base across all aspects of lifestyle services for the Chinese consumer. Last week, Meituan debuted its first-ever smart AI retail store - MAI Shop - within Beijing’s Shougang Park. A combination of AI and robotics has been applied within the store, the same technology that is regularly seen in ‘New Retail’ formats across supermarkets, convenience stores and more in China.
Source: forbes.com
Holland: Hema goes to Parcom and Jumbo owners
Hema has a (preliminary) deal with acquisition candidate Parcom and Jumbo family Van Eerd. The consortium has 8 weeks to complete the financing. Meanwhile, the department store chain is also announcing good quarterly results. Hema has found its buyer: the department store chain is reserved for the consortium consisting of Parcom and Mississippi Ventures (the investment vehicle of the Van Eerd family, owners of supermarket chain Jumbo), each of which will invest 50% in the acquisition. The deal will generate a gross amount of 440mln euros for the creditors of the department store chain.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Switzerland: Coop to hike wages in 2021
Coop Switzerland has announced plans to hike wages by 1% in 2021 and strengthen minimum wages. The initiative follows negotiations between Coop and its social partners, and will see the retailer increasing the minimum wage.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Co-op partners with Gophr to further expand online home delivery in ScotlandCo-op has partnered with same-day home delivery specialists Gophr to further expand the roll-out of its online shop in Scotland and increase the number of slots available for shoppers. The new partnership goes live with 6 Co-op stores in Glasgow this month (October), before rolling out to more than 50 stores in towns and cities across Scotland over the coming weeks, making thousands more slots available across Scotland in areas also including: Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Perth.
Source: retailtimes.co.uk
Amazon Fresh readies to open Chicagoland stores
With 4 Amazon Fresh grocery stores under construction in the Chicago area, the Seattle-based e-tailer is now hiring approximately 1,500 full- and part-time positions, including managerial roles, for its new stores opening in Naperville, Bloomingdale, Oak Lawn and Schaumburg. While Amazon did not share opening dates for the stores, according to Planned Grocery, the 43,000-square-foot Schaumburg store is slated for a November 2020 opening, and the 34,361-square-foot Naperville store is set to open in Q4 2020.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: New grocery store offers discount deals on produce
A new grocery store is open in Kennewick with the goal of providing healthy food options for less. "It feels great to get a place where people can come and get their produce", General Manager Jesus Esparza said. SM Produce 4 Less is a fresh produce store offering a variety of fruits and veggies at a discounted price. A few of their discounts include a pack of six avocados for $1.99, garlic packs and sacks of potatoes for less than $2 and a bunch of bananas for $1.
Source: keprtv.com
US: This Texas-based grocery store has the best delivery service in the country, study says
Grocery delivery has surged in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic - and a Texas grocery chain does it better than all the others, according to a new study. H-E-B has the best grocery delivery service in the U.S., a study by global research firm Ipsos found. What makes it so great? That’d be H-E-B’s accuracy. Its grocery deliveries are accurate 99% of the time, Ipsos said.
Source: star-telegram.com
Free, one-hour grocery pickup now available at all U.S. Whole Foods Market locations
Free, one-hour pickup from Whole Foods Market is now available at all U.S. locations for Prime members. Prime members can shop thousands of bestselling items including fresh produce, high-quality meat and seafood, holiday favorites, everyday staples, and other locally sourced items all available with free, one-hour pickup on orders of $35 or more. Now even more customers will get to experience grocery pickup from Whole Foods Market.
Source: blog.aboutamazon.com