Canada: Empire’s Michael Medline weighs in on supplier fees
Michael Medline, president & CEO of Empire Company and Sobeys Inc., says he does not think government legislation of grocery relationships with suppliers would be helpful because of the complexity of the relationships. But he is open to an industry code of conduct. “I wasn’t used to the kind of relationships we see in grocery when I came into the business. I find some of the relationships repugnant and some of them are just plain bad for Canada. Suppliers seem bullied and it goes all the way down to farmers and independent retailers. It discourages innovation and hollows out our suppliers”.
Source: grocerybusiness.ca
US: Walmart designates 4 stores as ‘test centers’ for ‘new era of retail’
Walmart has earmarked 4 stores as “test centers” for piloting new technology and in-store and omnichannel retail concepts and practices. John Crecelius, senior vice president of associate product and next-generation stores at Walmart U.S., said in a blog post that 2020 - marked by vast changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic - has “ushered in a new era of retail”, with customers now “asking for retailers to show up differently”.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Blue Apron's Q3 revenue climbs 13%
Blue Apron's net revenue for the third quarter of 2020 increased 13% year over year to $112.3mln - thanks in part to pandemic ordering. Even so, Q3 net revenue was negatively impacted by approximately $2mln of credits issued for customer boxes affected by a voluntary recall of onions supplied to the company, the meal-kit provider said.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Amazon revenue jumps 37% in Q3
Amazon notched a 37% year-over-year increase in net sales in the third quarter, reaching $96.1bln. The retailer also gave an update on its most recent Prime Day, which was delayed this year because of the pandemic, and noted that holiday shopping has started earlier than ever. Amazon’s operating income increased to $6.2bln in the third quarter, compared with operating income of $3.2bln in Q3 - an increase of nearly 94%. Net income, meanwhile, increased to $6.3bln in the third quarter, compared with net income of $2.1bln in the third quarter of 2019 - an increase of 200%.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Ireland: Tesco to create 450 permanent jobs nationwide in lead-up to Christmas
Tesco Ireland has announced that it is to create 450 permanent jobs across the country, 120 of them to be based in Cork. The supermarket chain is also generating 700 temporary positions for the Christmas trading period and is already recruiting for these positions.
Source: rte.ie
Portugal: Jeronimo Martins grew Q3 profit, sales as lockdowns lifted
Portuguese retailer Jeronimo Martins said its net profit grew 11% to 115mln euros ($135.9mln) in the third quarter, supported by a slight rise in sales as demand slowly returned with the lifting of lockdowns. Sales from July to September rose 2.7% to 4.9bln euros, with a 6.4% rise in revenues in Poland - where the company’s Biedronka unit is the largest food retailer - offsetting a 1.2% drop at its domestic Pingo Doce supermarket chain.
Source: reuters.com
SuperValu is the first Irish supermarket to introduce Own Brand Compostable Grass Trays for Organic Apples
SuperValu has announced that Organic Apples will now be sold in Compostable Grass Trays. October is the most popular month for Organic Apple sales in SuperValu and the new compostable packaging on organic apples will divert a massive 1 tonne of plastic from landfill. The new compostable grass trays are pulp based and composed of grass and wood or recycled paper fibre, they can be composted easily at home in the brown compost bin found in most homes.
Source: supervalu.ie
Swedes shop for the climate
In a bid to increase consumer awareness of the effect that food has on the environment, one of the biggest food brands in Sweden, Felix (owned by Orkla), launched a pop-up shop called Klimatbutiken (The Climate Shop). It allows customers to shop using CO2-equivalents (CO2e) as currency instead of the Swedish krona, with each customer given a CO2e ‘budget’ on entering the shop. The challenge is to buy a full week's worth of food while staying within the CO2e budget. The less environmental impact a food is deemed to have, the less expensive it is.
Source: new-nutrition.com
Belgium: Uber Eats delivers groceries for Carrefour in Brussels and Liège
The previously announced cooperation between delivery service Uber Eats and food retailer Carrefour Belgium has started on Tuesday in Brussels and Liège. Other cities will follow as demand is very high. Carrefour and Uber Eats already announced their partnership in Belgium last summer, but only this week the new service got off to a concrete start.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Groupe Casino Q3 sales slow on weak demand in France
French retailer Casino said sales growth slowed in the third quarter, as a weaker performance in France held back robust growth in Brazil, the group's second-largest market. In France, lower tourist numbers in Paris and the southeast of the country in July due to the pandemic weighed on the performance of Monoprix and Franprix and also on Géant hypermarkets. Sales totalled €7.426bln in the third quarter.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Tesco to offer free fruit and veg to 500,000 Healthy Start familiesTesco is expanding its food donation programme to help families eat more fresh fruit and vegetables over the winter. From November 16th, the supermarket will give any of the 500,000 families who use the weekly Healthy Start vouchers a £1 coupon to spend on fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables. Every time a customer hands over their vouchers at the checkout, they will automatically receive the money-off coupon to redeem off their next shop.
Source: tescoplc.com
X5 launches 'hard discounter' as Russians turn to low-cost convenience stores
Russian market leader X5 launched a new line of discount shops while Magnit reported strong sales growth at its convenience stores, with low prices and speed set to drive the country's post-pandemic retail market. Russia's largest food retailer X5 opened a new brand of 'hard discounter' called Chizhik, the Russian name for a bird from the finch family, with low prices and convenience its core goals, chief executive officer Igor Shekhterman said.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Retailer Coviran increases market share in Portugal
Spanish supermarket chain Coviran has increased its market share in Portugal, as it seeks to gain a foothold in the small supermarket category. As of the end of 2019, Coviran boasted a 1.06% market share in Portugal, while in Spain it has a stable 2.32% share. If only stores with a retail space of 800 square metres are taken into account, the retailer's share rises to 8.96% in Spain and 2.81% in Portugal. Coviran ended 2019 with a network of 2,427 franchisees and 2,855 stores, of which 2,563 are located in Spain and 292 in Portugal. Gross sales in 2019 increased 6.7% year-on-year to €1.46bln, of which €160mln was generated in Portugal and €1.3bln in Spain.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Waitrose.com to recruit nearly 1,850 drivers and pickers this Christmas
This Christmas, Waitrose will be recruiting nearly 1,850 additional drivers and pickers for its online delivery service, Waitrose.com. The combination of temporary and permanent roles will help meet the surge in customer demand for the Waitrose.com service, picking and delivering online orders in Waitrose shops and also within 2 online fulfilment centres in Enfield and Coulsdon.
Source: waitrose.pressarea.com