US: Meijer seeks products made in the Midwest at upcoming Localization Summit
Meijer announced that it will host its first virtual Localization Summit, giving local businesses across the retailer's six-state footprint the opportunity to showcase their offerings to Meijer merchants. "We are proud to be a Midwestern retailer and want to carry products that highlight our communities", said Peter Whitsett, Meijer Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Farmstead moving into Miami
The expansion of Farmstead continues apace: The e-grocer has opened the waitlist for service in its latest market, Miami. Waitlist signups will be limited to the first 1,000 customers, with service slated to begin late in the first quarter of 2021. Miami will be Farmstead’s fifth market. The Burlingame, California-based company started out in the San Francisco Bay area, and now also serves Charlotte, North Carolina. It has also opened waitlists for service in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee. Service in both of those markets will roll out in the first quarter of 2021.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Costco now offers curbside pickup
Costco has begun offering its first curbside pickup service. The service is available via the food retailer’s 3 locations in New Mexico. Costco has yet to release a statement on the service. According to its consumer-facing website, however, the service is powered by Instacart and enables the retailer’s online shoppers to pick a 1-hour no-contact pickup window. Costco charges $10 for the service and requires a $100 minimum order. The service is available only to Costco members.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Whole Foods to buy Whole Grocer
Jackson Whole Grocer is being purchased by Whole Foods Market. They’ve announced a “definitive agreement” for the acquisition, which is supposed to close in the early part of this year. “We are fortunate to have this opportunity with Whole Foods Market, an organization that is aligned with our mission of creating and sharing exceptional experiences in food and shopping”, Whole Grocer owner Jeff Rice said in a press release.
Source: jhnewsandguide.com
Holland: Albert Heijn increases market share to 35.0% in 2020: Nielsen
Dutch retailer Albert Heijn increased its market share to 35.0% in 2020, driven by strong demand for home delivery of groceries, according to data from Nielsen. In a year marked by 'extremes', the retailer witnessed the closure of several Albert Heijn 'to go' stores at universities, railway stations, and shops in the city centres. While customer footfall declined in stores, the company's online grocery delivery service ah.nl saw strong growth.
Source: esmmagazine.com
China: Alibaba's Jack Ma makes first public appearance in three months
Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma made his first public appearance since October when he spoke to a group of teachers by video, easing concern about his unusual absence from the limelight and sending shares in the e-commerce giant surging. Speculation over Ma’s whereabouts has swirled in the wake of news this month that he was replaced in the final episode of a reality TV show he had been a judge on, and amid a regulatory clampdown by Beijing on his sprawling business empire.
Source: reuters.com
How this Dutch startup plans to disrupt the supermarket landscape
Through their packaged groceries, supermarkets are a significant source of waste - in particular of plastic. The average European consumer produces about 30kg of plastic per year, two-thirds of which stems from packaged food. This means that switching to waste free supermarkets could save up to 20kg of plastic per person per year. Impossible? Not according to co-founders Jouri Schoemaker (30) and Martijn Bijmolt (28) of Rotterdam-based startup Pieter Pot - the first circular supermarket in the Netherlands. Driven by their own urge to reduce their climate impact and dissatisfied with existing solutions, they founded Pieter Pot in late 2019. As they observe, everyone wants less waste, but it is currently too difficult for the average consumer to realize this. Consumers don’t want to bring their own pots and packages and fill them in the supermarket, they want convenience. Enter Pieter Pot.
Source: forbes.com
eBay may be prepping Korean subsidiary for sale
eBay might be selling its South Korea marketplace, eBay Korea, in another step in the reorganization already dividing up the U.S. eCommerce market, Bloomberg reported. eBay said it had “initiated a process to explore, review and evaluate a range of strategic alternatives for its Korea business”, Bloomberg reported. “The company is considering options that would maximize value for its shareholders and create future growth opportunities for the business”.
Source: pymnts.com
UK: Iceland extends distribution partnership with XPO Logistics
XPO Logistics, Inc., a leading global provider of transportation and logistics solutions, has renewed its contract with frozen food retail leader Iceland Foods for warehousing and distribution services. XPO will implement a phased strategy to increase growth capacity for the British supermarket chain, with scalable initiatives for technology, labor optimization, fleet optimization and cost savings. The renewal extends XPO’s partnership with Iceland to more than a decade.
Source: globenewswire.com
Switzerland: Migros sees sales rise 4% in 2020
Migros has reported Group sales rose 4% to CHF29.8bln (US$33.5bln), with retail sales outperforming. Migros said retail sales, which were driven by its growth online, increased by 7.2% to CHF24.2bln (US$27.2bln). Migros said its growth in 2020 was underpinned by changing shopper behaviours, which pushed its online channel’s increase in sales to 31.0%, to almost CHF3.0bln (US$3.4bln), and, therefore, saw the channel account for more than 10% of its total for the first time. Migros said the pace of sales growth meant it was able to further extend its market leading position in the online channel.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
France: Casino aims to compete more on price through its online store
Local trade publication LSA has reported that Casino wants to provide a single, lower price across its ecommerce stores nationwide as it looks to compete more forcefully by providing value. The retailer can invest in prices due to its investments it has made in logistics and other areas of its supply chain. The step means shoppers will access one, unified ecommerce site for its hypermarkets and supermarkets, Casino.fr, and will pay the same price wherever they are in the country.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
China: Alibaba-backed logistics firm Best weighs sale in strategic review - sources
New York-listed Best Inc, a Chinese logistics firm backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, is considering a sale as part of a strategic review, six people with knowledge of the matter said. With the endorsement of Alibaba, its biggest shareholder, Best has tapped financial advisers to explore options as its shares have been underperforming and are worth a fifth of its IPO price in 2018, two of the people involved in the discussions said.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Tesco launches first sustainability-linked bond of €750mln
Tesco reported: "Tesco has launched a bond that, for the first time, is linked to the Company’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tesco was the first business globally to set a zero-carbon goal in 2009 and later the first FTSE 100 Company to set science-based carbon reduction targets on a 1.5-degree trajectory. The launch of our first sustainability-linked bond further demonstrates the strength of our commitment to reduce our impact on the environment and become a net zero carbon business in the UK by 2035".
Source: tescoplc.com