Amazon offers £1,000 bonus to recruits as battle for workers heats up
Online marketplace Amazon is offering new warehouse workers a £1,000 joining bonus as it tries to compete in the current hiring crisis. The business says warehouse pickers and packers across the UK are "urgently needed" to meet booming demand.
Source: news.sky.com
Online grocery sales drop 10% in UK, as shoppers return to stores: NielsenIQ
Shoppers made 50mln more visits to UK supermarkets in the 4 weeks to 14 August, which in turn led to a 10% decline in online grocery sales, new data from NielsenIQ has found. Despite the drop in online penetration, NielsenIQ said that e-commerce channels remain a popular medium for British shoppers, who spent around £1.1bln (€1.28bln) in online grocery during the 4 week period.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Belgium: Too Good To Go launches new campaign for potatoes
Food waste prevention firm Too Good To Go is working with key players in Belgium to prevent 750,000 tonnes of potatoes from being wasted with the new campaign 'SOS Patat: save the potatoes, eat the fries'. Created in Denmark in 2016 and launched in March 2018 in Belgium, the Too Good To Go application allows action against food waste by connecting traders and citizens so that the latter can collect unsold goods from nearby shops at the end of the day.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Russia's Yandex launches e-grocery delivery in Paris
Russian internet giant Yandex has launched an online grocery delivery service in Paris under the Yango Deli brand, it said, pursuing global expansion as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drive demand for online delivery services. Paris became the first European city where Yandex started offering grocery service after Yango, the international arm of Yandex Go, the firm’s taxi aggregator and food tech business, tapped the delivery market in Israel last year.
Source: reuters.com
Iceland call on Asda, Tesco, Aldi and others to make major change to UK stores
Calls for major supermarkets to make a major layout change in UK stores has been backed by Iceland, following new research. Customers make healthier food purchases if sweets and snacks are removed from checkouts and the ends of aisles, according to a new study. The UK’s ‘big six’ supermarkets Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Aldi could be affected if the new finding are acted upon. Scientists from the University of Southampton teamed up with Iceland supermarkets to trial new layouts including placing fruit and vegetables near store entrances.
Source: harrowtimes.co.uk
UK: Morrisons set to enter FTSE 100 as M&A interest boost shares
British supermarket Morrisons is set to enter the FTSE 100 index, Britain’s blue chip benchmark, after its share price surged over 60% since receiving an offer from private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in June. Index manager FTSE Russell placed Morrisons on its “indicative FTSE 100 Additions” list on August 24 and said it would make a final announcement on Wednesday September 1 based on the data collected at the close on August 31.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Morrisons' pension trustees warn of risks from takeoverA takeover of Morrisons by either of its 2 suitors could “materially weaken” the security of the supermarket’s pension schemes if no additional protection were agreed, the trustees said in a letter to the company. The British retailer is at the heart of a $9.5bln bidding war between U.S. private equity groups Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and a consortium led by SoftBank owned Fortress Investment Group.
Source: reuters.com
Lidl Ireland aiming for carbon neutrality by 2025
The Irish and Northern Irish arm of German supermarket chain Lidl has committed to becoming carbon neutral within 4 years' time. The multiple has also said it plans to reduce its operational emissions by 46% by 2030, with the remainder offset through programmes. "I think the topic of climate change and the requirement to reduce our carbon foot print is clear, and what is also clear is that we all have a role to play", said JP Scally, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland chief executive.
Source: rte.ie
Maxima Latvija increases sourcing from local producers
Maxima Latvija has announced that it plans to increase its sourcing capabilities from Latvian producers, investing some €30mln in sourcing local products. The announcement means that Maxima will now source additional products from suppliers such as Laima, Spilva, Lāči, Putnu Fabrika Ķekava, Nākotne, Latvijas Piens, and Abavas Dārzi.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Amazon sellers make up 5.5% of UK’s retail sales
Amazon sellers in the United Kingdom account for 5.5% of the country’s entire monthly retail turnover. Every week, just 13,500 Amazon UK sellers generate sales worth hundreds of millions.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
Edeka launches international purchasing alliance, Epic Partners
German supermarket chain Edeka joins forces with colleagues such as Picnic, Biedronka, Jerónimo Martins and Magnit to negotiate 'on top' conditions with brand manufacturers. The new European purchasing alliance, named Epic Partners, has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation will conduct negotiations with the industry across national borders, according to the German trade magazine Lebensmittel Zeitung. Edeka took the initiative and managed to convince a nice list of European colleagues to join the project.
Source: retaildetail.eu
US: ShopRite launches new ‘Fresh to Table’ in-store experience
Meal solutions are taking center stage at a Philadelphia ShopRite store, which recently introduced Fresh to Table, an innovative store-within-a-store concept where customers can find fresh, on-trend foods and easy-to-prepare ingredients in a variety of grab-and-go formats. Additionally, Fresh to Table offers new digital conveniences designed to help customers save time and money, says the company, part of the Wakefern Food Corp. in Keasbey, New Jersey.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: Albertsons tests Instacart pickup at 40 stores
Albertsons Cos. has begun piloting an Instacart-powered online grocery pickup service in 6 major cities. Instacart said that 40 stores - under the Albertsons, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Safeway and Vons banners - now offer Instacart pickup in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver. The new click-and-collect service will work in tandem with Albertsons Cos.’ Drive Up & Go curbside pickup program, San Francisco-based Instacart noted.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: GrubMarket expands to Pennsylvania and Georgia through acquisition of Atlantic Fresh Trading
GrubMarket announced it has completed the acquisition of Atlantic Fresh Trading ("Atlantic Fresh"), a full-service provider of fresh fruits and vegetables across the United States with offices in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, California, and Texas. Atlantic Fresh is a highly established and longstanding produce provider to a wide range of business customers including restaurants, grocery stores, supermarkets, and others. It has long-standing and diverse grower relationships with many local and international growers.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: sweetgreen to acquire Boston-based Spyce to scale the future of healthy fast food
sweetgreen, the mission-driven brand serving healthy food at scale, announced its plans to acquire Spyce, the Boston-based restaurant company powered by automation. The acquisition will allow sweetgreen to reimagine healthy fast food with even better quality, consistency, and efficiency.
Source: businesswire.com