Holland: Rotterdam joins Amsterdam in freezing new "dark stores"
The city of Rotterdam is to put a 1-year freeze on the introduction of any more "dark stores" - small distribution centres in the city used as hubs for on-demand grocery services like Getir, Gorillas, Flink, Zapp and others. "Everybody knows them by now: darkened windows, disruption to the flow of traffic in shopping streets, noise from loading, reckless bike delivery people and nuisance from the waiting drivers", said Rotterdam city council woman Roos Vermeij in a statement.
Source: reuters.com
Sweden: Axfood sees growth in 'most eventful year' in its history
Swedish retailer Axfood has reported a 7.8% increase in net sales in what chief executive Klas Balkow has described as "probably the most eventful year in [its] history". Net sales for the year totalled SEK57.9mln (€5.57bln). If the Bergendahls Food business, which Axfood acquired last summer, is excluded, net sales rose 2.8% for the year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
New chief executive appointed at Tesco Ireland
Tesco has announced the appointment of a new chief executive at its Republic of Ireland operations, with current chief people officer Natasha Adams set to take the role in April. She replaces Kari Daniels in the role, who has decided to step away from the retailer.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Spar continues free fruit scheme for Scottish schoolchildren
Spar Scotland is launching another round in its continuing campaign to give out free fruit and water to schoolchildren. The Healthy Living Programme is intended to encourage children to eat more fruit and have a healthy lifestyle. The latest stores to take part in the scheme are in Glamis, McAlpine, Ladybank, Stonehouse, Bathgate and Linlithgow and will be giving out the fruit and water on specific days between 7 and 23 February.
Source: talkingretail.com
Carrefour Belgium: The Shipto service is now available in Namur, and includes - for the 1st time - delivery to boats
Carrefour’s Shipto delivery service, which is proving increasingly popular in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Liège and Mons - continues to be rolled out and is now available in Namur. Never has shopping been so straightforward - and now that applies to Namur residents as well. People in boats on the river Meuse will be able to have their shopping delivered within 90 minutes - without having to disembark: 1 of the store's advantages is that it is located right by the river.
Source: carrefour.com
Germany: Tegut expands grocery delivery service via Amazon Prime
German retailer Tegut has expanded its grocery delivery service via Amazon Prime to greater Mainz and Wiesbaden. It is the 7th region after Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Kassel, Würzburg, Marburg and Gießen, where the 2 companies have collaborated for the service.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Greece: Alfa Beta brand president Vassilis Stavrou to leave Ahold Delhaize
Vassilis Stavrou, Brand President of Alfa Beta, has decided to leave Ahold Delhaize. Wouter Kolk, CEO Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia:
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vassilis, who made many contributions during his varied and longstanding career at our company. He is well known and respected for his passion for people and building great teams. His in-depth retail experience and care for others is unique and will be remembered by many.”
Source: aholddelhaize.com
JD.com among FORTUNE 2022 World’s Most Admired Companies with outstanding social responsibility score
JD.com is ranked on the FORTUNE 2022 World’s Most Admired Companies list at No. 6 in the Internet Services and Retailing Category. Other companies listed in the Top 8 industry ranking include Amazon, Alphabet, Xiaomi and more. This is the 2nd time JD.com was named in this list, following last year.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
France gets its 1st vegan butcher
French supermarket chain Carrefour says it has opened the 1st vegan butcher counter in the meat-loving country. New vegan meat products being merchandised butcher shop style at Carrefour come by way of the Unilever-owned Dutch vegan meat brand, The Vegetarian Butcher.
Source: greenqueen.com.hk
UK: Waitrose and Lidl top list of eco-friendly supermarkets
Waitrose and Lidl are the most sustainable supermarkets, according to a Which?’s eco-friendly grocer ranking. Iceland finished last, according to the research, which tracked supermarket policies on: plastic waste and food waste, which shoppers have reported are the biggest issues for them; and greenhouse gas emissions, which most experts say poses the greatest environmental threat.
Source: theguardian.com
Lenders to India's Future Retail call for its assets to be put up for auction
Lenders to Future Retail, the company being fought over by Reliance Industries and Amazon.com Inc, have told India's Supreme Court that its assets should be put up for auction after it missed payments.
Source: reuters.com
Finland: Kesko sees net sales up 8.2% in full year 2021
Kesko has reported 8.2% growth in net sales in full-year 2021, to €11.3bln, in a performance described by chief executive Mikko Helander as the “best in Kesko's history”. Comparable operating profit for the financial year amounted to €775.5mln, increasing by €207.7mln compared to the preceding year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: Zero reveals $11.8mln in new seed funding
Zero, a plastic-free grocery, home and personal care delivery startup, has closed $11.8mln in new seed funding led by Sway Ventures, bringing the total funding raised to date to $16.5mln. On January 10, the company launched what it calls “the fastest, most sustainable online grocery store in the United States”, offering customers eco-friendly free deliveries in less than 2 hours.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Ingles Markets sees nearly 17% sales gain in Q1
Ingles Markets got off to a promising start in fiscal 2022 with robust 1st-quarter sales and earnings growth. For the quarter ended December 25, net sales totaled $1.39bln, up 16.9% from $1.19bln a year earlier, Asheville, North Carolina-based Ingles Markets reported. The gain easily bested upticks of 11.6% in the previous quarter and 10.4% in the 2021 1st quarter and built on elevated grocery sales since the onset of COVID-19.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Ben E. Keith Foods announces acquisition of Florida Food Service
Ben E. Keith Foods proudly announced its purchase of Florida Food Service, Inc. The acquisition, which closed February 2, 2022, includes all assets of Florida Food Service - including the 86,000 square foot distribution center in Gainesville, Florida. This acquisition will create the ninth division of Ben E. Keith Foods across 15 states.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Costco keeps up sales pace in January
Costco Wholesale started the calendar year with a bang, posting strong January net and comparable sales atop double-digit sequential and prior-year gains. In the 4 weeks ended January 30, net sales advanced 15.5% to $15.76bln from $13.64bln a year earlier, when sales rose 17.9%, Costco said. The Issaquah, Washington-based warehouse club chain noted that Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year occurred 11 days earlier in 2022, on February 1, which lifted international sales by 4% and overall sales by 0.5% for January.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Amazon increases the price of Prime nearly 17% to $139 per year
Amazon is raising the price of its annual Prime membership to $139 from $119, the company announced. Amazon hasn’t raised the price of its Prime membership program since 2018, when it increased from $99 to $119, the current fee.
Source: cnbc.com