Amazon CEO of Worldwide Consumer Dave Clark resigns
Dave Clark, CEO of Amazon’s worldwide consumer business and a top lieutenant of Andy Jassy, will resign July 1 after 23 years at the company, Amazon announced in a regulatory filing. Clark joined Amazon in May of 1999 in its operations division and quickly rose through the ranks, serving as a key force behind the expansion of its logistics and fulfillment network. Amazon did not name a replacement for Clark, who said in a note to employees, that “it’s time for me to build again”.
Source: cnbc.com
US: Walmart says some suppliers working with retailer to cut prices
Senior Walmart Inc executives said some suppliers have been responding to the largest U.S. retailer's efforts to lower prices despite their own struggles with high inflation, material and labor costs. Investors have questioned Walmart's ability to ask suppliers to offer price reductions when they too are focused on protecting margins in the face of inflation hovering at a four-decade high. "There are certain suppliers that have taken one line, others that are working with us to find ways to reduce costs even in times when costs are going up", John Furner, CEO of Walmart U.S., said in response to an analyst question at the Arkansas-based company's annual meeting.
Source: reuters.com
Canada: Loblaw to build automated warehouse in the GTA
Loblaw Companies Limited plans to build a 1.2mln-square-foot, automated, multi-temperature warehouse in the Greater Toronto Area, which it says will be up and running in the first quarter of 2024. The distribution facility will be part of an industrial park that will be located at the corner of Highway 404 and Green Lane East. Owned by Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Rice Group, the total initial cost of the project is about $170mln, including land and site preparation.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
US: New Publix opens in North Florida
A new Publix Super Market store is welcoming shoppers in Yulee, Florida. The latest location opened at The Crossings of Wildlight shopping center at 76010 William Burgess Boulevard, an area just north of Jacksonville. Anchoring a mixed-use development in the master-planned community of Wildlight, the new store features a broad assortment of grocery products and includes a deli, bakery, meat and seafood counter, fresh produce department, floral section, gourmet meats and cheeses, premium wine and beer and pharmacy.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
UK's Sainsbury's faces investor vote on workers pay amid cost of living crisis
Shareholders in Sainsbury's will get to vote on a resolution at next month's annual meeting calling for Britain's second biggest supermarket group to commit to paying the so-called real living wage to all its workers by July 2023. Responsible investment group ShareAction, which co-ordinated the filing of the resolution in March by an investor coalition that includes Legal & General and Nest, said negotiations with Sainsbury's had reached an impasse and the resolution would definitely go to a vote at the July 7 meeting.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Shoppers stocking up to celebrate a four day Jubilee jamboree
Judging by the early sales Tesco predicted that across the four day holiday it would sell more than 1mln iceberg lettuces and nearly 900,000 packs of plant-based sausages and burgers.
Source: tescoplc.com
France: Carrefour confident on 2022 despite mounting challenges
Carrefour is looking at 2022 with confidence as it works on a new strategy that will allow the French retailer to step up digital expansion and be more resilient amid an increasingly uncertain environment, its boss said. Carrefour, which last year failed to tie up with Canada's Couche-Tard and France's Auchan, has the financial means to expand as a standalone company, Chairman and Chief Executive Alexandre Bompard also told shareholders.
Source: reuters.com
JD Worldwide sales jump as 618 Grand Promotion kicks off
Sales on JD Worldwide, JD.com’s cross-border e-commerce marketplace, surged dramatically with hundreds of brands more than doubling in the first 24 hours after the JD618 Grand Promotion officially kicked off at 8 p.m. (BJT) on May 31. After the eight-day warm-up phase for pre-orders, JD Worldwide saw the transaction value of its duty-free business rise 20 times year-on-year (YOY) and its cross-border surrogate shopping business was up by more than seven times YOY in the first 24 hours of the mid-year shopping festival.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
Jumbo Belgium opens fourth store in East Flanders
Retailer Jumbo is continuing its expansion in East Flanders, having opened the doors of its fourth store in the region and its 20th in total in Belgium. The new store, which opened on 1 June, is located at 229 Brakelsesteenweg in Ninove, west of Brussels. “The store has really become a gem”, says branch manager Nico Dewaele. “Our customers can not only count on a wide range of fresh and tasty products, they can also enjoy a pleasant shopping environment”.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Shoppers threaten to boycott Tesco over face and palm paymentsTesco is reportedly going to introduce biometric payment methods - including face and palm recognition - at the checkout by early next year. Some reports have said that the move will see the UK’s largest supermarket moving away from cash and card payments, with others suggesting they will no longer be accepted at all. Many consumers are apprehensive about the technology, seeing it as one step closer to a cashless society. However, it is widely believed that biometric recognition software - which allow authentication based on physical characteristics - would lead to shorter queues, be more hygienic than tapping in a pin, and is significantly less vulnerable to fraud.
Source: grocerygazette.co.uk