US: Wakefern announces spate of promotions, retirement
Wakefern Food Corp. has made a series of executive moves in announcing the retirement of grocery industry veteran Brett Wing and promotion of Kevin McDonnell to president of Price Rite Marketplace.
Source: supermarketnews.com
South Asian food marketplace Quicklly links with home chef platform
Online South Asian food marketplace Quicklly announced in a marketing email a partnership with Shef, a platform for homecooked meals, including Indian and Bangaldeshi cuisine. Quicklly customers in the Chicago, New York City and San Francisco Bay metropolitan areas can now make scheduled orders for food from Shef. For Quicklly, teaming up with Shef helps it fill a gap in its food offerings, Quicklly co-founder Keval Raj said in an interview. South Asian cuisine is a big market for Shef, and the partnership allows Shef to expand its customer reach along with giving its chefs access to groceries from Quicklly, Raj said. Separately, Quicklly recently announced a food affiliate program where “brand ambassadors” can earn commissions for posting about their Quicklly orders on social media with a unique referral code.
Source: grocerydive.com
Walmart to charge some suppliers new fuel and pickup fees - memo
Walmart Inc will charge some of its suppliers from next month new fees to transport goods to its warehouses and stores in response to rising fuel and transportation costs, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
Source: reuters.com
Amazon now delivers with e-cargo bikes in the UK
Ecommerce giant Amazon is launching its first ‘micromobility’ hub in London. The launch consists of a fleet of e-cargo bikes and on-foot delivery staff. The hub will carry out around 5mln deliveries a year.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
Update on Gorillas' presence in Italy
Gorillas reported: "As we announced on May 24th, we have decided to sharpen our focus on Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, and the US (New York City). The vast majority of our revenues (90%) come from these key markets. In the case of our Italian presence, although we are still carefully evaluating various strategic and financial alternatives, including the sale of the company or the entry of new investors, we have not yet reached a level of concreteness in these negotiations that would clearly point to a successful outcome. This is why we have decided to start a gradual process that would ultimately end with the closing down of our business in Italy".
Source: gorillas.io
Aldi Portugal targets 20 store openings this year
German discounter Aldi plans to open 20 supermarkets in Portugal this year and create 450 additional jobs. Matosinhos, Guimarães, Palmela (Quinta do Anjo) and Loulé are some of the locations for the new stores, the retailer noted.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Intermarché, Louis Delhaize Group announce supply partnership
French retailer Intermarché has announced a supply partnership with Louis Delhaize Group for consumer products, following on from the dissolution of the latter's supply partnership with Carrefour. In a statement, Intermarché, part of Groupement Les Mousquetaires, said that it had connected with Louis Delhaize with a view to 'concluding a purchasing partnership'. Prior to this announcement, Carrefour issued a statement to inform that purchase agreements between Carrefour and Louis Delhaize would cease on February 28 of next year for France, and 31 December this year for Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as international contracts.
Source: esmmagazine.com
New Zealand: Supermarket code could mean more variety without higher prices, says minister
A new supermarket code benefiting suppliers could mean more shoppers have a wider range of food products to choose from and need not mean higher prices, Commerce Minister David Clark says. Clark released a discussion paper setting out options for a code that supermarket groups Countdown and Foodstuffs would need to abide by, and announced he would appoint a grocery commissioner, based within the Commerce Commission, to hold the industry to account. Clark said the mandatory code, which is now out for public consultation, would address an imbalance in the bargaining power major grocery retailers had over their suppliers and “ensure suppliers get a fair deal”.
Source: stuff.co.nz
JD Super Releases “JD618 Fresh Food Consumption Trends Report”
JD.com’s online supermarket business JD Super released the “JD618 Fresh Food Consumption Trends Report”, providing insights into trending products, consumption patterns, demographics, etc. With the consumption upgrading, consumers have expressed a rising demand for high-quality fresh food. Another consumption trend suggests that consumers are now more habituated to purchasing fruits, vegetables, and eggs online. According to the report, the transaction volume of fruits increased by 60% YOY, eggs by 33% YOY, mangosteen by 100% YOY, Zespri kiwi from New Zealand by 106% YOY, and durians from Thailand by 150% YOY.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
UK: Prices of BBQ essentials from ALDI and the Big Four compared
To coincide with National BBQ Week, new analysis has revealed just how much you could be saving by picking up all your BBQ essentials at Aldi. Specially Selected Coleslaw (300g) - £0.99. Nature’s Pick Sweetcorn x2 - £1.29. The Deli Potato Salad (300g) - £0.75. Nature’s Pick Romaine Lettuce x2 - £0.95.
Source: aldipresscentre.co.uk
UK: Sainsbury’s invests hundreds of millions in price cuts
Shoppers are now watching “every penny and every pound”, says Simon Roberts, the CEO of Sainsbury’s. He expects the pressure on household budgets to intensify for the rest of the year. “We really understand how hard it is for millions of households right now and that’s why we are investing 500mln pound (584mln euros) and doing everything we can to keep our prices low, especially on the products customers buy most often”.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Delhaize wants to double its plant-based offer
Today, Delhaize sells some 400 vegetable meat and dairy substitutes. That number should double by 2025. In its own words, the food retailer wants to start a revolution in the minds of its customers right now and expects a lot of innovations in the coming years. “By increasing the range and making it more clearly visible in the stores, we want to make the step to that range more accessible, because we are well aware that there may still be some barriers. People are not always familiar with the taste and texture. Or wrongly think it is very expensive”, says spokesman Roel Dekelver.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: ODDBOX expansion plans bear fruit with PODFather
ODDBOX, the UK’s food-waste-fighting fruit & veg box subscription service, has selected PODFather’s fleet management and electronic proof of delivery solution to optimise plans across its rapidly expanding operation. With a fleet of 50 vehicles operating out one, soon to be two depots the ODDBOX team is currently delivering fruit and vegetable boxes to over 40,000 customers located across London and the South East of England. Having reviewed the software options the market had to offer, the ODDBOX team were impressed by PODFather’s breadth of functionality, ease of integration and professional approach to tackling their planning challenges.
Source: thepodfather.com
New Zealand: Countdown opens new Auckland distribution centre 
Farm-to-fork freshness will know no bounds with the opening of Countdown's new $150mln Auckland Fresh Distribution Centre (AFDC). The state-of-the-art facility lies on 20,000 square metres and has created 260 jobs. It will service Countdown stores across the entire North Island.
Source: supermarketnews.co.nz