Amazon bought Whole Foods five years ago for $13.7bln. Here’s what’s changed at the high-end grocer
Five years ago, Amazon closed its $13.7bln purchase of Whole Foods, by far the biggest acquisition ever for the e-commerce and cloud computing giant. Since then, Amazon has made a lot of changes to the specialty grocer, from lowering prices to embedding checkout technology in its 500-plus U.S. stores. Amazon has opened 60 new locations, including one “dark store” entirely devoted to filling online orders. Yet Whole Foods still controls just over 1% of the grocery market, according to research firm Numerator, compared with Walmart’s 19% and Kroger’s 9%. Next week, Whole Foods gets a new CEO for the first time since its founding in 1980. Operating chief Jason Buechel steps into the lead role on September 1, succeeding colorful, polarizing co-founder John Mackey, who was once described as a “right-wing hippie”.
Source: cnbc.com
US: Kroger announces second annual Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator cohort
The Kroger Co. announced the winners of its second annual Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator. The accelerator cohort consists of five new and emerging brands, each selected to join Kroger's Fresh suppliers and enhance the selection of local items available across the Kroger Family of Companies. 2022 Go Fresh & Local Accelerator winners: Coro Foods (Kent, WA). The Ugly Company (Kingsburg, CA). Hiatus (Baltimore, MD). j. berry Nursery & Genetics (Grand Saline, TX). Zacca Hummus (Boise, ID).
Source: prnewswire.com
US: CUB rolls out Afresh's AI-powered Fresh Operating System after seeing transformational results
Afresh Technologies, the leading provider of AI-powered technology built specifically for Fresh categories within grocery stores, announced the rollout of its Fresh Operating System across CUB stores. After utilizing Afresh's predictive ordering and merchandising solution in select stores, CUB, Minnesota's largest grocery store serving millions of customers each month, quickly recognized significant improvements to inventory turns and product freshness for consumers, material labor efficiencies for store personnel, and a profound reduction in food waste across their supply chain.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Food City to acquire Cooke’s Food Store/Fresh n’ Lows
Amid the business’ ongoing expansion, Food City officials have revealed plans to acquire the Cooke’s family of stores in the greater Cleveland, Tennessee, market area. The stores range in size from 15,000 to 35,000 square feet and include five Fresh n’ Low locations, as well as the Cooke’s Food Store & Pharmacy. Its locations are known for their fresh-cut meats, deli, fresh produce, full-service Cooke’s Pharmacy and community involvement.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Schnuck Markets opens new Schnucks Express format
Schnuck Markets has launched Schnucks Express, a convenience-focused outlet connected to its EatWell natural food store format in Columbia, Missouri. Located at 111 South Providence Rd., Schnucks Express has its own entrance and is stocked to bring shoppers “a complete grocery experience” by offering staple products and customer favorites from traditional Schnucks supermarkets across the Midwest, St. Louis-based Schnucks said.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: myQ smart technology will soon expand Walmart+ InHome deliveries to the garage
Walmart is joining forces with myQ® smart garage technology to expand in-garage delivery through Walmart+ InHome. Millions of homeowners who already use the myQ app to monitor, control and secure their garage door, and Walmart+ InHome members, will soon be able to have their Walmart groceries and household essentials conveniently delivered to their garage. InHome associates will also be able to pick up returns within the garage, eliminating the hassle of returns for customers.
Source: prnewswire.com
Lidl the best performing retailer in France in July/August period: Kantar
Lidl was the best performing retailer in France in the period from 11 July to 7 August, new data from Kantar has shown, with the discounter reporting a 0.3 percentage point increase in market share in the period. Achieving a market share of 7.6% for the period, Lidl has seen an increase in customer appreciation (+2 percentage points) as well as price attractiveness (+1 percentage point), Kantar's data showed.
Source: esmmagazine.com
India: Ordering fresh fruits & vegetables is easy as pie on delivery app Pluckk
Pluckk is a Mumbai-based vegetable delivery app, which claims to deliver products fresh from partnered farms. “We don’t stock. That’s how we guarantee fresh!” the app displays on its interface. With over 50,000 downloads and a 4.1 rating on Google Play Store, the app currently competes with grocery and vegetable delivery players including Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, Dunzo, and Zepto in the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) categories.
Source: yourstory.com
Singapore: Grab reports second quarter 2022 results
Grab Holdings Limited announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022: Q2 record revenue of $321mln, up 79% year-over-year. Q2 GMV of $5.1bln, up 30% year-over-year. Q2 Loss for the period of $572mln, a 29% improvement year-over-year. Core food and deliveries segment expected to break even earlier than previous guidance.
Source: grab.com
UK: Plant-based pioneer Future Farm launches in Ocado
Plant-based food tech innovator Future Farm has announced that three of its products will be available to Ocado customers across the UK. The Future Farm product range listed in Ocado includes the brand’s flagship product, The Future Burger, plus Future Sausages and Future Chick’n, all of which - in an exclusive for Ocado - will be available in the frozen food aisle.
Source: retailtimes.co.uk
Talabat announces partnership with Spinneys in Egypt
talabat, the region’s leading local tech platform, announces its partnership with multinational supermarket chain Spinneys, bringing their customers closer to thousands of daily grocery and household items.
Source: transportandlogisticsme.com
UK: Asda's like-for-like sales dip in second quarter
British supermarket chain Asda reported lower like-for-like sales in the quarter to June but said sales had since been growing thanks to price cuts on food amid a cost-of-living crisis. While like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, dipped 1.9% year-on-year in the three months ended June 30, they grew at the end of that quarter and have been rising into the next quarter, Asda said. Revenue excluding fuel reached 4.9bln pounds ($5.8bln). Asda, owned since last year by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital, said it was benefiting from investment in price and quality in product categories including produce, meat, fish and poultry.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Waitrose supports drought impacted fresh produce suppliers
Waitrose is supporting drought impacted farmers by pledging to take all shapes and sizes of fruit and vegetables over the coming months. The commitment will see the supermarket relax size and shape guidelines for new season potatoes, carrots, strawberries, apples, pears and peppers as part of a revamped line-up of its ‘A Little Less Than Perfect’ range.
Source: theretailbulletin.com
Australia: Wesfarmers posts annual profit dip, but outlook upbeat
Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd reported annual profit fell and warned of "challenging" inflation, but said raw materials prices were down while demand was high for home improvement projects. Wesfarmers net profit for the year ended June fell 2.9% to A$2.35bln ($1.64bln), bettering analyst forecasts of about A$2.2bln, due to pandemic store closures and restrictions in the first half.
Source: reuters.com