Amazon faces uphill battle as it rolls out Fresh chain, say experts
Two years after Amazon debuted its first Amazon Fresh supermarket, the e-commerce giant faces an uphill climb in its effort to stand out against established operators of brick-and-mortar grocery stores, Wall Street analysts said during a panel session at Groceryshop. The young chain remains far behind other supermarket chains on a number of fronts, raising questions about Amazon’s ability to gain traction against food retailers like Kroger, Albertsons, Target and Walmart, all of which have distinct strengths that make them tough for a new entrant to compete with, said Robby Ohmes, a managing director at Bank of America.
Source: grocerydive.com
Walmart plans to hire 40,000 workers for the holiday season
Walmart announced that it will hire 40,000 workers for the holiday season. Some workers will be part-time store associates and customer service workers, while others will be permanent truck drivers. Last year, the retailer hired more than 150,000 workers for the crucial shopping season, as well as 20,000 supply chain workers to help alleviate logistic bottlenecks.
Source: cnbc.com
As inflation continues to hit grocery prices nationally, Lidl US kicks off Fall price-cutting campaign
On the heels of a new report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that the overall cost of groceries rose by 13.5% in the last year, Lidl US announced that it will introduce rotating price cuts on more than 100 items in all of its 170+ stores. Lidl will kick off the price-cutting campaign on September 28, which will continue throughout the Fall, with price drops on more than 100 everyday items rotating throughout the season.
Source: mediacenter.lidl.com
US: Home Chef reveals biggest collab with queen of quick meals
A company aiming to simplify at-home cooking is teaming up with the queen of quick meals. The Kroger-owned Home Chef has partnered with celebrity cook, bestselling author and philanthropist, Rachael Ray - bringing her meals directly to home cooks nationwide.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
New York Times to sell $95 at-home cooking kits curated by guest chefs
NYT Cooking, the subscription recipe site from The New York Times, will sell $95 at-home cooking kits curated by guest chefs as a new means to grow revenue and boost readership for the service. Readers - regardless if they are subscribers - can visit the New York Times online store to be notified when the kits are available for purchase.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
Aldi's U.S. sales rise as shoppers seek cheaper groceries
Aldi's U.S. arm said that same-store sales in the country rose in the double digits over the last 12 months as rampant inflation pushed consumers to find cheaper deals on groceries. The German-owned discount supermarket chain's U.S. stores sales growth over the past year was driven by 1mln new customers, Scott Patton, Aldi's vice president of National Buying, told a media event. Aldi has seen an increase in middle- and high-income shoppers as well, said Patton, referring to households making $50k-100k per year as middle income.
Source: reuters.com
Co-op promotes talent with new food leadership succession plan
The Co-op has announced a new leadership structure for its convenience and wholesale operations. After six years with the Co-op, with over five years as Food CEO, Jo Whitfield has decided that this is the right time to move on and pursue her next challenge. Matt Hood, former Commercial Director, will become Managing Director of Co-op Food, responsible for both the commercial and operational areas of the business. Michael Fletcher who has led Co-op’s wholesale arm, Nisa, is also stepping down from his role and Peter Batt, a former Managing Director of Co-op’s regional stores in the south has been appointed Managing Director of Nisa.
Source: co-operative.coop
China: In addition to 618 and Double 11, JD.com inaugurates an agricultural sibling
Ahead of the “Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival” that falls on the autumnal equinox (one of 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar), JD.com inaugurated the Harvest Carnival and Shopping Festival of Agricultural Specialties at China’s National Agriculture Exhibition Center in Beijing. Lijun Xin, CEO of JD Retail noted: “The purpose of our festival is to help drive hundreds of millions of farmers to expand sales and improve their income, while offering high-quality agricultural products to JD’s nearly 600mln active users.”
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
Israel: Meala's functionally charged proteins clean up labels in meat alternatives
Start-up Meala FoodTech Ltd. is breaking new ground in cleaning up labels in meat analogs using veggie protein. Meala's proprietary platform creates functionally activated proteins designed to be a 1:1 replacement for methylcellulose and other hydrocolloid and gums widely used in meat alternatives as binding and gelling agents. Meala's multi-functional proteins vastly improve the texture of meat alternatives to more compellingly mimic the organoleptic qualities of real meat.
Source: prnewswire.com
UK retailers honoured at FPC Fresh Awards 2022
The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) the UK’s fresh produce trade association - is pleased to announce the four winners within its Retailer of the Year awards category which were presented at the FPC Fresh Awards 2022 at The JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London: Aldi - Multiple Fruit & Vegetable Retailer of the Year; Asda - Multiple Floral Retailer of the Year; Tesco Express - Convenience Retailer of the Year; Ocado - Online Retailer of the Year.
Source: fpcfreshtalkdaily.co.uk
Australia: Coles offloads 710 Coles Express petrol stations in $300mln sale
Supermarket giant Coles has announced it will sell hundreds of its Coles Express-branded petrol stations around Australia as the business focuses on its food and liquor offering. Informing shareholders, Coles said it will receive $300mln from the sale of the petrol stations to Viva Energy.
Source: 9news.com.au
Britain's M&S raises staff pay for second time in 2022
Marks & Spencer became the latest British retailer to again raise pay for store workers amid a cost-of-living crisis and a tight labour market. M&S said that from October 1 more than 40,000 workers will see their hourly pay increase to a minimum of 10.20 pounds ($11.57).
Source: reuters.com
UK: Aldi named ‘Supermarket of the Year’ and ‘Drinks Retailer of the Year’ at prestigious industry awardAldi landed an impressive three wins at the ‘Oscars of the retail world’, the Retail Industry Awards 2022, held at a ceremony in London. The retailer, which is now Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket, beat rivals Lidl, Tesco and M&S to be named ‘Supermarket of the Year’.
Source: aldipresscentre.co.uk
UK: New alternative meat range rolling out in Sainsbury’s
Vegan street food brand Biff’s has hit the shelves of Sainsbury’s as part of the supermarket’s Future Brands incubator programme. The Biff’s Plant Shack range, the first retail offer from the brand, who also supply into foodservice, and operate over 40 ‘Biff’s Delivery’ kitchens on Deliveroo, launched earlier this year using jackfruit as a meat alternative.
Source: kamcity.com
At 19, Zepto founders become the youngest rich individuals in India
Zepto co-founder Kaivalya Vohra is the youngest self-made and the youngest rich individual in India, as per the IIFL Wealth Hurun India rich list 2022. His partner Aadit Palicha is also among the youngest rich individuals in the country. Both Stanford University dropouts founded Zepto in 2021. They are just 19 years old and have achieved great success with their grocery online platform Zepto valuing now at $900mln.
Source: livemint.com