US: H-E-B bumps Amazon from top spot in retailer survey
H-E-B has regained the top position in the dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index for 2022, knocking former leader Amazon down to third place, behind second-place finisher Costco Wholesale. Rounding out the top 15 grocers in the survey, in order, were: #4 Wegmans; #5 Sam’s Club; #6 Market Basket; #7 Amazon Fresh; #8 Trader Joe’s; #9 Winco; #10 BJ’s Wholesale; #11 Target; #12 Aldi; #13 ShopRite; #14 Walmart Neighborhood Market; #15 Walmart.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Gelson’s promotes John Bagan to CEO
Southern California grocer Gelson’s Markets has named John Bagan chief executive officer. Bagan, who will also keep his role of president, replaces CEO Rob McDougall who just retired after 15 years.
Source: supermarketnews.com
ProducePay adds virtual storefronts to global produce industry marketplace
ProducePay has added a virtual storefront feature to its marketplace for the global produce industry. With the new Storefront, growers can create a personalized online destination through which they can market directly to global buyers, ProducePay said in a press release.
Source: pymnts.com
US: Aldi opens new regional HQ in fast-growing region
Fast-growing retailer Aldi said it has strengthened its presence in the Southeast with the opening of a new regional headquarters at its 564,000-square-foot distribution center in Loxley, Alabama, that will serve up to 100 Aldi stores. The new facility will serve stores across Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle, with the potential to reach more than 8mln customers, Aldi said.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Go Grocer enters new urban market
Go Grocer has gone north. The Chicago-based retailer that staked a claim on contemporary convenience with ultra-fast delivery and fresh-to-good foods recently expanded its footprint into Wisconsin. The latest Go Grocer is now open in Milwaukee's Third Ward neighborhood. Located at 415 East Menomonee Street, the nearly 2,000-square-foot Go Grocer MKE store is owned by brothers Johnny and Edgar Rivera.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
UNFI Canada launches new division, UNFI Produce
UNFI Canada is merging its Pro Organics operations with its grocery capabilities in one distribution centre under a new division called UNFI Produce. The Western Canada-based produce distributor said the process is underway, with plans to add 30,000 square feet to its distribution centre in Richmond, British Columbia. UNFI expects the transition, which will occur in phases, to be fully complete by summer 2023.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
How this online grocer is working towards becoming the world’s first climate positive grocery store
Online grocer and B Corp Thrive Market has set some ambitious goals for itself: to be Zero Waste by 2022, plastic neutral by 2023, and carbon negative by 2025. Ultimately, Thrive Market wants to become the world’s first climate positive grocery store.
Source: forbes.com
Brazilian online grocery deliverer Diferente secures $3mln to increase customers’ access to healthier food
Diferente, which touts itself as “the largest subscription foodtech for fresh organic produce in Brazil”, sources directly from organic farmers and is able to offer prices that are 40% lower than what you would find in the grocery store. Customers choose weekly or bi-monthly delivery slots and Diferente’s proprietary algorithm predicts the ideal basket of fruits, vegetables and leaves, with customers being able to customize the amounts. Last year, the company raised $4.4mln in seed funding and is adding $3mln more in a round led by Caravela Capital that also included Collaborative Fund and two new funds, South Ventures and Valor Siren Ventures. This gives Diferente $7.4mln in total funding since it was founded.
Source: techcrunch.com
Tesco's UK store management changes to impact 1,750 jobs
Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket group, said it was changing the way it manages its larger stores, impacting around 1,750 workers. Tesco said the 1,750 workers affected will have the option of moving to shift leader vacancies or taking redundancy. It said localised changes across the UK business will impact a further 350 jobs.
Source: reuters.com
Belgium: Colruyt explores new potential with high-tech Okay Direct container store
Okay Direct, Colruyt Group‘s autonomous convenience store concept, has opened a second branch in the car park of an Okay supermarket in Lennik. The compact container store serves customers who want to shop outside traditional opening hours.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Coop Denmark to combine stores from three banners under new brand
Coop Denmark has announced the launch of a new strategy, entitled 'The Coop of the Future', which will see the establishment of the country's largest supermarket chain, trading under the 'Coop' banner. The chain will consist of the largest stores from three of Denmark's retail chains including Kvickly, SuperBrugsen and Irma. The local stores in Dagli'Brugsen - along with the stores that will not be part of the Coop chain - will in time trade under the Brugsen banner.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Mercadona plans ten new stores in Portugal
Spanish retailer Mercadona has announced plans to open ten new stores in Portugal's centre-south region, in locations including Sintra, Vila Franca de Xira, Torres Vedras, Gondomar, Marco de Canaveses, Lousada and Figueira da Foz. In an interview with Dinheiro Vivo, Mercadona's director of institutional relations, Inês Santos, refused to divulge the retailer's current market share and sales volume in Portugal, although she did reveal that in 2021 the share was 3%.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK supermarket price inflation hits record high, adding £788 to annual bills
Britain’s retailers have said shop price inflation has yet to peak this year, with the cost of basic essentials expected to remain high, after figures showed grocery prices accelerating at the fastest rate on record. The British Retail Consortium said the price of food and drink, clothing and other items sold in shops and online would continue to rise at a rapid pace, even if the UK’s official inflation rate for all goods and services fades over the coming months.
Source: theguardian.com
Reorganisation at Aldi Nord: heirs settle family feud
Heirs of co-founder Theo Albrecht have agreed on a new ownership structure: Aldi Nord will be reorganised in the coming months and incorporated into a holding company in the form of a Stiftung & Co. KG.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Competition regulator to again review unit pricing in supermarkets
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has begun looking into unit pricing practices online and in-store in the groceries sector. Unit pricing shows how much a particular product costs by weight or volume to help shoppers identify which products offer the best value.
Source: kamcity.com
Retailer O'Key expects revenue surge from discount stores
O'Key Group said it expects its chain of discount stores will soon account for half of its overall revenues as shoppers increasingly seek cheaper goods amid economic contraction and high inflation.
Source: reuters.com