Europe Edition
Singapore: Grab co-founder Tan Hooi Ling to step down from official Grab positions by year end
Grab Holdings Limited announced that Tan Hooi Ling has informed its board of directors of her intention to step down from her operating roles at Grab, including her directorship, by the end of 2023. Tan will be transitioning into an advisory role with Grab moving forward.
Source: grab.com
Germany: Lidl and Kaufland owner Schwarz Group reports €154bln in sales
The Schwarz Group, which operates the Lidl and Kaufland chains, has reported sales of €154.1bln in its 2022 financial year, an increase of 15.4% year on year. Lidl reported sales of €114.8bln last year, a 13.8% increase year-on-year. Online sales at the discounter stood at €1.9bln, a 8.5% increase on the previous period. Kaufland reported €31.8bln in sales last year, an increase of 16.1%, which was boosted by the integration of former Real stores.
Source: esmmagazine.com
StrongPoint ASA and Aste Finland announce a very cool partnership
StrongPoint ASA, a leading provider of grocery retail technology solutions, has signed a partnership and distribution agreement with Aste Finland, a leading provider of food and drink cooling devices and temperature-controlled grocery lockers for grocery e-commerce. Aste Finland already serves some of the biggest grocery retail companies in Finland. The scope of the agreement provides StrongPoint with distribution rights of Aste’s solutions in StrongPoint’s eight core markets of UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as other markets of strategic interest.
Source: strongpoint.com
France: Debt-laden retailer Casino takes step to start talks with creditors - sources
French retailer Casino is looking to start official negotiations with its creditors as it seeks a way out of its financial woes while weighing two tie-up bids from wealthy investors, two sources close to the matter said.
Source: reuters.com
Holland: Jumbo ends partnership with quick commerce company Getir
Jumbo is ending its partnership with Getir, the quick commerce company that acquired Gorillas at the end of last year. The supermarket chain wants to focus on its own channels.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Australia: Woolworths buys MilkRun with plan to resurrect collapsed fast grocery delivery service
Woolworths will resurrect the collapsed fast grocery delivery service MilkRun, folding the company’s customer base into its own and taking over the branding of its former rival. The deal comes less than two months after MilkRun closed its operations after burning through tens of millions of dollars in funding, making it a high-profile casualty of surging inflation that triggered a global pullback in startup financing.
Source: theguardian.com
UK: Morrisons Daily store to open in London’s Canary Wharf
Dougall Group has announced that they’ll be opening a Morrisons Daily franchise in the Wood Wharf area of London’s Canary Wharf. The new store is the fifth in the Group’s portfolio and will open on 1 June 2023 in the Harbord Square development and is situated close to the Wood Wharf NHS Health Centre.
Source: talkingretail.com
UK: Robots roll-out in Wakefield as Starship Technologies and Co-op expand quick and convenient autonomous grocery delivery service in Yorkshire
Robots were rolling-out in Wakefield with a partnership between Starship Technologies, Co-op and Wakefield Council bringing the benefits of quick and convenient autonomous grocery deliveries to local residents.
Source: co-operative.coop
UK inflation: Food prices 'worryingly high' as sugar and milk soar
Inflation is a measure of the cost of living and to calculate it, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) keeps track of the prices of hundreds of everyday items, known as a "basket of goods". Extreme weather has also hit crops, including the beets used to make sugar as well as some vegetables.
Source: bbc.com
Japan: Seven & i shareholders reject board candidates nominated by ValueAct
Shareholders of Japan's Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd voted down all four of the board candidates nominated by ValueAct Capital, dismissing the U.S. investment firm's attempt to shake up the retail giant's board.
Source: reuters.com
US: The Fresh Market opens 160th store in Carmel, Indiana
The Fresh Market, Inc. opened its 160th store in Carmel, Indiana, now totaling five locations in the state and marking the second in Carmel, an Indianapolis suburb. The store, located at 1392 S. Rangeline Rd., offers a wide selection of fresh produce, meats, seafood, and bakery items, as well as a variety of prepared foods, a large gourmet cheese selection, and wines.
Source: businesswire.com
US: KeHE Distributors to acquire DPI Specialty Foods
Grocery wholesaler KeHE Distributors plans to acquire DPI Specialty Foods, a western U.S. specialty foods distributor, from food and beverage-focused private equity firm Arbor Investments. Financial terms of the agreement and a timetable for finalizing the deal weren’t disclosed.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: H-E-B continues to expand in North Texas
North Texas has been a region dominated by grocers like Kroger, Albertsons, and Walmart over the years, but recently H-E-B is expanding into the area. The retailer will open an ecommerce fulfillment center in Plano later this summer, and it also is set to begin construction on a second store in Frisco, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Pairwise’s Fulcrum™ platform creates pivot point for enterprise-scale gene editing
Pairwise, a health-focused food and agriculture company that is transforming the way that we eat, announced the launch of its Fulcrum™ Platform. The platform, built on proprietary CRISPR technology along with other custom gene editing tools, further positions Pairwise at the vanguard of being able to make complex changes to plant genetics quickly and successfully, leading to innovative enterprise-scale applications. Pairwise is applying this game-changing platform approach to both its own Conscious™ Foods branded products, and to the specialty and commodity crop products of its business partners.
Source: businesswire.com
Amazon beats all 18 shareholder-led proposals at annual meeting
Amazon.com Inc investors voted against all 18 shareholder-led proposals during the e-commerce giant's annual meeting, a preliminary tally by the company showed.
Source: reuters.com
