Switzerland: Lidl announces management changes
Lidl Switzerland has announced that its chief operating officer Christian Steimle is to step down from his role, succeeded by Benny Klein as of 1 August 2023. “With his many years of commitment to Lidl Switzerland, Christian Steimle has made a significant contribution to the success of our company," said Torsten Friedrich, Lidl Switzerland CEO.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Portugal: Continente's Ondina Afonso on how producers can embrace sustainability
Back in 1998, retailer Continente brought together several fruit and vegetable producers across Portugal under an umbrella group, the Continente Producers Club (CPC), to help ensure the availability of locally-sourced products across its store network, and also support domestic producers. Among its core current initiatives is the Zero Residue Certification initiative, to ensure that fruit and vegetables in its supply chain are free from pesticide residues. "We have been working on this project for three years, and by the end of the summer we will have almost all the fruits from Portugal certified under this programme", says Ondina Afonso, the president of the Continente Producers Club.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Romanian retail chain Annabella takes over smaller peer Best Market
Romanian retail chain Annabella, controlled by the Mutu family, took over the Best Market chain from local entrepreneur Ion Soloman in what is one of the largest transactions in food retail and, at the same time, the most important deal between two local players. "The talks took several months. There was another local retailer interested, but we had good 'chemistry' with Annabella's owners", said Ion Soloman, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.
Source: romania-insider.com
New Zealand: Woolworths agrees 12.3% wage increase over two years for supply chain teams in new Collective Employment Agreement with FIRST Union
Woolworths New Zealand and FIRST Union have signed a new Collective Employment Agreement that will see Woolworths New Zealand’s Primary Connect ambient distribution centre team receive an average wage increase of more than 12% over the next two years.
Source: countdown.co.nz
Holland: Jolanda Poots-Bijl appointed to the Management Board of Ahold Delhaize as CFO
Ahold Delhaize announced that shareholders approved the appointment of Jolanda Poots-Bijl as member of the Management Board during the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGM) in Zaandam. As per 1 October 2023, she will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Source: aholddelhaize.com
France: Casino shares slump as rescue bids to wipe out existing shareholders
Casino shares fell as much as 40% after the cash-strapped French retailer said the injection of new capital that would result from two rival offers to rescue the group meant existing shareholders would be wiped out.
Source: reuters.com
Lidl Portugal accounts for 1.9% of the country's food exports to the EU, study findsFood exports from Lidl Portugal accounted for 1.9% of the country's total food exports to the European Union in 2022, according to the latest data from a study conducted by KPMG. The top three categories of exports include fruit and vegetables at 26,200 tonnes, up 20% year-on-year; wines and liquors at 6.9mln litres, up 34% year-on-year; and canned vegetables at 22,600 thousand tonnes, up 169% year-on-year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
New research reveals the changing nature of online shopping habits across Europe
Global leader in payments services Worldline has published a survey highlighting changing online shopping behaviour. The findings show that while consumers are generally cutting back their online spendings and adopting cost-saving measures, they are still shopping online and are keen to embrace new technologies that enhance their shopping experience.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
India: DMart hit by falling stock, intense offline and online competition
Avenue Supermarts, known for its DMart chain of stores, has seen its stock price fall by nearly 10% in two years. The retailer, in its quarterly update, said that it had reported a year-on-year growth of 18.1% in standalone revenue, reaching Rs11,584 crore for the April-June period.
Source: financialexpress.com
UK: Aldi named cheapest supermarket for thirteenth month in a row
Latest research from consumer group Which? has found Aldi to be the UK’s cheapest supermarket for the thirteenth consecutive month. Shoppers can save a significant £16.55 compared to the most expensive supermarket, for the same basket of items.
Source: aldipresscentre.co.uk
SPAR Ireland to plant 20,000 trees to celebrate 60th anniversary
To celebrate 60 years in business, SPAR Ireland will plant 20,000 native Irish trees across six sites this year, as part of its SPAR Team Tree initiative. Other native Irish trees including holly, hawthorn, cherry, and elm will also be planted.
Source: spar-international.com
US: NRF releases 2023 Top 100 Retailers list
The National Retail Federation released its annual list of the Top 100 Retailers, compiled by Kantar, a global marketing data, insight and consultancy company. The 2023 Top 100 Retailers ranks the industry’s largest companies according to domestic sales. Longtime No. 1 Walmart held its top position with $499.65bln in U.S. retail sales in 2022. Amazon.com is in second with sales of $232.46bln, followed by Costco Wholesale ($164.15bln), The Kroger Co. ($147.62bln) and The Home Depot ($145.94bln).
Source: nrf.com
US: SpartanNash cuts food waste, rings up customer savings with Flashfood
SpartanNash has reached a milestone in its use of the Flashfood food waste reduction app. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based grocery distributor said that it has diverted more than 1mln pounds of food waste from landfills in over three years under the program, as well as saved consumers $1.9mln on groceries.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: Tattooed Chef files Chapter 11, pursues sales of assets
Plant-based-food maker Tattooed Chef Inc. said it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and pursue a sale of its assets, the latest company in a once-thriving industry to hit hard times.
Source: marketwatch.com
US: Lunds & Byerlys workers ratify new contract
Following a strike authorization on June 23 and extended negotiations between members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 and Minneapolis-based Lunds & Byerlys, union members voted to ratify a new two-year contract with the grocer. According to UFCW Local 663, the contract will bring historic wage increases and pay equity to its members.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Tops promotes Cole Bickal to produce/floral specialist for Tops East Region
Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, and Vermont, is pleased to announce the promotion of Cole Bickal to Produce/Floral specialist in the East Region for Tops.
Source: topsmarkets.com/Newsroom
US: Publix settles into growth mode
Following 11 store openings throughout Florida and Georgia over the past two months, Publix Super Markets has set its sights on growth in the state of Virginia. The grocer is expected to open a second location in the Hampton Roads area in early 2025, with a 48,387-square-foot store in the city of Chesapeake. Publix opened locations in nearby Williamsburg, Virginia, and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, in 2018, and additional stores in the Virginia cities of Suffolk and Virginia Beach are currently in the pipeline.
Source: progressivegrocer.com