UK: Tesco to cut 4,500 jobs in Metro restructuring
British supermarket chain Tesco is cutting about 4,500 jobs from its Metro stores. The company said the changes in its 153 Metro stores - medium-sized shops found on Britain's shopping street and by railway stations - would allow it to shift stock more quickly to the shelves and cut the time it was held in the store room, with the company observing that customers are increasingly buying food daily. Tesco reportedly has a 27.2 percent share, outperforming other main rivals However, the whole industry has remained under pressure from German challengers Aldi and Lidl, prompting Tesco to review logistics in an effort to find efficiency savings and maximize profit growth."In a challenging, evolving retail environment, with increasing cost pressures, we have to continue to review the way we run our stores to ensure we reflect the way our customers are shopping and do so in the most efficient way," said Tesco UK boss Jason Tarry.
Source: US News
Spain: Spain, Carrefour replaces plastic with cotton mesh for fruits
Cotton meshes will replace plastic bags for the purchase of fruit in the Carrefour food distribution chain from Monday, with the aim of avoiding and reducing the use of containers and packaging, especially plastic. Customers can purchase 100 percent reusable cotton meshes from the greengrocers section of their stores, the company said in a statement. Carrefour thus becomes the first company to adopt this type of initiative in Spain, after being the first to enable its buyers to use their own containers or bags. Among other measures, the company has eliminated the plastic in the fruit and vegetable section of its BIO stores or has replaced this material and the alveoli in fruits such as apples, pears and oranges with sustainable materials. Likewise, they have replaced the plastic containers in olives and pickles with glass jars, in the cucumber and the papayón or the Canary Islands banana has been stopped packaging in plastic bags, a product that now only has a small grouping tape.
Source: International Supermarket News
China: Carrefour sells control of Chinese operations
The Magic Circle firm has advised Carrefour on the sale of 80 percent of its Chinese operations for about US$700m in cash to Suning.com. The deal works out to a US$1.58bn valuation for Carrefour China. Carrefour has had a presence in China since 1995. It currently has 210 hypermarkets and 24 convenience stores in the country. Carrefour will retain a 20 percent stake in the Chinese business. Suning.com, which operates one of the largest e-commerce platforms in China, has nearly 9,000 stores in 700 cities in the country.
Source: Australasian Lawyer
UK: Marks and Spencer invests in online grocer
Marks and Spencer (M&S) announced this week that it completed its acquisition of half of Ocado, marking the start of Mark and Spencer’s 50/50 Joint Venture with the online grocer. As part of the deal, Melanie Smith, the current Strategy Director at Marks and Spencer, will become CEO of Ocado Retail, effective September 1, 2019. According to a press release, the new partnership will bring together the strength of Marks and Spencer’s brand with Ocado’s proprietary technology. The two will then transition into offering over 6,500 Marks and Spencer food products on Ocado.com by September 2020. In addition to Melanie Smith taking on the CEO position of Ocado Retail, Steve Rowe, Stuart Machin (M&S’s Food Managing Director), Tim Steiner, and Duncan Tatton-Brown (Ocado’s Chief Financial Officer) will become the directors of Ocado Retail.
Source: And Now You Know
UK: More details emerge regarding Lidl's new Chesterfield store
Lidl will open a new store on Chatsworth Road in Chesterfield at 8am on August 15. The store will replace the company's existing supermarket on Foljambe Road. A Lidl spokesperson added: "The new supermarket forms part of the company's ongoing expansion and regeneration plans in the UK which will see it open up to 50 new stores a year. The sales area of the supermarket has increased in size to 1,325m² and facilities include a bakery, customer toilet, baby changing and ample parking for both cars and bicycles. Up to 20 new jobs have also been created for the local community." The Foljambe Road Lidl will close the evening of August 14.
Source: Derbyshire Times
US: Walmart partners with Gatik for autonomous shopping vans
Autonomous vehicle startup Gatik AI has partnered with Walmart to introduce a commercial service to deliver goods. Gatik’s autonomous vehicles are to help Walmart move customer orders from its Supercenter in Rogers, Arkansas down a two-mile stretch of road in Bentonville to one of two nearby stores. Reportedly the idea behind testing the driverless vans is for Walmart to ‘learn more about the logistics of adding autonomous vehicles in our online grocery ecosystem’, as well as other things. The pilot programme will Gatik operate three Ford Transit Connect vans that have been modified to drive autonomously. In California, the Transit Connect vans will run seven days a week and complete roughly 10 runs a day. Human safety operators will be behind the wheel of the vehicles at all times, according to Future Car.
Source: Smart Highways
US: B&G Foods to expand Green Giant’s reach
B&G Foods’ has expanded Green Giant into new categories, including pizza and frozen entrees, according to a news report. “Our vision is to not only introduce new vegetable products in the traditional frozen vegetable category, but to help people get more vegetables in their diet by introducing new products made with vegetables,” said Kenneth G. Romanzi, president and chief executive officer of B&G Foods, Inc. Some of the foods included Cauliflower Pizza Crusts and Protein Bowls. According to the company, Green Giant remains the primary driver of growth in B&G Foods’ portfolio, delivering net sales growth of 8 percent during the quarter.
Source: Food Business News
US: Albertsons hires new EVP and Chief HR Officer
Albertsons has replaced Andy Scoggin, who plans to leave the company at the end of the year after holding the role of EVP since 2006. Mike Theilmann will take on the position of EVP and chief human resources officer as of Aug. 19. “I’m thrilled to be joining Albertsons Cos.’ leadership team at such a pivotal moment in retail,” said Theilmann. “At no other time has the retail game been changing faster than it is today. Our omnichannel, technology-driven world isn’t just transforming how we shop; it’s influencing how companies attract, retain and develop talent in order to grow and sustain results, too."
Source: Progressive Grocer
US: Walmart to offer video streaming service in India
Walmart plans to launch a new video streaming service from its Flipkart subsidiary in India as part of its battle with Amazon, according to a report from Bloomberg. The service will reportedly be free for members of the Flipkart Plus loyalty program. The Walmart subsidiary will face stiff competition from India’s video streaming market, which is no less crowded than it is in the US. Along with international players like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, India also has its own collection of services. However, at this stage, there are no plans to offer the video streaming service outside of India.
Source: The Verge
US: Grocery delivery startup Dumpling raises $3M
Seattle startup Dumpling raised $3 million for a personal shopping platform, with the investments led by Floodgate with participation from Fuel Capital. Dumpling set out to put shoppers at the center, treating them as independent business owners rather than variables on a supply-demand curve. The philosophy is that empowering the workers will lead to better service, which should encourage customers to buy more food more often. “Dumpling is the first service that supports a new breed of solo entrepreneurs — ones who today seek to differentiate the service they provide by adding their personal touch to local services to meet consumers’ increasing expectations,” Floodgate partner Ann Miura-Ko said in a statement. Dumpling’s shoppers set their own flat-rate shopping and delivery fee and earn a minimum 10 percent tip. It's a tough market, with only 3 percent of grocery orders fulfilled online, compared with 10 percent of all retail. Dumpling has 9 employees and splits its headquarters between Seattle and Berkeley, Calif.
Source: Geek Wire
