UK retail sales growth slides as Omicron hits - CBI
British retail sales growth fell sharply in the 1st half of December as concerns about the Omicron variant of coronavirus kept shoppers at home, according to a survey which could add to pressure on the government to provide more emergency support. The Confederation of British Industry's gauge of sales volumes - which asks retailers how sales compare with a year ago - slumped to +8 in December from +39 in November, its lowest reading since non-essential shops were in lockdown in March.
Source: reuters.com
Germany: Kaufland parent Schwarz Group publishes progress report
Schwarz Group has published a progress report that shares details of its sustainability strategy, focussing around 4 areas - people, product quality, closed-loop systems, and ecosystems. The report entitled "Klartext reden. Nachhaltig handeln. Fortschritte zeigen" also presents group-wide sustainability measures and indicators in a transparent manner.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Australia: Woolworths boss has made a promise ahead of Christmas
Woolworths has promised that customers will have access to what they need this Christmas, despite the global supply chain crisis impacting businesses across the country. The supermarket’s boss Brad Banducci said he was “very comfortable” that stores will be stocked and the company was doing whatever it could to ensure it. “However, it would be fair to say there is enormous pressure still in the supply chain on all aspects of that supply chain”, Mr Banducci said in a financial update to shareholders, highlighting the significant increase in international freight prices, and pallet issues within Australia. “But from where we stand right now we feel it will not manifest on the shelf for us and we will deliver what we need to”.
Source: news.com.au
China: JD.com to partner with Shandong Energy Group Company in rural revitalization
JD.com announced its partnership with Shandong Energy Group Company, one of the largest energy companies in China. The 2 companies aim to facilitate rural revitalization and the development of the fresh produce industry, in addition to expanding cooperation in employee welfare, industrial products, smart logistics, and more.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
South Africa: Massmart flags wider annual loss due to looting
South African retailer Massmart Holdings flagged a wider annual loss, due to store damages and lost trading income suffered due to looting in July during protests over former President Jacob Zuma's imprisonment. The retailer, majority-owned by Walmart Inc, said its headline loss per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, will be at least 40% worse than the reported headline loss per share reported in 2020 of 426.8 cents. In total the looting cost 2.5bln rand ($157.99mln) in stolen goods and damaged assets, with an accounting loss of around 650mln rand after insurance proceeds.
Source: reuters.com
Groupe Casino announces collaboration with Amazon Web Services
Groupe Casino has announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the fields of energy and digital services. GreenYellow, a subsidiary of Groupe Casino and an expert in decentralised solar photovoltaic production, will provide renewable electricity for Amazon's activities, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) will support the retail group in its digital transformation.
Source: esmmagazine.com
India: CityMall joins hyper-competitive fresh grocery space
CityMall is preparing to launch fresh grocery deliveries in the next quarter, people aware of the matter told ET, at a time when non-metro cities are turning into a big focus area for new-age e-commerce startups.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
UK supermarket Iceland - trading strongly through Omicron
British supermarket group Iceland has experienced strong trading that is ahead of its expectations as the Omicron variant of coronavirus has spread across the United Kingdom and hit the hospitality industry, its managing director said. "Sales are actually really quite strong, we've had a good couple of weeks and we're ahead of budget," Richard Walker told Sky News.
Source: reuters.com
JD.com develops a new intelligence retail chain model with HitalyJD.com and Hitaly signed a cooperation agreement, in which the 2 sides will cooperate in various fields such as online and offline retail, cross-border e-commerce, international and domestic logistics and warehousing, and supply chain fintech.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
UK: Farmdrop suppliers form new collective after company goes bust
A group of farmers and former suppliers to food delivery firm Farmdrop have formed a collective to continue supplying customers and avoid lost sales and food waste after the company went bust. Social media has helped spread the names of suppliers affected and encourage people to buy their food direct, while 4 south west suppliers - Sladesdown Meat, Sole of Discretion, Purton House Organics and Perdon Organics - have formed South West Produce, to create one point of contact for customers to continue buying from them. The group are promoting themselves through a new Facebook page, with sales coordinated through Sole of Discretion’s page on the Open Food Network.
Source: wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk
US: UNFI sets its grocery products up for success on digital shelf
The explosive growth of online grocery shopping is forcing brands to increase the volume and quality of the information provided to retailers to win on the digital shelf. Recognizing this need, UNFI Brands+ has partnered with Salsify and Trace One to create a singular end-to-end PIM workflow.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: DoorDash extends grocery delivery reach with Southeastern Grocers partnership
Online food delivery provider DoorDash launched on-demand grocery delivery from more than 400 Southeastern Grocers stores, including the retailer’s Fresco y Más, Harveys and Winn-Dixie banners. Online shoppers at SEG stores throughout Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana can now have groceries delivered from their local store in as little as 45 minutes.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Albertsons Cos. tests ‘smart’ salad bars 
Albertsons Cos. is piloting a digitally managed, store-in-store salad bar concept at a half-dozen supermarkets on the East Coast. Los Angeles-based Picadeli U.S. said that its Arctic “smart” salad bar, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology, has been rolled out to 6 Safeway, Acme Markets and Kings Food Markets stores in Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. The modular bar has a digital food freshness system, digital labels, smart cooling algorithms and displays to communicate with customers, and the unit connects to a cloud-based monitoring system enabling active and passive control of store-level parameters and remote support.
Source: supermarketnews.com