Retail conglomerate, Majid Al Futtaim, announced that it will open a new distribution centre at the National Industries Park (NIP) in Dubai. The centre, once operational, will be the largest and most advanced distribution hub of its kind for Carrefour in the region, a company statement said. The multi-temperature storage at the new distribution centre is designed to meet the storage needs of different food types including fruits and vegetables. (constructionweekonline.com) Amazon meets new milestone: one-millionth free banana
Last November, Amazon’s “banistas in Seattle” — as the people who staff the so-called “Community Banana Stand” program are known — handed out their one-millionth banana. An initial run rate of 1,200 bananas a day from a single stand in South Lake Union has blossomed into an average of 4,500 bananas a day, distributed at that stand and at an additional location next to Amazon’s new towers in the Denny Regrade. (seattletimes.com)
Aldi reports record Christmas salesDiscount supermarket Aldi has reported record Christmas trade after a 15% rise in December sales. The firm said there was strong demand for its premium product range, launched to compete with higher-end retailers such as Waitrose and Marks and Spencer (BBC)
Sprouts Family Market to expand its footprint.
Sprouts Family Market is expanding its footprint. The Phoenix-based grocer plans to open 35 stores in 2017, with 11 of the locations opening in the second quarter of the year. The 11 stores opening in the second quarter include three in California, two in Georgia, two in Florida locations, two in Texas locations and two in Colorado, the Phoenix Business Journal reported. (chainstoreage.com) French supermarket apologized for wrongly labelling Israeli produce
A French supermarket store apologized for applying labels reading “made in Israeli settlements” to some of its products. The labels that appeared last month on pomegranates and tangerines at the store belonging to the Auchan supermarket chain in the Paris suburb of Kremlin-Bicêtre, were the result of a “an error” by an employee, a spokesperson for the chain told the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism. (forward.com) US: Southeastern Grocers' to lower prices
BI-LO and Winn-Dixie stores are celebrating the first birthday of ‘Down Down’ – Down Down is a pricing promise to not only lower prices, but keep them down for at least six months. Ian McLeod, President and CEO of Southeastern Grocers said, “We know grocery prices are important to our customers, and we wanted to make sure they were receiving the best value on the products they buy the most. (Southeastern Grocers)Qatar: Supermarkets selling more organic food
Major supermarkets and hypermarkets in Qatar are witnessing an increase in demand for organic and healthy food items, particularly vegetables and fruits, each year, it is learnt. "Our stocks of organic cucumber, zucchini and capsicum have been depleting quickly over the past year, compared to the previous years," an official of a leading supermarket told Gulf Times. (gulf-times.com) Indonesia: Transmart Carrefour to open 30 new stores
Major retailer Trans Retail Indonesia will open dozens of new stores this year in a bid to attract more visits to its physical stores despite the booming online retail industry. “We will open 30 new stores under the Transmart Carrefour brand in 2017,” Transmart Carrefour corporate communications general manager Satria Hamid told The Jakarta Post on Friday. However, he declined to mention the amount of capital expenditure (capex) that the firm had earmarked to support the expansion. (thejakartapost.com)Amazon, Hy-Vee, Safeway, ShopRite among retailers in SNAP online grocery ordering pilot
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture on Thursday announced its list of companies that will be participating in a two-year pilot program designed to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients to purchase their groceries online. A total of seven companies were selected for testing in pilot states.The following retailers were selected to service SNAP beneficiaries in the following states:
- Amazon — Maryland, New Jersey, New York
- FreshDirect — New York
- Safeway — Maryland, Oregon, Washington,
- ShopRite — Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
- Hy-Vee — Iowa
- Hart's Local Grocers — New York (based in Rochester)
- Dash's Market — New York (based in Buffalo)
Brazilian supermarket sales see highest growth since 2014
Brazilian supermarket sales in November 2016 registered the highest growth rate since the start of the consumer crisis in the second half of 2014. According to the Brazilian Supermarket Association (Abras), the sector achieved real growth of 5% compared to the same month in the previous year, the highest since April 2014, when sales rose 10.3% year-on-year. After registering losses in H1 2016, the supermarket sector began to see a more positive sales trend from July. In recent months, performance has been further aided by a slowdown in food inflation. (esmmagazine.com) Coop Switzerland sees 5.1% rise in turnover
Swiss supermarket chain Coop has recorded a 5.1 % growth in turnover, with the company generating CHF 28.3bn (€26.4bn) in 2015. Overall, its growth percentage was 5.2%, with currency fluctuations considered. The number of shoppers making purchases in Coop supermarkets went up 2.6%. (esmmagazine.com) Ahold Delhaize opens four new stores in Serbia
Dutch-Belgian retailer Ahold Delhaize opened four new Shop & Go convenience stores in Serbia during the month of December 2016. The new stores are located in Novi Sad (Gunduliceva) and Belgrade (Savada, Vranic and Gunjak. (esmmagazine.com) Mercadona opens Portuguese Co-Innovation Centre
Spanish food distribution company Mercadona is opening a 'Co-Innovation Centre' in Portugal to get acquainted with the habits and preferences of local consumers. Located in Matosinhos near Porto, the centre will help Mercadona work with customers to adapt its offer to the local markets and to develop innovative products. (esmmagazine.com)
France: Bonduelle launches home delivery serviceBonduelle has launched a delivery service, ‘My Secret Basket’, which will allow its France-based customers to have its products delivered to their doors. (esmmagazine.com)
Coop Italia survey forecasts food purchase growth
For the first time in many years, Italian households expect to increase their expenditure on food, according to the annual survey by retailer Coop Italia. The survey indicates that 13% of consumers expect to increase the value of their food shopping cart, while 8% claim they will further cut their expenses. (esmmagazine.com)Amazon and online grocery services will soon accept food stamps
Thanks to a pilot program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, families who rely on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy groceries will soon be able to use online services like Amazon and FreshDirect. When the two-year program goes live this summer, it has the potential to improve access to healthy food choices in communities that are often lacking in options. (engadget.com) 
New Delhi: Vegetable prices plummet, gap between mandi and retail hugePlease, click here to read the article.
