Amazon.com plans to cut 263 jobs at its money-losing parenting products unit Quidsi this summer as part of a business restructuring, it said in a notice filed with New Jersey on Wednesday. Quidsi's software development team will focus on building technology for the grocery delivery service AmazonFresh, the statement said. (Reuters)India may ease rules on foreign food retail before November
Following calls from global retail giants such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tesco Plc, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to decide by November whether India is prepared to ease strict rules on food retailers, a minister said on Tuesday. India allows 100% investment by foreign wholesalers, but if they want to access the burgeoning retail market, they can only have a 100% holding to sell food items. This forces them to overhaul their businesses instead of replicating models that have worked abroad, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, minister for food processing industries, said in an interview at her official residence in New Delhi. (esmmagazine.com)UK: Tesco target Booker sees sales growth ease
Booker, the British wholesaler that in January agreed to be taken over by Tesco for 3.7bn pounds, said on Thursday sales growth had eased in its fourth quarter, with tobacco sales dented by a display ban and plain packaging restrictions. The firm, which supplies the Budgens, Londis, Happy Shopper and Premier convenience chains and also operates cash and carry business Makro, said group sales rose 0.5% in the 12 weeks to March 24, while like-for-like sales were up 0.7%. (Reuters)US: Whole Foods losing ‘staggering’ number of shoppers, say analysts
Whole Foods’ customers are checking out — and they’re taking their business elsewhere. According to Barclays analysts, the organic purveyor and supermarket chain has lost about 14 million of its customers over the last 18 months. "The magnitude of the traffic declines … is staggering," said Barclays. Analysts also posit that many of those same customers are now getting their organic fix at a more conventional food store: namely, Kroger. (foxnews.com) Carrefour surpasses GPA as top grocery retailer in Brazil
Carrefour's 2016 turnover surpassed Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA), making it the top grocery retailer in Brazil last year. According to data from the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (ABRAS), Carrefour ended the year with a turnover of BRL 49.1bn (€14.4bn), moving it from second to first place in the ranking. GPA (owned by France’s Casino group) dropped to second, with a turnover of BRL 44.9bn (€13.2bn), followed by Walmart Brazil with BRL 29.4bn (€8.67bn). (esmmagazine.com) Germany: Rewe reports solid FY revenue growth
Sales for 2016 increased to €54bn, a growth of 5% on 2015. Rewe increased its revenue by 2.1% in its home market of Germany, to €39bn. Discount banner Penny saw sales grow by 2.3% and the national supermarket business grew by 3.9% to €18.4bn. Driving this growth was the work on product range optimisation, with 2016 seeing the highest growth rates for fruit and vegetables. International full range stores saw sales increase by 4.4% (adjusted for currency effects), to €8.5bn. (igd.com)US: Amazon links with Fresh Thyme
E-commerce giant Amazon is jumping into the region's ultra-competitive grocery market through a partnership with Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. Fresh on the heels of the company's announcement last week that it has launched its one- and- two-hour shipping service in the area, Amazon said it is now teaming up with Fresh Thyme Farmers Market to deliver fresh groceries to Milwaukee customers. (bizjournals.com) Jim Pattison adds to Western Canada retail portfolio
The Jim Pattison Group, which also owns the Overwaitea Food Group, has acquired Quality Foods, a 13-store Vancouver Island grocery chain. This acquisition comes as the retailer also continues to expand to the east. It plans to open more than 50 stores in the next five years, with a focus on Saskatchewan and Manitoba. (igd.com)US: Colleen Wegman named president and CEO of Wegmans
The supermarket chain announced Wednesday that Colleen Wegman, the company's president, will now serve as president and CEO. Her father, Danny, the grocery store's previous CEO, will now hold the title of chairman. (auburnpub.com) US: Costcutter opens third pilot store with focus on Food-To-Go
Costcutter Supermarkets has launched its third pilot store as part of the roll-out of its new ‘Shopper First’ programme, which aims to boost sales growth and provide retailers with access to detailed shopper profile information. (kamcity.com) 
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First English raspberries reach Waitrose
Waitrose announces it will be the first supermarket of the year to introduce English grown raspberries. Early season 'Berry Jewel' raspberries are an extra-large variety and launch into Waitrose shops later this week, the retailer says in a press release. The fruit is grown in Runcton, near Chichester, by Harry Hall, a dedicated grower to Waitrose who has been supplying the retailer with berries since 1994, according to the retailer. Unes makes Il Viaggiator Goloso available nationwide with Amazon.it
Unes has said that it has made its private label range Il Viaggiator Goloso available online nationwide with Amazon. The move follows a successful trial of the service through Amazon Prime in Milan. The announcement was made by the retailer’s CEO, Mario Gasbarrino, in a video interview conducted by BisceglieinDiretta. (igd.com)
Hungary: Spar revenues up 5.2% in 2016Supermarket chain Spar Magyarország posted HUF 516bn revenues last year, up 5.2% compared to 2015, Managing Director Gabriella Heiszler said on Wednesday, as reported by Hungarian news agency MTI. (bbj.hu)
Domino’s readies for robot deliveries in Germany
Through its partnership with Starship Technologies, Domino’s will begin using wheeled robots to deliver pizza in Hamburg, Germany. The first deliveries could begin in the next two months, according to ReCode. (chainstoreage.com)