Shipt, a leading online marketplace, announced that it will begin same-day delivery of an assortment of groceries and home essentials with four major retailers. Beginning May 8, Shipt will deliver from BI-LO, Target, Kroger and Publix stores to the Myrtle Beach metro area. Cumulatively, the launch gives more than 50,000 households in Myrtle Beach access to BI-LO, Target, Kroger and Publix products, delivered by Shipt in as little as one hour. Shipt members will be able to shop fresh foods and household essentials from all four retailers, in addition to an assortment of product categories that are unique to each retailer. Source: globenewswire.com
CAN: Loblaw ramps up its online grocery biz
Loblaw Companies Ltd. has announced plans to expand its grocery pick-up and delivery services across the country this year. The company plans to add home delivery to five more markets this year, including Montreal, Halifax and Regina. Loblaw also says it plans to expand its click-and-collect program, which allows customers to order groceries online and pick them up, with 500 new pick-up sites this year. By the end of 2018, the retailer aims to have more than 700 pick-up locations.Source: canadiangrocer.com
US: Food Lion opening 3 Norfolk, Virginia-area stores
On May 9, Food Lion will open three former Farm Fresh stores it purchased earlier this year from Supervalu in the greater Norfolk, Virginia, market. The locations are in Virginia Beach and Hampton, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Each new Food Lion store will employ about 100 associates, creating a total of about 300 jobs in the area. Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Albertsons’ to double private label launches this year
Albertsons Cos. is on track to launch 1,400 products in its Own Brands program this year, a more-than-twofold increase over 2017’s private label launches. Currently, 300 of those products have been introduced. The launches are all occurring across the entirety of Albertsons Cos. portfolio of store brands, including the Signature brands, Lucerne, O Organics, Open Nature, Waterfront Bistro, Value Corner, Primo Taglio and Debi Lilly Design. Popular new items introduced so far include Open Nature Scandal-less ice cream, Bison Top Sirloin Steak and Granola Bars; O Organics Sparkling Tea and Spinach and Butter Lettuce; Signature Select Cold Brew Coffee and Sparkling French Lemonade.Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Instacart plans $40mln support center in Atlanta
Instacart will spend $40mln to build and staff a so-called Customer Experience Center in Atlanta to support its growing e-commerce service. The center will be the company’s second largest office outside of its San Francisco headquarters, and will have 400 employees. “It will be a key asset to develop support services for new Instacart products,” a company spokeswoman told Food Dive. Positions at the new center include customer support representatives, data analysts, process improvement specialists and various management-level employees. The center’s construction and hiring process will happen over the next two years. Instacart currently partners with grocers in more than 240 markets to offer on-demand delivery, and recently secured $350mln in Series E funding.Source: fooddive.com
UAE: $82mln Carrefour distribution hub unveiled in Dubai
Retail giant Majid Al Futtaim has unveiled its new Carrefour Regional Distribution Centre at National Industries Park (NIP) in Jafza, Dubai. The facility is four times larger than any of Carrefour’s previous distribution centres in the region and represents an investment of AED300mln ($82.2mln) by Majid Al Futtaim, which comes as part of its AED30bln investment plan for the UAE, announced in 2016.Source: arabianbusiness.com
South Korea: E-Mart joins hands with Dutch retailer Spar for biz in China
South Korea’s E-Mart Inc., big-box store chain under retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group that pulled out of China last year due to poor sales, has begun a safer new business in the world’s largest consumer market by teaming up with Dutch food retailer Spar International. E-Mart said that it signed a product supply agreement with Spar International. Under the deal, the company will supply its food and household products under private labels like No Brand, Peacock, and Scentence to the Dutch retailer. Source: pulsenews.co.kr
Switzerland: Coop quits online marketplace Siroop
Siroop will cease to exist. The Swiss online marketplace was acquired by co-owner Coop last month, but the retail company has now confirmed it will pull the plug on Siroop at the end of this year. Back in 2016, Swisscom and Coop launched a new online marketplace under the name Siroop. Its aim was to become a serious competitor to Amazon, but that never really got off the ground. In fact, Coop has now revealed it will discontinue the online marketplace. The retailer’s spokesman Urs Meier confirmed this at the request of news agency SDA after a report by 20min.ch.Source: ecommercenews.eu
New Zealand: Countdown sales top $1.6bln in latest quarter
ASX-listed retailer Woolworths Group's Countdown chain of supermarkets in New Zealand recorded a 3.4% gain in sales in the third quarter. Sales rose to $1.63bln in the 13 weeks ended April 1 from $1.58bln a year earlier, according to Sydney-based Woolworths' third-quarter sales statement. Adjusting for the timing of Easter, comparable sales were up 3.8%, it said.Source: nzherald.co.nz
Holland: Jumbo employees moving towards new employment conditions regulation
Dutch retailer Jumbo has announced that a large majority of its employees have opted to fall under the new Employment Conditions Regulation (AVR) the group is introducing. Of its 3,000 permanent employees, 2,150 (72%) have decided on their chose to fall under the new AVR scheme or to remain working under the CLA legal agreement. 96% of the deciding employees have opted to fall under the new AVR.Source: esmmagazine.com