US: Walmart offering shoppable recipes via tasty app
Walmart Inc. and BuzzFeed’s Tasty food network have teamed up to provide consumers with shoppable recipes. Now customers can add the entire ingredient list from a menu of 4,000 Tasty videos directly to their Walmart Online Grocery carts with a single click. Then they can place their order for pickup from more than 2,500 stores nationwide, or have the groceries delivered to their homes from 1,100-plus stores across the United States.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Grocers could blame fewer visits on food delivery apps
Food delivery services have made it easy to avoid a trip to the grocery store, creating a challenge for conventional food retailers that won’t be solved by an enhanced store experience alone, according to Progressive Grocer's sister publication Retail Leader. Services provided by the likes of Uber Eats, Grubhub and Waitr facilitated roughly $5bln in food sales during the second quarter, sales that might have been purchased at conventional food retailers were it not so easy to have food delivered from so many different restaurants. The dramatic growth of food delivery is helping food away from home, which surpassed sales of food at home nearly a decade ago, further accelerate and expand.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Independent grocer Eddie’s of Roland Park debuting 5-cent reusable-bag credit
Eddie’s of Roland Park, an independent family-owned grocer with two locations in Baltimore, will offer shoppers a 5-cent credit for each reusable bag they bring for their groceries, starting August 25. “As we continuously look to improve the shopping experience at Eddie’s with an eye towards environmental responsibility, we felt this was a natural place to make an impact - and a great way to reward customers for supporting green efforts at checkout”, noted Eddie’s co-owner Andrew Schaffer.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Micro-grocery stores keep growing
An urban micro-grocery store called The Market on Michigan Avenue (MoMA) will open in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan at the end of the month, mLive reported. The 4,000-square-foot store will offer fresh and dry goods, a deli, beer and wine, pantry essentials and locally sourced and sustainably farmed produce and meats. MoMa first announced plans for the store last December, after a study categorized East Michigan Avenue as a food desert.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Target is launching grocery brand Good & Gather in bid to boost its food business
After years of rolling out private-label brands in apparel and home goods, Target is starting a grocery brand. Products from the new line Good & Gather will hit Target stores beginning September 15. The retailer said that by the end of 2020, the brand will have more than 2,000 items - everything from organic pizza crusts, milk and eggs, hazelnut and peanut butter spreads, frozen veggies, salad mixes and pastas. Target said it expects Good & Gather will be a multibillion-dollar brand - and the largest of its private labels. “We’ve been hard at work [on this] for the last couple years”, said Stephanie Lundquist, head of food and beverage at Target. “Food and beverage play such an important role for Target’s business ... for the Target experience.”
Source: cnbc.com
US: Giant Food Stores buying independent grocer Musser’s Markets
Further growing its presence in its home state, Giant Food Stores has entered into an agreement with independent grocer Musser's Markets to acquire its three Pennsylvania locations in Columbia, Lebanon and Quarryville. “We were honored when the Musser family contacted us about purchasing their wonderful locations”, noted Giant Food Store President Nicholas Bertram. “The Musser family founded their grocery store in 1925, and we recognize the deep roots and strong reputation they have in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. We look forward to continuing their legacy of caring for families and the community.” The sale is expected to wrap up by the end of October. At its completion, the stores will shutter for about a week to undergo remodeling, with additional details on the conversions to be released at a later date.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Kroger expands Walgreens pilot
Kroger and Walgreens launched their exploratory pilot, Kroger Express, in October of 2018. The success has led the two chains to expand the program to 35 more Walgreens stores in Kentucky beginning this fall. The pilot will continue to bring Kroger’s Our Brands products like Simple Truth and Home Chef meal solutions to more stores and markets. "We continue to redefine the grocery customer experience and partner for customer value through our Restock Kroger transformation plan. Our growing relationship with Walgreens is just one more way Kroger is making life easier and better for even more customers - because everyone deserves to have affordable, easy-to-enjoy, fresh food", said Jeff Talbot, Kroger's Vice President of New Business Development. "Expanding our pilot to Knoxville demonstrates the ongoing success and future potential of bringing together the best of Kroger's food authority with Walgreens' global expertise in health and beauty."
Source: delimarketnews.com
Retailer Casino raises offer to buy Colombian Exito's 50% stake in Brazilian GPA
French supermarket retailer Casino said it had raised its offer price to buy the 50% stake held in Brazilian retailer GPA by its Colombian unit Exito, as part of a plan to simplify its Latin American operations. Casino, which is restructuring its Latin American operations as part of a broader plan to cut debts and improve its financial performance, said it would offer 113 reais ($27.7) per share for the GPA stake - up from a previous 109 reais offer. Latin America, and particularly Brazil, has been a key contributor to Casino’s sales and profits, helping offset a weaker performance in France where price wars among supermarket companies have hit margins.
Source: reuters.com
France: Retailer Casino targets further 2bln euros of asset sales
French supermarket retailer Casino is targeting a further 2bln euros ($2.2bln) of asset sales, stepping up plans to cut debt and improve financial performance. Casino has been struggling to improve its profits in a tough business climate in France, raising concerns over its ability to generate enough cash to pay off the debt of parent company Rallye. “The board of directors has validated the arbitration of assets whose disposal would be a source of value creation,” Casino said in a statement.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Hottest day fails to rally grocery sales
The latest grocery market share figures, published by Kantar, show year-on-year supermarket sales were flat during the 12 weeks to 11 August 2019 as the tough comparisons with 2018’s strong summer continue. Lidl’s sales increased by 7.7% and the discounter reached a record market share of 5.9% during the past 12 weeks. Sales at rival Aldi increased by 6.2%, supported by sales of bakery products, up 11%, and biscuits, up 13%. Nearly half of all households shopped in an Aldi during the past 12 weeks, showing the extent to which the discounter has established itself in our retail landscape - this figure increases even further to 58.4% in the north of England where the retailer is most popular. Once again Ocado claimed the top spot as the UK’s fastest growing grocer, increasing sales by 12.6% this period. The online retailer increased its shopper base by 7% and encouraged its customers to spend £1.93 more each delivery. Ocado’s share of the total grocery market now stands at 1.4%, while it commands 18% of all online supermarket sales. In a tough market, Co-op also found growth: sales are 0.2% higher compared with a year ago. Its new high-profile £3.50 burger and beer deal, which encourages shoppers to opt for barbecue favourites despite the weather, has helped bring customers into its stores more often. At the other end of price spectrum, sales of the convenience retailer’s premium Irresistible range grew by 11% driven by strong performances for crisps and snacks, cheese and fruit. Sainsbury’s accounted for 15.4% of supermarket sales this period. While each of the big four lost share, Sainsbury’s will be cheered to be the strongest performer among this cohort for the first time since November 2017. Bucking the market-wide own-label trend, sales of branded goods at Sainsbury’s rose by 1.5%, driven by higher levels of promotion and its price lockdown strategy. Asda and Tesco’s sales shrank by 1.5% and 1.6% respectively. It wasn’t all bad news for Asda and Tesco this period. Asda’s online growth of 11% was notably strong while Tesco continues to find success with its cheapest own-label lines. In fact, total sales of Tesco’s value tier were £29mln higher than this time last year. Already selling more items through deals than any other retailer, Morrisons increased its level of promotion this period as its overall sales fell by 2.7%. A reduction in number of items bought per trip also contributed to this decline and its market share fell to 10.1% during the past 12 weeks. Waitrose’s market share decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 4.9%. Free-from products were a bright spot for Waitrose, and it sold 8% more items from these aisles than this time last year. As diets change and public awareness of food intolerances continue to grow, free from products account for a greater proportion of sales at Waitrose than at any other retailer. Iceland’s market share held steady at 2.1%, with sales down by 0.4% during the past 12 weeks.
Source: uk.kantar.com
Intermarché plans new store openings in Portugal
French retailer Les Mousquetaires is planning to increase its market share in Portugal by opening new Intermarché stores and reducing prices across its range, reports suggest. Laurent Boutbien, the president of Os Mosqueteiros, the group's operation in Portugal, has said that the retailer aims to invest €200mln to open 105 stores by 2023, of which €60mln will be invested this year in 15 new stores, according to a report in local daily Expresso. Last year, the retailer invested €30mln in its operations and opened nine new stores.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Co-op urges local authorities to begin food waste collection
Co-op has urged English local authorities to promptly begin the roll-out of food waste collections from homes, in order to stop 356,000 tonnes of food waste - in England alone - going to landfill. The grocer said around 1000 tonnes of food waste a day end up in landfill, when it could be composted or used to create energy and help cut greenhouse gases. Co-op will be writing to 20 local authorities that do not collect food waste, calling for the introduction of universal food waste collections to be sped up. At least 48% of 169 English councils currently do not have a kerbside food waste collection, meaning that food waste in these areas is going to landfill, 12% do not accept compostable bags.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Troubled Honestbee plans to open Habitat concept stores in South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan
Embattled grocery startup Honestbee plans to expand its ‘habitat by honestbee’ - a supermarket, restaurant and retail concept - across the region even as it is undergoing a court-supervised restructuring process. The Singapore-based startup on 2 August applied to the High Court to start the restructuring process as it seeks a six-month reprieve against enforcement actions and legal proceedings. “Once we do the restructuring and clean up, the actual prognosis for the business is actually good, and parts of the business have tremendous potential, like Habitat,” said Ong Lay Ann, the newly-minted chief executive officer of Honestbee, in an interview with Yahoo Finance Singapore. “There are plans to open Habitat around the region and we have partners that are working with us to develop in other countries," Ong said. Honestbee is in “advanced discussions” with partners in South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia and expects to open Habitat stores in these markets “within a couple of months”, Ong said, as he marked his first month on the job.
Source: sg.finance.yahoo.com