All roads lead to Romaine as new lettuce lines land on SPAR shelves
Summer salads are sorted for SPAR customers across the North of England as new lines of Romaine lettuces landed on the shelves. The fresh and tasty whole head Romaine lettuces are grown by Gore Hall Produce at Banks near Southport in a developing partnership with James Hall & Co. Ltd that is now into its fourth year. Gore Hall already supply James Hall & Co. Ltd with Iceberg lettuces, as well as Little Gem and celery, and a decision was taken to plant more Romaine lettuces this year for their quality and value. Emphasising the freshness of the Gore Hall products, all are hand cut and packaged moments after picking in the morning and are in the James Hall & Co. Ltd distribution centre in Preston by the afternoon ready to be delivered to SPAR stores the following day.
Source: jameshall.co.uk
France: CDS panel asked whether payment failure occurred for Casino
An investor has asked a panel that rules on credit default swaps (CDS) whether a "failure to pay" credit event has occurred for French retailer Casino, which could trigger a payout on the derivatives used to insure against default. The request, viewable on the EMEA Credit Derivatives Determination Committee's (CDDC) website, comes on top of a separate investor question on whether a "bankruptcy credit event" has occurred at the French supermarket group that was raised earlier.
Source: reuters.com
Metro Cash & Carry sees strongest sales growth in Croatia
Metro Cash & Carry was the strongest performer in the retail and wholesale market in Croatia in 2022, with sales growth of 33.5%, to €294.3mln, despite closing its financial year with a net loss of €1.4mln. Elsewhere, discounter Lidl achieved €1.05bln in revenue in 2022 in Croatia - a 19.22% increase on the previous year. The Schwarz Group-owned business turned a profit of €52mln (+1%), while EBIT reached €66.2mln and EBITDA amounted to €98.2mln. Elsewhere, Kaufland reported a turnover of €635.5mln (+12%) with net profit of €16mln (+101%) and EBITDA of €42.3mln. The data was provided by the Croatian Financial Agency (Fina), based on financial results reported by the retailers themselves.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Holland: Key highlights from Albert Heijn’s 2022 sustainability report 
Albert Heijn recently published its 2022 sustainability report. In this report, the supermarket looks back on the steps taken in 2022 to achieve its mission 'Together we make eating better the easy choice. For everyone’. Some of the key highlights: "The ambition to reduce CO2 emissions in the supply chain was tightened from 15% to 45% by 2030 (scope 3) and the vegetarian, vegan and plant-based range was further expanded to over 1,000 products; Free plastic bags for fruit and vegetables were discontinued, saving 243,000 kilos of plastic per year". As part of the sustainability report publication, Albert Heijn also announced two new developments: the move to B Corp certification and an experiment with true pricing.
Source: aholddelhaize.com
India: Online grocery firm Zepto announces leadership elevation as it eyes IPO
Zepto, online grocery company, announced key leadership elevations as it eyes for a public listing in the next two to three years. The company in a statement also said that it has multiplied its business by 4x in the past 12 months and has also made several dark stores profitable. Vinay Dhanani, COO, Zepto now takes the role of President - supply chain and category.
Source: business-standard.com
UK: Nisa retailers save 150,000 meals through Too Good To Go
Nisa’s independent retailers have reached a Magic Bag milestone with 150,000 meals now saved since the relationship with surplus food app Too Good To Go began in 2019. With over 300 stores now signed up to the app, the latest figure equates to a saving of 375 tonnes of Co2e.
Source: nisalocally.co.uk
40% of Belgians return to the same 3 online stores
Nine out of ten Belgians between the ages of 18 and 70 bought something online at least once last year. At least 33% of Belgian consumers say that they have one online store they always use to purchase a certain product online. Another 40% return to the same three online stores. These data come from a newly published research commissioned by Comeos, a Belgian ecommerce trade association.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
Australia: The ‘ugly vegies’ people in a new challenge to supermarkets
Produce delivery company Farmers Pick has long championed the consumption of blemished oranges and misshapen carrots, but the “ugly veg” startup plans to extend its challenge to the major supermarkets now by adding pantry staples to its range.
Source: smh.com.au
T&T Supermarkets unveils new store Coquitlam, Canada
Canada-based Asian supermarket chain T&T Supermarkets has expanded its presence in the country by opening its new location in Coquitlam. The 37,000 square foot store is located at 1085 Woolridge Street and features the retailer’s full assortment of Asian snacks, gifts, produce, seafood and bakery.
Source: retail-insight-network.com
US: Wegmans to shutter one of its largest locations
It was a five-year run for a unique Wegmans Food Markets store in Natick, Massachusetts. The New York-based grocer announced that is closing its location at 1245 Worcester Street in the town west of Boston due to a lower-than-anticipated performance.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Walmart reiterates goal of doubling international gross merchandise in five years
Walmart still expects to double the amount of gross merchandise volume it sells in foreign markets to $200bln in five years, a top executive at the retailer said, even as the global economy remains on shaky ground. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) measures the total value of all goods sold through a platform or marketplace, which in Walmart's case includes its Cashi digital payments app platform in Mexico and Flipkart marketplace in India.
Source: reuters.com
Costco posts lackluster U.S., e-commerce comp sales in May
Fueled by negative results in the United States, comparable-club sales at Costco Wholesale dipped for May after a prior-month rebound, while net sales grew at a slower rate. In the four weeks ended May 28, net sales edged up 1.2% to $18.45bln from $18.23bln a year earlier, Costco reported. Net sales for the 39-week fiscal year-to-date period totaled $174.07bln, up 5.1% from $165.56bln a year ago, when Costco reported 16.5% growth.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
Brazil: Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC makes new $194,000 investment in Sendas Distribuidora S.A.
Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Sendas Distribuidora S.A. (also known as Assai Atacadista) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $194,000.
Source: marketbeat.com