Sweden: Coop announces restructuring, plans to cut jobs
Coop Sweden has announced plans to restructure the organization to increase competitiveness and offer better prices and promotions to its members. The restructuring will see Coop Sweden cut about 100 positions at its office in Solna and implement other measures, which it says will save over SEK300mln. The new organizational structure will come into effect from 1 January 2024.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Uzbekistan: SPAR expands network further
SPAR expands its network with Korzinka, Uzbekistan's largest retailer, granted a license by SPAR International to operate the SPAR brand in the country. The arrival of the brand is an important milestone in the development of the grocery retail trade in Uzbekistan.
Source: spar-international.com
China's cross-border e-commerce thrives, delivering global dividends
A durian contract-farming base in Vietnam has seen its sales in the Chinese market exceed 250mln yuan each year since it began cooperations with Freshippo, Alibaba Group's digital intelligence-powered new retail company, and a chili contract-farming base in Rwanda has brought about a sixfold increase in the incomes of local farmers.
Source: macaubusiness.com
UK agricultural scientists donate 8,000kg of potatoes to food charity
The James Hutton Institute has donated nearly 8,000kg of potatoes - worth an astonishing 932 bags - to a food charity helping communities in need. The institute, which is home to the UK's leading potato research center, donated the locally grown potatoes ahead of the festive season.
Source: farminguk.com
Germany: Netto Marken-Discount supports government initiative to promote organic food
Netto Marken-Discount has expressed support for the German government's information campaign to increase awareness of the benefits of organic food for the environment and the common good. Netto Marken-Discount already offers up to 400 organic food products on a permanent basis. Its own-brand range, BioBio, has been offering organic items at affordable prices for over 20 years.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Portuguese consumers prefer Mercadona for grocery shopping, study finds
A study by the consumer association Deco Proteste found that Mercadona, El Corte Inglés/Supercor, and My Auchan are the most popular supermarket chains among Portuguese consumers. According to the study, 55% of consumers go to the supermarket once or twice a week, 67% pay with a debit card, and 53% visit the same supermarket every week.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Australia: Queensland Pick of the Crop school program encouraging kids to eat more fruit and vegetables
A program teaching school children the basics of growing fruit and vegetables has become a "game changer" in Queensland. The Pick of the Crop program, which is similar to other programs headed by celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Stephanie Alexander, was launched in 2020 and is in place across 115 state primary schools. A recent University of Queensland evaluation of the program found that in 2022, 63% of participating schools said their students' attitude toward trying new fruits and vegetables was "excellent" compared to just 14% before the program.
Source: abc.net.au
Potato Corner launches in Malaysia 
Filipino food franchise Potato Corner has launched its first store in Malaysia at Sunway Pyramid in partnership with local distributor Rocks Foods. Potato Corner operates more than 1800 outlets in Thailand, the UK, Dubai, Australia, Singapore, and China.
Source: insideretail.asia
Finnish companies aim at hitting the ballpark with new plant protein processes
VTT and Finnish food industry join forces for the development of new plant protein value chains boosted by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Cost-efficient and high-quality plant-based food ingredients generate income both for farmers and food manufacturers and enable the production of plant-based foods that consumers are eager to buy and enjoy.
Source: vttresearch.com
Daniel Kretinsky pushes France's Casino to offload stores before bailout - FT
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has pushed debt-strapped French retailer Casino's management to sell its largest stores ahead of his planned bailout, the Financial Times reported, citing three people aware of the discussions.
Source: reuters.com
Hema opens 100th Belgian store
Hema reached a milestone in Belgium, opening its 100th Belgian store in Bruges. Eight more stores are already in the planning phase and are scheduled to open within the next twelve months.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Top 20 supermarket retailers in Ukraine
Top food retailers in Ukraine by no. of stores (June 2023) 1. ATB-market 1187; 2. Fozzy Group 709; 3. VolWest Retail 252; 4. MHP 231; 5. Арітейл 228; 6. Lviv Cold 200; 7. Clever Stores 194; 8. Pud 166; 9. Opttorg-15/Delvi 156; 10. Veresen Plus 156; 11. Network-Service-Lviv 153; 12. Eko 124; 13. August-Plus 124; 14. Tavria V/Tavria Plus 113; 15. Alliance Retail Group/Alliance of Entrepreneurs Osnova/Ananiev/Varshavska 110; 16. Modern-Trade/Kyivske 102; 17. Omega 101; 18. LK-Trans 96; 19. NOVUS Ukraine 95; 20. Trade Investland/Expresstrade/Eko Tradeinvest 84. Data sourced from GT Partners Ukraine.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: Aldi to open 4 stores in 4 states this week
On Thursday, Aldi will hold ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the following new stores: 9503 Mansfield Road, Shreveport, Louisiana; 7505 Spout Springs Road, Buford, Georgia; 2596 Dodge Street, Dubuque, Iowa. On Friday, Aldi will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newest West Coast location at 955 East Anaheim Street, Long Beach, California.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com
US: New York State's partners with HelloFresh to distribute meals to Veterans
For Thanksgiving this year, HelloFresh donated 1,300 turkeys, along with 1,000 additional meal kits containing sweet potatoes, white potatoes, broccoli, and cranberries.
Source: wnynewsnow.com
US: Florida produce growers and brokerages included in expansion of ReposiTrak Traceability Network
ReposiTrak announced the addition of an industry leader in row crops and a niche produce grower, processor, and brokerage to the ReposiTrak Traceability Network® (RTN). The produce companies will use RTN to do traceability with an in-network grocery supply chain company; the users include: A Longwood, Florida-based watermelon grower, processor, and brokerage utilizing technology and a network of growers for consistent, year-round product yields; A family-owned Immokalee, Florida-based grower of green beans, eggplant, squash and pepper varieties.
Source: businesswire.com
US: Price Chopper/Market 32 buys 5 New York State ShopRite stores
To boost its presence in upstate New York's Capital Region, Price Chopper/Market 32 has purchased the leases, store equipment, and fixtures of five former ShopRite stores in the area, with the aim of rebranding at least two of them as Market 32 locations. Wakefern Food Corp. cited an "influx of food retailers" in the Capital Region as a contributing factor in the closures.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Kroger shuts down its Kitchen United food halls
Little more than a year after investing in Kitchen United, Kroger's strategy of opening ghost kitchen outposts in its grocery stores has unexpectedly come to an end. "Unfortunately, Kitchen United will no longer operate in our stores," a spokesperson for Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger told WGB via email.
Source: winsightgrocerybusiness.com