US: Costco boom shows no signs of slowing
Costco Wholesale obviously doesn't need curbside pickup to generate impressive sales and profit. The club retailer has reported fourth-quarter and year-end results showing that plenty of American consumers are regularly shopping the fresh produce, appliances, sporting goods and, interestingly, furniture aisles in person at Costco, despite the pandemic. For the fourth quarter, U.S. same-store sales excluding gasoline and currency fluctuation rose 13.6% in the fourth quarter ended August 30. Membership-fee income was up 5.3%, to $1.11bln. Net sales for the quarter increased 12.5%, to $52.28bln, from $46.45bln last year. Net sales for the fiscal year increased 9.3%, to $163.22bln, from $149.35bln last year.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Canada: Inabuggy expands to Winnipeg
Inabuggy is now available in Winnipeg. The grocery delivery service already serves customers in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa. Customers in Winnipeg can now order fresh groceries, prepared foods, pharmaceuticals and pet food from nearby grocery stores through Inabuggy’s website or mobile app for delivery in as little as one hour. There is no minimum or maximum order size.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
Amazon ups support for sustainable products
Amazon has unveiled Climate Pledge Friendly, a new program to help shoppers find sustainable products. The Climate Pledge Friendly label will appear on more than 25,000 products to show that they have one or more of 19 distinct sustainability certifications, such as reducing the carbon footprint of shipments to customers.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Target to hire 130,000 holiday workers, in line with last year, but jobs will focus on online orders
Target said it expects to hire about 130,000 seasonal workers for the holidays, in line with its hiring last year. The retailer will change its approach to staffing, however, dedicating more workers to same-day services such as curbside pickup and hiring more people at distribution centers. Target CEO Brian Cornell said he expects “certain trends from earlier this year will continue during the holiday season”, such as customers looking for contactless shopping and buying more online.
Source: cnbc.com
US: H-E-B plans to expand distribution center in Temple, Texas
Temple Economic Development Corporation (Temple EDC) announced the expansion of H-E-B’s Distribution facilities in Temple, Texas. This project will grow H-E-B’s current facility footprint of 800,000 to 1,050,000 sq. ft., allowing them to expand their warehouse capacity and operations. “We are thrilled that H-E-B has decided to grow their operations here in Temple, Texas” said Adrian Cannady, President and CEO of Temple Economic Development Corporation.
Source: templeedc.com
US: Walmart makes Hancock County plans official
The nation's largest retailer has finalized plans to establish a massive facility in Hancock County. Walmart says it will invest $600mln to build a 2.2mln-square-foot fulfillment center south of McCordsville and create up to 1,000 jobs by the end of 2025. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says the facility will be Walmart's largest e-commerce fulfillment center in the country.
Source: insideindianabusiness.com
Saudi Arabia: BinDawood Holding to delay IPO retail offer
Saudi Arabia’s BinDawood Holding said a development relating to the supermarket retailer that requires disclosure in a supplementary prospectus would delay the retail part of an initial public offering (IPO) planned for this month. BinDawood Holding said a supplementary prospectus, to be approved by the Capital Market Authority, will contain “certain additional information regarding, among others, the institutional book-building and the retail offering period, which will no longer begin on September 27”.
Source: reuters.com
Penny partners for home delivery in Romania
In Romania Rewe’s discount banner Penny has partnered with a local company, which will enable it to offer a home delivery service in Bucharest and Ilfov county. Shoppers will be able to choose from Penny’s full range of about 1,400 SKUs. The service’s development and launch has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and shoppers’ desire for solutions that help them minimise contact with others.
Source: retailanalysis.igd.com
UK: Amazon Fresh grocery deliveries are now available in Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford
Amazon has expanded its grocery delivery service to serve parts of West Yorkshire. The online retail giant announced that the Amazon Fresh service would soon be available in Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford. Amazon Prime members can choose from tens of thousands of grocery items including meat, seafood, produce, snacks and household essentials, with free delivery on orders over £40.
Source: yorkshirepost.co.uk
Israel: Jumbo Stock launches attractive incentive schemes to encourage online shopping
Israel’s famous supermarket chain with a diverse range of products at affordable rates is now recalibrating its business operations to deliver goods to customers through its website and is taking all the necessary precautions for the safe delivery of its goods. One of the most popular and affordable supermarket chains of Israel, Jumbo Stock was founded in 2015, and now has 11 stores all over the country.
Source: influencive.com
Dunnes Stores to enter online grocery market in Ireland
Retailer Dunnes Stores is reportedly set to enter the online grocery market in Ireland, initially rolling out delivery services in Dublin and surrounding counties. The Irish Times reported that the exact timing of the launch is yet to be determined, however it is believed that the retailer is eager to have it in place next month, ahead of the busy Christmas period. Grocery orders will be fulfilled from a 'dark store', the paper reported, rather than through in-store picking.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: More than 200 jobs in Hatfield Ocado could go or move to Sunderland
Ocado is proposing to close its call centre at its Hatfield-based HQ and move the 200 plus jobs to Sunderland in the North East. The online retailer, which has seen its retail profit double since last year, explained that over the last few months it looked at its call centre and found it would be better if it operated from a single location.
Source: whtimes.co.uk