US: Omnichannel top of mind in grocery retailer technology investment
From midlevel executives on up, grocery retailers are well-attuned to where they need to invest to spur growth in today’s omnichannel marketplace, a new survey from Inmar Intelligence shows. Of 300 U.S.-based grocery and retail brand executives (middle-management and higher) polled, 89% are actively improving in-store and online experiences for shoppers, Inmar said. In turn, 87% deem technology investments to upgrade their e-commerce platform as a high priority in providing more engaging shopper experiences.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Allegiance Retail Services completes successful checkout terminal pilot
Allegiance Retail Services LLC has wrapped up a successful 3-month pilot program of new checkout terminals (NTRs) from AppCard that aim to make shopping easier, more convenient, and relevant. The NTRs were installed in 3 Foodtown supermarkets in New York and New Jersey, with further locations to come. At the pilot stores, QR codes were posted throughout for shoppers to see specials, recipe ideas and more.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Walmart debuts 1st Saladworks location
Shortly after teaming up with parent company WOWorks in the spring, Walmart has debuted the first ghost kitchen for Saladworks and Frutta Bowls in Rochester, New York, at 2150 Chili Avenue. This opening comes after WOWorks signed a deal with Edmonton, Alberta-based Ghost Kitchen Brands for 90 non-traditional retail presences in North America - many of which will be in Walmart stores.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: FMI sizes up pandemic’s financial impact on food retailers
Consumer demand for groceries swelled by 50% last year, lifting food retailer same-store sales nearly 16% industrywide, according to new research in FMI-The Food Industry Association’s “The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2021” report. On average, grocery retail comparable-store sales rose 15.8% year over year in 2020, marking the fourth straight year of increases, FMI said in the Industry Speaks study.
Source: supermarketnews.com
UK retail sales fall unexpectedly in August - ONS
British retail sales volumes fell 0.9% last month to stand unchanged from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast on average that sales volumes would rise 0.5% on the month in August and show annual growth of 2.7%.
Source: reuters.com
Belarus: Eurotorg sees net retail sales up 10.5% in first half
Belarus' biggest retailer, Eurotorg, has reported a 10.5% year-on-year growth in net retail sales to BYN2.4bln (€820mln) in the first half of its financial year. The company attributed this growth to new store openings, as well as a 3.6% growth in like-for-like sales.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Jumbo to open first Jumbo City store in Belgium
Dutch retailer Jumbo is bringing its inner-city store concept Jumbo City to Belgium. On Wednesday, 15 December, the supermarket chain will open its first urban store in the country in the centre of Antwerp at Teniersplaats 5. The Jumbo City store concept is designed to cater to the needs of customers and visitors in the city.
Source: esmmagazine.com
China: Jingxi partners with Suqian for delivering fresh produce
Jingxi, the social e-commerce platform of JD.com, announced its partnership with the Bureau of Commerce of Suqian city in Jiangsu province, so as to provide a channel for the agricultural city to sell their fresh produce across China.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
UK: John Lewis and Waitrose are not for sale - partnership Chairman
British retailer John Lewis Partnership is not for sale, its chairman said. “We haven’t been approached and more importantly we are not in the market for selling either brand,” Sharon White told reporters.
Source: reuters.com
Amazon and Deliveroo deepen ties with Prime food delivery bundle in UK and Ireland
Millions of Amazon Prime members in the U.K. and Ireland will get access to the lower tier of the Deliveroo Plus service, meaning they’ll be eligible for free deliveries when their orders exceed £25 ($34) in value. The partnership comes after regulators at the Competition and Markets Authority investigated Amazon’s investment in Deliveroo to see if it presented any competition concerns.
Source: cnbc.com
Singapore: Grab trims full-year forecasts, says US$40bln SPAC merger on track
Grab, Southeast Asia’s biggest ride hailing-to-food delivery group, lowered its full-year forecasts, citing renewed uncertainty over pandemic-related movement restrictions despite encouraging vaccination rates in the region. Singapore-based Grab also said in a statement that it was making progress on its record merger deal agreed with US special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Altimeter Growth Corp earlier this year.
Source: insideretail.asia
Dutch online grocer Picnic raises $706mln from investors, Gates Foundation
Picnic, an online grocery service based in the Netherlands, has raised 600mln euros ($706mln) in funding to speed its expansion, the company said. Picnic, which was founded in 2015, has grown quickly in the Netherlands and is expanding in Germany and to France.
Source: reuters.com
France: Carrefour joins forces with chef Jean Imbert to sell a crumble made from “resistant” apples
To ensure that producers who were hard hit by this year’s April frost (which damaged 70% of French agricultural production) still have an outlet for their produce, Carrefour has joined forces with chef Jean Imbert and is to sell a crumble made from Carrefour Quality Line apples that were affected by this unexpected bad weather. Thanks to this initiative, Carrefour will be preventing the fruit from going to waste and providing French producers with an outlet for their produce.
Source: carrefour.com
JD.com opens first E-space store in Indonesia
JD.ID, JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Indonesia, inaugurated JD.com’s first overseas E-Space store, JD.ID Electronic Store, in Indonesia on September 14. E-space is the mega retail “experience store” chain first launched by JD.com in 2019 in Chongqing, China, before spreading to other cities.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
UK: John Lewis charters ships to ensure Christmas stock arrivesJohn Lewis is chartering a fleet of extra ships, along with a number of other businesses, to make sure it has Christmas stock on time. Retailers have been grappling with a host of supply chain problems from driver shortages to shipping delays. John Lewis chair Sharon White said the business was throwing everything at the issues to make sure Christmas would not be disrupted.
Source: bbc.com
UK: Co-op opens first ever ‘micro-supermarket’
Co-op has launched its first food to go offer with its new micro-supermarket proposition as consumer behaviours continue to shift. The convenience retailer is expanding its portfolio with its first ever 24 hour self-serve, cashless micro-market at the head office for British Manufacturer and home of Henry and Hetty the Hoover, Numatic.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Volta Trucks raises €37mln to bring electric delivery trucks to the streets of London and Paris
Volta Trucks has raised a €37mln ($44mln) funding round to accelerate its plans, starting with a fleet of pilot vehicles in London and Paris. The round was led by New York-based Luxor Capital Group and returning investor Byggmästare Anders J Ahlström Holding of Stockholm. New investors included U.S. electric truck and battery manufacturer Proterra and supply chain management company Agility.
Source: techcrunch.com
Belgium: Delhaize opens first Foodmaker restaurant
2 Belgian food chains, healthy restaurant chain Foodmaker and supermarket chain Delhaize, have opened their first common restaurant in Brussels, the first in a series of 10 planned openings in the next 2 years.
Source: retaildetail.eu