UK: Tesco to swap plastic packaging for loose fruit and veg
Tesco has informed suppliers that they need to move 3 times as fast in scrapping plastic from shelves, as it moves towards more reusable products. The Big Four grocer has set a target of removing plastic from a total of 5bln products sold by 2025. The grocer will focus on the sale of loose or unpackaged products such as fresh fruit & veg as well as a big upscaling of the use of concentrates and reusable and refillable packaging.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
UK: Sainsbury's to limit price rises as profits soar
Profits at Sainsbury's have more than doubled but the supermarket has warned it faces tougher times ahead as shoppers see their finances squeezed. It reported an underlying profit of £730mln for the year to March, up from £357mln a year earlier. But it expects profits to be lower this year with customers "watching every penny" amid the rising cost of living. The supermarket said although it is raising food prices, the increases were at a slower pace compared to its rivals.
Source: bbc.com
India: Tata superapp offers everything from salt to luxury hotels
Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate, has launched Tata Neu, a superapp that offers customers a range of in-house products, from groceries to airline tickets, as it seeks a foothold in the country's $38bln e-commerce market.
Source: asia.nikkei.com
HelloFresh seduces more customers again
All indicators are green for HelloFresh: the meal box delivery company sees sales as well as the number of customers and orders increase significantly. Profit is only slightly under pressure, the company is raising prices. The fact that the catering industry is now open again almost everywhere without restrictions doesn’t seem to bother HelloFresh: the company posted record sales of 1.9bln euros in the 1st quarter of 2022, an increase of 26.4%. The provider of meal boxes gained 1.24mln active customers, a growth of 17%. The total number of customers is now 8.52mln. Moreover, the number of orders per customer is increasing, as is the value of the average order.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Germany: Aldi Nord to raise hourly wages, increase training allowances
Aldi Nord has announced that it will increase its gross minimum hourly wage to €14, effective from 1 June 2022. The wage hike will be applicable to all employees earning less than €14 (gross) per hour, including all allowances. The initiative aims to support employees amid the significant increase in living costs. Aldi Nord is also increasing training allowances by €150 - to €1,100 in the 1st year, €1,200 in the 2nd year, and €1,350 in the 3rd year.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK retail sales slump as inflation rises, spending shifts - CBI
British retail sales slumped in April with the 1st year-on-year fall in volumes in 13 months, reflecting a cost-of-living squeeze and changed spending patterns, figures from the Confederation of British Industry showed. The CBI's headline retail sales balance fell to -35 in April from +9 in March, well below the average -3 expected in a Reuters poll of economists. Some 63% of stores reported that sales volumes fell, compared with 28% who experienced a rise.
Source: reuters.com
Competition authority clears Metro Austria's acquisition of AGM wholesale business
Metro AG has announced that the Higher Regional Court in Vienna has approved Metro Austria's acquisition of AGM wholesale stores from REWE Group. The deal includes 9 AGM wholesale stores and the associated delivery business, as well as the company's headquarters in Salzburg. The 9 stores are located in Graz, Hartberg, Spittal/Drau, Liezen, Neusiedl/See, Wiener Neustadt, St. Pölten, Bludenz and Klagenfurt.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Tasty year for Gousto as revenues surge to £315mln
Recipe box firm Gousto hailed 2021 an “outstanding” year for the firm as revenues surged 67% to hit a record £315mln. The London-based firm saw underlying profits hit £20mln, 10% up on 2020 levels, after a period of major customer growth in the past year.
Source: cityam.com
UAE: Robots to deliver food to customers at new Lulu hypermarket
UAE retail giant LuLu Group has opened an innovative hypermarket in Sharjah where robots deliver food to customers. The Abu Dhabi-based group inaugurated a world-class hypermarket in the Bu Tina area - its 18th in the Emirate and 232nd globally. Developed by US-based Purple Cloud, the robot will deliver food to customers at their table after an order has been placed.
Source: khaleejtimes.com
Australia: Coles issues dire grocery bill warning as inflation surges
Supermarket giant Coles has been forced to jack up prices and says shoppers could be saddled with more price pain in the months ahead. The $25bln retail conglomerate said it increased prices by an average 3.3% over the March quarter to pass on the inflated cost of shipping, fuel, meat, and fresh vegetables.
Source: news.com.au
US: Publix reaches 50mln pounds of produce donation milestone
Publix announced that the company has donated more than 50mln pounds of produce as part of its initiative to support farmers and food banks in the Southeast. Launched in response to farmers being forced to discard produce they could no longer sell due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Publix began purchasing produce directly from impacted farmers and donating it to food banks throughout the company’s operating area.
Source: businesswire.com
US: Kroger hiring push targets 23,000 more workers
Following summer and fall hiring drives, The Kroger Co. aims to add 23,000 associates across operations in a hybrid employment event this weekend. Kroger said that its spring hiring event, scheduled for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, will offer on-site and online interviews nationwide for open roles in all departments, including retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, supply chain, merchandising, logistics, corporate, pharmacy and health care roles.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Grosvenor Food & AgTech invests in transformative food supply chain technology firm GrubMarket
Grosvenor Food & AgTech has added supply chain and eCommerce food technology business GrubMarket - which provides software and services that better connect food producers, suppliers and customers - to its portfolio of innovative food and agtech companies that are reshaping how we grow and access foods that are better for our health, better for the planet and able to improve producer economics. San Francisco-based GrubMarket, in turn, sees Grosvenor as an important strategic investor that can help the company grow its transformative marketplace and healthier food supply chain business.
Source: grosvenor.com