Canadians believe eating sustainably is too costly, survey says
Two-thirds of Canadians believe sustainable food options are too costly - but Sodexo Canada's Davide Del Brocco says this is a common misconception. Del Brocco is the CSR senior sustainability manager of food service company Sodexo Canada, which recently released its second Sustainable Food Barometer. "Price is the first thing you notice in the grocery store and it's what's most understood by consumers", Del Brocco says. In fact, three-quarters of Canadians say price is the first thing they pay attention to when grocery shopping. But there is a common misconception that sustainable, plant-based food is more expensive, he says. Responsibly sourced whole-plant ingredients, such as beans or legumes, are often cheaper, healthier and better for the environment.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
US Thanksgiving online sales up about 4% so far this year, data shows
Online sales in the U.S. were up about 4% for the first half of the Thanksgiving holiday, compared to a 2% rise last year, Salesforce data showed, a fresh sign that shoppers are lapping up steep discounts from retailers.
Source: reuters.com
Amazon experiencing bottlenecks in logistics
Ecommerce giant Amazon is currently having capacity problems in its logistics centers in Europe. It is now warning sellers that it cannot accept all shipments. This means that merchants might have issues getting their inventory to the marketplace in time for the holidays. The online marketplace announced its bottlenecks in logistics on its SellerCentral. The capacity bottlenecks affect Amazon's logistics centers in several countries. The company mentions Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Czech Republic and Poland.
Source: ecommercenews.eu
Sweden: Per Strömberg declines re-election to ICA Gruppen's Board
Per Strömberg has informed ICA Gruppen's nomination committee that he declines re-election at ICA Gruppen's upcoming Annual General Meeting in May 2025. Per will remain on the Board until then.
Source: icagruppen.se
Ireland: ALDI's new €9.8mlnn Tullamore store opens with the creation of 30 local jobs
Located on O'Connell Street, the store becomes ALDI's third in County Offaly and second store in Tullamore. Officiating at the official opening, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett said: "I have also been heartened to learn that ALDI's Irish supply base continues to grow with over 330 Irish suppliers now, including a growing number of fruit and vegetable producers with a strong commitment to organic produce".
Source: retailnews.ie
UK: Shoppers can be made to feel sorry for single bananas, study finds
Researchers have found that labelling unsold loose fruits as "sad singles" tugs on shoppers' heartstrings and increases the likelihood that they'll be sold. Their study showed that customers are more likely to pick up an individual banana, often left as a result of people tearing others from the bunch, if there is an appeal to empathy. Academics from the University of Bath placed a sign in front of the orphans in the fruit aisle. It showed a banana bearing a frown and the message "we are sad singles and want to be bought as well". This moved shoppers. On average, sales in single bananas went from 2.02 next to an emotionless sign to 3.19 with the sad sign - an increase of 58%. The non-empathetic sign simply labelled them as singles wanting to be bought. Alongside the sad and neutral signage, the academics also placed a "happy single" notice. But while the more cheerful version was more effective than no emotion at all, it seems customers prefer their fruit more maudlin. The happy banana signage increased hourly sales of single bananas from 2.02 to 2.13 (5.4%), making the sad banana signage almost 50% more effective than the happy banana. A later online study also showed promising results with tomatoes.
Source: theguardian.com
Discount supermarket chain OK finally opens 1st store in west Japan's Kansai
Major discount supermarket chain OK, based in the greater Tokyo area, opened its first store in west Japan's Kansai region on November 26, achieving a long-held vision once set back by legal hurdles.
Source: mainichi.jp
Croatia: Grocery chain Studenac cancels IPO on 'challenging conditions'
Croatian grocery chain Studenac Group SA and its owner canceled plans for an initial public offering in Warsaw and Zagreb after losing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as anchor investor, people familiar with the matter said.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
Baltic States: Grocery retailer Rimi continues to invest in StrongPoint self-checkout tech including cash handling capabilities
Rimi (part of ICA Group), has placed an order with StrongPoint to supply and install its self-checkout solutions in the Baltic-based grocery retailer's stores. The value of the order is approximately EUR2.3mln, excluding implementation and future technical support revenue. Delivery and installation are scheduled for 2025.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
South African grocer SPAR to open first upmarket store in second quarter
South Africa's SPAR Group plans to open its first premium grocery store in the second quarter of next year, with up to four stores planned for the year as the retailer targets affluent shoppers.
Source: reuters.com
Poland: Local products with food delivery service
The Polish delivery company DPD is expanding its services and launching the Fresh Market platform. Thanks to the online platform, buyers have access to a wide range of food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, fish, meat and cold cuts, preserves and many other products that come directly from local crops, farms or factories.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl and Wiadomości handlowe
Commission closes State aid investigations into Fiat, Amazon and Starbucks tax rulings
The European Commission has closed three in-depth State aid investigations into transfer pricing tax rulings granted by Luxembourg to Fiat and Amazon, and by the Netherlands to Starbucks. Following judgments by the EU Courts, the Commission found that the tax rulings did not grant the companies selective advantages.
Source: ec.europa.eu
Greenfood and Norwegian company Engrosfrukt enter partnership agreement
Greenfood expands its business in Norway. The food group's subsidiary, Ewerman, has now signed an agreement with Norway's Engrosfrukt for the supply of fruits and vegetables. Under the agreement, Ewerman will begin deliveries starting January 1, 2025. The contract spans five years and is expected to gradually grow to a value of nearly SEK200mln per year. For Greenfood, this marks the first time the group is establishing its fruit and vegetable offering in Norway. Deliveries will be managed from the group's new state-of-the-art facility in Helsingborg, Sweden, which also houses one of Sweden's most advanced banana ripening facilities, maturing over 30,000 banana boxes every week.
Source: greenfood.se