US: Walmart’s corporate workers will return to the office in early November
Walmart’s corporate employees will return to the office starting the week of November 8, the company said in a company memo. The big-box retailer is the largest private employer in the country, though most workers are based at stores and warehouses. Chief People Officer Donna Morris said team leaders will notify employees about expectations for return to office, based on their role.
Source: cnbc.com
Amazon opens new robotics facility in the U.S. with over 200 new manufacturing jobs
Amazon announced the opening of a new first-of-its-kind robotics manufacturing facility in Westborough, Massachusetts. The new facility will expand Amazon Robotics manufacturing capability in the U.S. and Amazon’s growth in the region - and has created over 200 new manufacturing jobs in Massachusetts.
Source: businesswire.com
GrubMarket expands to Canada through acquisition of Funtech Software
GrubMarket announced it has completed the acquisition of Vancouver-based Funtech Software, a provider of comprehensive eCommerce systems and online grocery software solutions to both online grocery companies and brick-and-mortar grocery stores, enabling them to manage their business online and reach more consumers. This marks GrubMarket's 1st acquisition in Canada, and the formation of GrubMarket's 1st overseas software technology R&D center, leveraging the rich software engineering resources in the Vancouver area.
Source: prnewswire.com
PriceSmart announces fiscal 2021 4th quarter operating results
PriceSmart, Inc., operator of 47 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and 1 U.S. territory, announced its results of operations for the 4th quarter and full year, which ended on August 31, 2021. Total revenues for the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2021 increased 12.2% to $909.6mln compared to $810.6mln in the comparable period of the prior year. For the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2021, net merchandise sales increased 12.7% to $871.2mln from $772.9mln in the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2020.
Source: prnewswire.com
UK: Tesco says online services back up after interference 'attempt'
British supermarket chain Tesco said its website and app are back up after the services were disrupted by an attempt to interfere with its systems. “Our online grocery website and app are now back up and running. Our teams have worked around the clock to restore service, and we’re really sorry to our customers for the inconvenience caused”, a Tesco spokesperson said.
Source: reuters.com
Switzerland: Coop to raise minimum wages in 2022
Coop Switzerland has announced that it is to raise lower incomes and minimum wages by a total of 0.8% in 2022. In addition, Coop Switzerland and its social partners have agreed on a new Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) and extended it by 4 years. The new contract, which will come into effect at the beginning of 2022, will cover around 37,000 employees from all over the country.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Iceland will give away free food to shoppers to cut food waste
Iceland is set to give food products on the last day of their shelf life away for free to online customers as it seeks to cut food waste. The frozen food retailer said its “Free on Last Day of Life” scheme is expected to give away more than 1.3mln items worth £500,000 a year to customers. All food items ordered and delivered by Iceland have previously had a shelf life of at least 2 days.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Auchan fully withdraws from Asia
Auchan Retail sells its 64.83% stake in Taiwanese retailer RT-Mart to local supermarket group PX-Mart. The Ruentex group also divested its stake in RT-Mart, resulting in PX-Mart owning 95.97% of the company after completing the transaction. The sale is part of the plan to divest non-strategic assets and confirms Auchan Retail's geographical reorientation.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Russian supermarket chains “Svetofor” and “Dobrocen” are expected to enter the Uzbek market
Uzbekistan continues to be in the focus of attention of retailers around the world. According to EastFruit experts, 2 Russian chains of the discounter segment are currently entering the country’s retail market: Svetofor and Dobrocen. This means that the “supermarketization” of Uzbekistan continues!
Source: east-fruit.com
UK households unaware of the impact their food waste has on the planet, Waitrose study finds
UK adults estimate that almost a 3rd of what they buy ends up in the bin despite 3 in 4 making attempts to get more use out of the products that end up in their fridges and cupboards. Top 20 most commonly thrown away food items because they have gone off according to UK adults: 1. Salad leaves; 2. Bread; 3. Milk; 4. Bananas; 5. Cucumber; 6. Strawberries; 7. Potatoes; 8. Eggs; 9. Tomatoes; 10. Carrots; 11. Cheese; 12. Yoghurt; 13. Mushrooms; 14. Cream; 15. Apples; 16. Fresh meat; 17. Oranges; 18. Onions; 19. Fresh fish; 20. Blueberries.
Source: retailtimes.co.uk
UK: Tesco makes its “quiet hour” a permanent fixtureTesco has confirmed that its “quiet hour” scheme will now become a permanent fixture to make the shopping experience more comfortable for customers. The supermarket giant initially launched a quiet hour in recognition that stores can be full of loud noises, bright lights or strong smells which are stressful for some customers.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Labor union asks European authorities to widen Amazon antitrust investigation: here’s whyThe UNI Global Union asked European authorities to widen their antitrust probe of Amazon.com to examine if the company is engaged in making knockoff goods and manipulating search results to promote its own brands on its platform. The call by the global trade union for the services sector follows a Reuters report that accused the e-commerce company of using internal data to replicate products and tinker with search results in favor of its private brands.
Source: forbesmiddleeast.com
Germany: Gerd Chrzanowski to take over as head of Schwarz Group
Dieter Schwarz will hand over his position as general partner of Lidl parent Schwarz Group to Gerd Chrzanowski on 1 December 2021. The former deputy general partner and CEO of Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG will takes office as planned after completing his induction, the company said. Gerd Chrzanowski will hand over the chairmanship of Lidl to his successor, Kenneth McGrath, on 1 December 2021.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Belgium: Colruyt launches crowdshipping service for its Collect&Go webshop
From now on, customers of Collect&Go, the online shopping service of Colruyt Group, can have their orders delivered at home. The retailer relies on private drivers for the delivery: a form of crowdshipping.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Concerns raised about new grocery purchasing alliance in Europe
AIM, the European Brands Association, has said it is becoming increasingly concerned about reports of the behaviours of the new ‘Epic Partners’ retail alliance which spans markets from Portugal to Russia. Incorporated in Geneva in March this year, Epic Partners brings together some of the biggest grocery retailers in Europe: Edeka, Germany’s nr1 retailer (26% market share); Magnit, Russia’s nr2 retailer (20% market share); ICA, Sweden’s nr1 retailer (48% market share); Jerónimo Martins, Poland’s nr1 and Portugal’s nr2 retailer; and Migros, Switzerland’s nr1 retailer.
Source: kamcity.com