Canada: Flashfood taps Nicholas Bertram as CEO, unveils new visual identity
Flashfood president and chief operating officer Nicholas Bertram is set to helm the Toronto-headquartered company as CEO. Flashfood unveiled a new icon, logo, type and colour, “Blueberry”.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
US: BGL announces the sale of J.A. Kirsch Corporation to Atalanta
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is pleased to announce the sale of J.A. Kirsch, a leader in specialty food imports, to Atalanta Corporation, the largest privately held food importer in North America. BGL's Food & Beverage investment banking team served as the exclusive financial advisor to J.A. Kirsch in the transaction and furthers BGL's expertise within specialty foods. The specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. J.A. Kirsch offers a high-quality portfolio of primarily own-brand food products, with a core focus on seafood, as well as fruits and vegetables.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Giant Eagle to open first automated micro-fulfillment center
Giant Eagle is preparing to open its first automated micro-fulfilment center at a site in Pittsburgh, according to job listings on the East Coast supermarket chain’s website. The grocer will use the MFC, which will stock center store goods as well as chilled and frozen items, to fulfill curbside pickup orders. The facility will be located at 1775 South Braddock Ave. and use a tote-based system to move products, according to the announcement about the hiring event.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: New Whole Foods Market in South Windsor, Connecticut, is now open
Whole Foods Market opened its new 43,406-square-foot store in The Shops at Evergreen Walk (800 Evergreen Way) in South Windsor, Connecticut. Features of the South Windsor store include: An array of certified organic, conventional and Sourced for Good produce, plus offerings from more than five local farms, including herbs and microgreens from Gilbertie’s Organics, juice varieties from RIPE Bar Juice, and sweet potatoes from Oxen Hill Farms.
Source: media.wholefoodsmarket.com
US: A winning quarter back: ALDI offers 25% off Game Day must-haves
ALDI U.S. reported: "Shoppers can score big at ALDI ahead of their 2024 Big Game parties. Starting January 31, ALDI will give fans a quarter back in the form of 25% off the most popular game day foods. Some of the price reductions include: Park Street Deli Fresh Guacamole. What's the Big Game without the guac? Available in a fiesta of flavors. Now $3.29, was $4.49".
Source: prnewswire.com
New Zealand: Statement of Preliminary Issues released for proposed Foodstuffs merger
The Commerce Commission has published a statement of preliminary issues relating to an application from Foodstuffs North Island Limited and Foodstuffs South Island Limited seeking clearance to merge. The statement outlines the key competition issues that the Commission considers important in deciding whether or not to grant clearance to the proposed acquisition.
Source: comcom.govt.nz
Germany: Tegut sees turnover up 2.44% in full-year 2023
Retailer Tegut reported a total net turnover of €1.28bln in 2023, an increase of 2.44% on the previous year. The Fulda-based group said that the year was notable for the acquisition of organic supermarket chain Basic, adding 19 stores to its network, including increasing its store count in Munich from two to 14 stores.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Celebrating the Year of the Dragon 2024, JD.com kicks off its 12th consecutive Chinese New Year Grand Promotion
For Beijing residents, JD.com offers the convenience of ordering fresh groceries through the JD Grocery mini-program within the JD app. To ensure the freshness of the produce, JD Grocery has also introduced an “Everyday Fresh” channel where vegetables are sourced from the previous day and are only available for sale for a limited 16-hour window to ensure peak quality.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
New Zealand: Big declines in some dairy, veggies, treats in December
Foodstuffs NZ reported: "But the biggest year-on-year falls were once again in the produce department, with prices for courgettes and tomatoes plummeting by 52% and 43%, respectively, while avocados were down 38% and capsicums down 31%. Other double-digit price declines included celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and lettuce."
Source: foodstuffs.co.nz
Albert Heijn big winner in the Netherlands, Jumbo loses again
For the fifth consecutive year, Albert Heijn gained market share in the Netherlands, while challenger Jumbo saw its share decline. Plus also gained, while hard discounters Aldi and Lidl stagnated. Albert Heijn’s market share in the Netherlands rose from 36.7% to 37.1% in 2023, according to figures just published by market research firm Nielsen IQ.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Singapore: FairPrice Group freezes prices of popular produce amid wet market markups this Chinese New Year
FairPrice Group (FPG) announced a price freeze on popular seafood items and promotion for selected FairPrice vegetables for the Chinese New Year period.
Source: fairpricegroup.com.sg
UK grocery retailer Sainsbury’s selects StrongPoint’s grocery Order Picking solution
StrongPoint, a leading provider of in-store and e-commerce retail technology, announced that it has been selected by Sainsbury’s to supply order picking technology for online grocery orders fulfilled manually in store.
Source: strongpoint.com
Aussie grocery chain defends pricing tactic against claims it is a 'trick'
Harris Farm Markets, a fruit and vegetable market with over 30 locations across NSW and Queensland, was called out for offering a $6 bundle deal for two punnets of cherry tomatoes. But on closer look, the individual price of one packet was $3 each - meaning there was no advantage in buying multiple packs. There are countless more examples including cucumber and mushroom bundles leading one consumer psychologist to brand the move a “perceptual trick”. But Harris Farm Markets has defended its marketing of specials, saying the unique approach means “everyone” can access affordable products without penalty as part of its “we won’t sting you” approach.
Source: au.news.yahoo.com
New Zealand: Sweetcorn trumps strawberries in Kiwi hearts and shopping carts
Woolworths New Zealand reported: "As New Zealanders enjoy the best of the summer holidays, Countdown has discovered that while strawberries often claim the early summer spotlight, fresh locally grown sweetcorn is even more popular with Kiwis. And the best news is that after a year of wet weather impacting so many fruit and vegetable harvests, this season we’ve already got a bumper sweetcorn crop".
Source: voxy.co.nz
Sweden: ICA to invest a billion kronor to lower prices in 2024
ICA Sweden and the ICA retailers are making a joint, long-term billion kronor investment to reduce regular prices in 2024. This will involve broad price reductions primarily on essential products that customers buy often. Price reductions will be made continuously during the year starting in March.
Source: icagruppen.se
Queensland premier meets with supermarket chains over cost-of-living concerns, allegations of price-gouging
Queensland Premier Steven Miles says he has had "productive meetings" with representatives from major supermarkets to discuss soaring grocery prices and alleged price-gouging. Mr Miles wrote to Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Aldi last week requesting a meeting with their chief executives to discuss his "growing concern about a widening gap between the prices farmers receive for their produce and the prices customers pay at the check-out."
Source: abc.net.au