US: Kroger workers authorize strike in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio
Some 3,000 union workers at 38 Kroger grocery stores in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio have rejected a new contract proposal and authorized a strike that could take place "at any moment," the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 announced.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Canada: The Organic Box transitions operations to Community Natural Foods
Alberta-based grocery delivery company The Organic Box is transitioning its operations to Calgary Co-op-owned Community Natural Foods. The change promises to expand the e-commerce offering for Organic Box customers and the delivery radius for Community Natural Foods customers.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
US: About Fresh spins off food truck nonprofit
Boston-based company About Fresh, which enables healthcare providers to cover food costs via prepaid debit cards, announced it is spinning off its Fresh Truck program into an autonomous nonprofit. The Fresh Truck program retrofits buses and trucks into mobile grocery stores that provide food to residents in need across Boston.
Source: supermarketnews.com
The FTC-Kroger, Albertsons fight could be long and complicated
The lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against the $24.6bln Kroger Albertsons merger could take months to play out and could have multiple outcomes. That is the stance of Eric Fruits. Fruits is a senior scholar at the International Center for Law and Economics and co-author of the white paper titled "Food-Retail Competition, Antitrust Law, and the Kroger/Albertsons Merger".
Source: supermarketnews.com
Holland: Why Jumbo is stopping its pricing strategies
Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has decided to stop regional price differentials and also partly abandon its Every Day Low Price policy to focus more strongly on price promotions. With these interventions, the retailer hopes to improve its competitive position.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Fiji: Supermarket chain posts $7mln profit
The RB Patel Group (RBG) recorded $7.6mln in its operating profits for the half year ending December 31, 2023 - an 11% increase over last year's $6.8mln. The company generated $90mln in turnover for the current period - a 7% increase compared to $84mln in the previous year. Operating cash flow this year also increased by 25% to just over $10mln compared to $8mln last year.
Source: fijitimes.com.fj
Belgium: Revamped Okay Kortemark reopens as a sustainable neighborhood supermarket on March 1
On Friday, March 1, Okay Kortemark reopened its doors after undergoing a thorough facelift. "In the renewed freshmart, it's easy to choose from our ample offer of fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat, fish and ready-made meals, tasty and fresh like you are used to at Okay", store manager Olivier says.
Source: press.colruytgroup.com
UK: Asda to hike basic pay to £12.04 an hour in £150mln investment
Asda has said it will invest £150mln into giving more than 120,000 staff an 8.4% pay rise. The announcement comes as the supermarket group opens its 1,000th UK store in Stevenage, amid the rapid expansion of its convenience business following its takeover by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital in 2021.
Source: standard.co.uk
Australian customers devastated: Kareela Grocer to close in 'challenging economic environment'
Customers are devastated by the news that family-owned Kareela Grocer, one of the best fresh food businesses in Sutherland Shire, is closing after 14 years. Owner Paul Moraitis announced "with a heavy heart" that they would close on Monday, April 1, "due to the end of our lease and the challenging economic environment". Kareela Grocer is the third independent fruit and vegetable business in Sutherland Shire to close in the last six months.
Source: theleader.com.au
UK: Waitrose adds new brunch menu to its cafés
Waitrose has added a new brunch menu in 44 of its cafés in a bid to meet growing customer demand for an "all-day brunch" experience. The menu features eight new items, including brioche custard French toast, Welsh rarebit with ham hock on toast, eggs royale with Scottish oak smoked salmon, eggs benedict, eggs Florentine, and avocado on toast.
Source: grocerygazette.co.uk
Poland: Żabka Group receives approval for DRIM Daniel Distributie takeover
Żabka Group has received approval from the Romanian National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) to acquire a majority stake in DRIM Daniel Distributie.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK's Asda billionaire boss Issa: 'I've not done bad'Mohsin Issa, one-half of the so-called "billionaire brothers" who own Asda, says he plans to hand over the running of the UK's third-biggest supermarket. In his first broadcast interview, the entrepreneur told the BBC he was carrying out a "reset" at the grocer before appointing a chief executive. Despite Asda's £5bln debt pile, Mr. Issa said he was "here for the long haul."
Source: bbc.com
German retail giant REWE Group taps Catch AI platform as it tests out digital shopping trolleys in stores
German retailer REWE Group has inked a deal with Israeli startup Catch to test Catch AI, a platform that operates across the likes of smart carts, smartphones, and self-checkout kiosks. In the first phase of the agreement, the solution has been implemented in 110 carts at supermarket REWE Center, located in Cologne.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
New price tags on display as Orban tries to get Hungarians to spend again
Reuters reported: "Price warnings on packaged food products that have shrunk in size went on display in Hungary's supermarkets as part of a government drive to boost retail spending among Hungarians were hit by the European Union's worst food price spike. A list published by the Hungarian Food Safety Authority includes hundreds of products ranging from ice creams to toothpaste and frozen vegetables".
Source: esmmagazine.com
What is behind Mere's comeback as MyPrice?
"MyPrice is the largest chain in the 'discounter' format on the market of Eastern Europe. We operate in more than ten European countries". This is how the hitherto completely unknown food retailer presents itself on its own website. The chain recently opened its first three shops in Belgium (in Boom, Boussu, and Opwijk) and also announced expansion elsewhere: eight or nine supermarkets in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, for example.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: M&S wins court challenge to Gove's block on razing of Oxford Street store
Marks & Spencer has claimed victory after Michael Gove's decision to block a controversial plan to raze and redevelop its main store on London's Oxford Street was ruled to be unlawful.
Source: theguardian.com
Australia: At Sydney's fruit and veg market, buying in bulk costs barely 30% of supermarket prices
Delphine Quack and Veronique Morgan-Smith stand with hands on hips as they consider a deal for a box of bananas. "Bananas have always been their own currency," Morgan-Smith says. "It's the only fruit you can't negotiate over." It's a gloomy Saturday morning at Paddy's Markets in the western Sydney suburb of Flemington, where Quack and Morgan-Smith have been shopping since 7 am for the Killarney Heights Fruit Co-op, one of scores of buying groups across the city offering an alternative to supermarkets. "Welcome to paradise," Morgan-Smith says with a grin as she glides through the maze of heaped boxes filled to the brim with fruit and vegetables.
Source: theguardian.com