Ireland: Back-to-school boosts grocery sales as shoppers stock up on family favourites
Kantar reported: "As households settled into their autumn and back-to-school routines of preparing school lunches and dinners, Irish households spent an additional €2.6mln on fresh vegetables and €1.9mln on fresh fruit".
Source: kantar.com
New compact SPAR Hypermarket opens in India
The new SPAR Hypermarket opened at Langval Mall in Thanjavur, Chennai in India, provides a one-stop-shop for customers. A focus on fresh product includes a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as fish and meat.
Source: spar-international.com
All eyes on Aarhus, Denmark as retailer føtex opens its first autonomous store, powered by AiFI technology
After a soft opening and a series of tests, føtex, part of Salling Group, has officially opened an unstaffed føtex Go store in Aarhus, Denmark. Powered by AiFi technology, the checkout-free shopping location is open 24/7. This is the retailer's first venture in to the autonomous stores space.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
India: Pluckk becomes exclusive fresh produce partner for Spencer's Retail
Pluckk, a first-of-its-kind digital lifestyle-oriented fresh food brand in the Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) space, has announced its strategic partnership with Spencer's Retail. This collaboration will see Spencer's Retail exclusively offering Pluckk's premium produce across its Fresh Section in stores across Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur.
Source: essar.com
Germany: REWE Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer talks retail store innovation challenges and takeaways
Innovation takes time, a fact of life that is shown by REWE Group's Pick&Go project. So says Christoph Eltze, the retailer's Chief Digital and Technology Officer. In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Three years ago, we opened our first hybrid supermarket with Pick&Go technology in Cologne, making us the first in Europe. This was followed by markets in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf and most recently Hamburg. In particular, our test store in the Hanseatic city, which covers more than 1,200 square metres, is a real milestone as Europe's largest computer vision supported market".
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
Belgium: Sligro wows with 12,000 sqm of food experience in Ghent
Sligro has officially reopened the doors of its Ghent location. The 12,000 sqm store employs 45 people and serves 28,000 restaurateurs, caterers and other food professionals from the region every year. As many as 60% of local restaurateurs source their fresh ingredients and food items here, the Dutch company boasts.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Iceland Mat declared bankrupt with debt of NOK 32.4mln: Report
The board of Iceland Mat, the Norwegian arm of frozen foods retailer Iceland, has decided to call for tenders after the company was declared bankrupt on 11 October, according to media reports. Iceland Mat's total debt amounted to approximately NOK 32.4mln (€2.8mln), including NOK 20.6mln (€1.8mln) in loans from shareholders or close relatives, Norwegian publication, Dagens Næringsliv reported.
Source: esmmagazine.com
India: Gujcomasol opens state's first co-op supermarket in Ahmedabad
Gujarat's first cooperative supermarket, named "Gujco Mart", was inaugurated on Science City Road in Ahmedabad by the Gujarat Cooperative Marketing Federation, Gujcomasol. The initiative is being led by Dileep Sanghani, the president of the federation and a prominent figure in India's cooperative movement.
Source: indiancooperative.com
UK: Overhaul for Sainsbury's convenience stores
Sainsbury's has confirmed it is looking to "rebalance" its convenience store estate to put more emphasis on food-to-go. Its aim is to allocate more space to its food-on-the-move ranges, which is the number one mission of most of its customer visits.
Source: talkingretail.com
US: Aldi and Save Mart likely considered buying divested Kroger, Albertsons stores
Prior to choosing C&S Wholesale Grocers as its divestiture partner in its proposed acquisition of Albertsons, Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger considered offers from dozens of other parties, and two of them appear to be Aldi and Save Mart. Kroger and Albertsons attorneys revealed in a post-hearing brief, filed in the District Court of Oregon on September 27, that 92 parties initially expressed interest in purchasing the divested stores - 72 of those unnamed entities were strategic buyers and 20 were financial buyers.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Kroger Family of Companies invites prospective associates to come for the holidays and discover a career
The Kroger Co. announced its Family of Companies are seeking to hire more than 25,000 associates as it readies for the holiday season and beyond. Candidates are invited to explore rewarding roles across the business, from front end clerks, baggers and deli bakery clerks to pharmacy technicians, Kroger delivery drivers and more.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: SpartanNash acquiring Fresh Encounter Inc., growing retail footprint by 33%
Food solutions company SpartanNash (the "Company") announced its acquisition of Fresh Encounter Inc. ("FEI"), a 49-store supermarket chain serving Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Owned by third-generation grocers Michael Needler Jr. and Julie Anderson, FEI has been a food distribution customer of SpartanNash for 58 years. SpartanNash will continue employment for FEI's 2,500 team members.
Source: prnewswire.com