Washington state paying law firm Munger to fight Kroger-Albertsons mergerWashington state has agreed to pay U.S. law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson up to $2.5mln for legal work on its lawsuit seeking to block Kroger's $25bln purchase of rival grocer Albertsons, contract records show. The documents, obtained by Reuters through a records request, show two partners at the firm are charging the state more than $1,100 an hour.
Source: reuters.com
GrubMarket releases AI Orders to strengthen its position as the enterprise AI provider for the American food supply chainGrubMarket, the enterprise AI solutions provider for the American food supply chain, announced the launch of AI Orders, an AI-powered, automated order processing module designed to transform how food wholesalers and distributors receive incoming orders from their customers. AI Orders will be offered as part of GrubAssist, GrubMarket's groundbreaking suite of enterprise AI assistants that empower food supply chain businesses with deep insights, intelligent analysis, and smart, automated workflows.
Source: prnewswire.com
Axios Harris Poll names Kroger one of America's most visible and trusted companiesThe Kroger Co. announced its inclusion among the 2024 Axios Harris Poll 100, an annual ranking of the reputations of the most visible companies in the U.S.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Aldi opens store in Chicago suburbsGerman discount grocer Aldi opened its newest store in the Chicago suburb of LaGrange Park, Illinois, about half an hour from its U.S. headquarters in Batavia. The new location is Aldi's first in LaGrange Park, the grocer said in a press release.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Is live commerce the future of online shopping? Inside Amazon India's push to empower creatorsAmazon is setting its sights on a more dynamic and interactive shopping experience: live commerce. While still nascent in India, Amazon sees huge potential in this trend, particularly within its vast and diverse marketplace.
Source: businesstoday.in
New Zealand: Woolworths adds Kiwi winter favourites to Low Price programme in seasonal shake-upWoolworths has added a raft of household favourites to its Low Price programme for winter, with the aim of giving customers certainty that seasonal picks will stay at the same price for weeks and weeks: Brown onions 1.5kg bag ($3.50), Potatoes 4kg bag ($10.00), Simply red apples 1.5kg bag ($5.50).
Source: woolworths.co.nz
Italy: Nova Coop, Coop Liguria and Unicoop Tirreno report strong 2023 resultsAt Nova Coop, which serves the Piedmont and upper Lombardy region, gross sales exceeded €1.19bln (+3.07%), while net profit amounted to €28.4mln. Supermarket and hypermarket sales grew by 3.85% to €1.07bln. Coop Liguria's total turnover reached €854.2mln in 2023 (+2.53% year-on-year), marking the cooperative's 38th year of profitability, as it posted a profit of €10.4mln. Unicoop Tirreno closed out 2023 with a string of positive results. The cooperative reported a net profit of €1.9mln, while gross sales rose 4% to €877.9mln, and operating margin reached €7.8mln.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: SPAR wholesaler celebrates family-run stores with over 200 years of combined membershipSPAR UK wholesaler in the South West, Appleby Westward, recognised the remarkable milestone achieved by four of its independent, family-run SPAR stores, collectively boasting over 200 years of dedicated service.
Source: spar-international.com
Les Mousquetaires the fastest-growing retailer in France: KantarLe Groupement Les Mousquetaires, which operates the Intermarché chain, reported a 0.9% increase in share in the period from 15 April to 12 May, making it the fastest-growing retailer in France in the period, new data from Kantar has shown.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Pricer research: increasing numbers of UK consumers limiting their spending to goods on promotionResearch of over 1,000 UK shoppers by Pricer shows 27% now only buy grocery items which are on offer - a +6 percentage increase compared to 2023. This, Pricer suggests, shows that, despite inflation starting to ease, both pricing- and promotions-sensitivity continues to remain high among consumers. Younger demographics were more likely to exclusively buy items on promotion, with Millennials saying that 47% of all the food they buy is on offer, while 37% of Gen Z's shopping baskets consist of promotional or marked down produce.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
New Zealand: Foodstuffs' grocers vote for historic mergerThe proposed merger of Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island into one New Zealand-wide co-op has received the overwhelming support of the grocery store owners who are the co-ops' shareholders. In a historic moment for the 100-year-old, 100% NZ-owned co-ops, Members voted strongly in favour of a merger. It means the merger can go ahead, subject to Commerce Commission and High Court approval.
Source: foodstuffs.co.nz
UK: Tropicana reveals opportunity to create a new juice flavourTropicana has announced that it has insured the tastebuds of its Master of Orange, Nathalie Leenknecht, for £1mln as the brand reveals that they are just as rare and critical as those of a sommelier.
Source: retailtimes.co.uk
Top 10 supermarket retail chains in GermanyHere's an overview of the top ten supermarket retail chains in Germany, according to their most recently-available full-year turnover. All data is supplied by Retail-Index: 1. Edeka turnover: €66.2bln (2022) 2. Lidl & Kaufland turnover: €51bln (2022) 3. REWE turnover: €41.10bln (2022) 4. Aldi turnover: €30bln (estimated, 2022) 5. Lekkerland turnover: €8.5bln (2022) 6. Bela turnover: €5.2bln (2022) 7. Metro Cash & Carry turnover: €4.71bln (estimated, 2021) 8. Norma turnover: €4.2bln (estimated, 2022) 9. Globus turnover: €2.1bln (estimated, 2022) 10. Hit Handelsgruppe turnover: €1.87bln (2022).
Source: esmmagazine.com
Alcampo, Eroski and Consum ramp up store openings in SpainSeveral supermarket groups are ramping up store openings in Spain, despite a slowdown in the overall market. Retailers including Alcampo, Eroski and Consum aim to expand their reach and grab market share from market leaders Mercadona and Carrefour, according to Expansion.
Source: esmmagazine.com