Local Express Made-to-Order omnichannel solution goes live at US retailer Homeland's stores
HAC, operator of 74 supermarkets in Oklahoma, USA, is deploying Local Express' Made-to-Order omnichannel solution at its 36 Homeland and 11 United stores for its prepared foods, catering and food services operations. Homeland shoppers can now place customisable orders for holiday family meals, party trays, vegetable and seafood trays, butcher bundles and more from their home or office. The Local Express system also enables the retailer to optimise inventory and labour resources.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
Brazil: GPA triples losses in Q4 2024
Brazilian retailer Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) saw its losses more than triple in the fourth quarter of 2024, to R$1.1bln (€183.3mln), due to strategic restructuring and exceptional provisions. Of the total, R$737mln (€122.8mln) realtes to continued operations and R$367mln (€61.2mln) to the company's discontinued operations.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: Dollar General opens 1st Arkansas distribution center
Dollar General has officially cut the ribbon on its first Arkansas distribution center. Located in North Little Rock, the state-of-the-art facility supports the company's traditional supply chain distribution, as well as its DG Fresh network that provides perishable products to stores and the DG Private Fleet.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
DoorDash announces four new partnerships with local grocers across the U.S.
DoorDash reported: "We're excited to welcome multiple new grocers that consumers know and love to the DoorDash Marketplace. Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets, Festival Foods, Marc's, and Woodman's Food Markets are now live on DoorDash".
Source: about.doordash.com
US: Freshtown opens in Upstate New York
CQM Foods, an employee-owned company operating Freshtown and Peck's grocery stores in upstate New York, officially opened a new state-of-the-art Freshtown of Newburgh on Friday, February 21 at 7 am. The Newburgh Freshtown store features a fresh bakery department; meals to go from an in-house kitchen; a large fruit and vegetable department, including organics; fresh store-made sushi; fresh seafood; a capacious meat department; a huge section of craft beer; fresh pizza; floral; and more, along with a weekly sale and price structure allowing shoppers to save money.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
UK: The Co-operative Group announces new Board appointments
The Co-operative Group (Co-op) reported: "The Co-operative Group (Co-op) is pleased to announce the appointments of Wais Shaifta and Lord Simon Woolley as Independent Non-Executive Directors".
Source: co-operative.coop
Spain: Eroski to open 54 franchise stores in 2025
Spanish supermarket chain Eroski invested over €8mln in 2024 to open 53 new franchise stores under the 'Contigo' format. Andalusia (17 stores) and Catalonia (13) saw the highest number of openings, with further growth across other regions of Spain. Eroski plans to continue this momentum by opening 54 franchises in 2025, focusing on key regions like Catalonia, the Basque Country, Andalusia, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, the Balearic Islands, Galicia, and Levante.
Source: esmmagazine.com
China: Alibaba founder Jack Ma makes comeback with AI
Alibaba is planning to invest fifty billion euros in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, as the Chinese e-commerce giant says it wants to give a major boost to digital innovations in e-commerce. Surprisingly to many, founder Jack Ma suddenly reappeared on the scene.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Booker 'delighted' with new Select & Save partnership
Symbol group Select & Save recently partnered with Booker, enabling its retailers to access the wholesaler's extensive ranges from its depots. These include thousands of fresh, chilled and frozen products as well as its Jacks range of products, from fresh fruit & veg to household essentials like tea & coffee to cleaning products, and Euro Shopper range which features over 100 price marked products covering all the top selling categories, including soft drinks, milk, fresh, biscuits and paper.
Source: talkingretail.com
Sklavenitis eyes market share growth in Cyprus
The Sklavenitis Group aims to secure second place in the Cypriot market, while upgrading and expanding storage and production facilities in Greece in 2025, according to reports. The same reports suggested that the management of Greece's leading retailer is also evaluating expansion into other markets, including the Balkans and Central Europe. However, sources close to the company told Greek outlet Oikonomikos Tachydromos (OT) "that there is no concrete plan for such a move at this stage".
Source: cyprus-mail.com
South Koreans swap local for imports as food prices climb
Lotte Mart recently began selling frozen strawberries from Egypt. Once overlooked due to their lower sweetness compared to domestic varieties, the berries are now gaining popularity as South Korean strawberry prices have surged. The average price for domestic strawberries jumped about 15%, from 18,144 won ($13.80) per kilogram in early 2024 to 20,976 won ($16) last month. "The days when imported frozen strawberries were used only for juices or syrups are gone", a Lotte Mart official said. "More consumers are opting for cheaper fruit, making these products more prominent in stores".
Source: chosun.com
Northern Ireland: Lidl launches Green Fund for sustainable community projects
Lidl Northern Ireland launched a new 'Lidl Green Fund', to award communities with £25,000 in funding in support of local projects that aim to tackle key environmental challenges across climate and biodiversity, circular economy and sustainable living, for the benefit of towns and villages throughout Northern Ireland.
Source: businesseye.co.uk
UK: James Hall & Co. Ltd to host SPAR Inspire retailer event in April
After the success of the company's revamped one-day event that debuted in 2024, SPAR Inspire has expanded for 2025. Returning to Harrogate Convention Centre, SPAR Inspire will bring together current and prospective SPAR independent retailers on Thursday 10th April with James Hall & Co. Ltd's G&E Murgatroyd company-stores division to connect and share ideas and initiatives.
Source: jameshall.co.uk
India: Zomato doubles down on investment in Blinkit with a Rs 1,500 Cr bet
Foodtech giant Zomato has invested Rs 1,500 crore in its quick commerce arm Blinkit amid fierce competition and rapid expansion. Zomato acquired 7,612 shares at the issue price of 19,70,171 per share to invest 1,500 crore, as per Registrar of Companies (RoC).
Source: yourstory.com