Top of the Crops… British Berry Growers name Co-op' Retailer of the Year'
Co-op has been named 'Retailer of the Year' by British Berry Growers at the crop association's annual retailer event, which took place this month (November) in London. The annual award is presented to the retailer that has achieved the highest growth in berry sales (volume), with Co-op achieving a total increase of 22.1% in volume sales across all berries.
Source: co-operative.coop
History repeating: is Dutch Makro also heading for bankruptcy?
Some notable transactions with the holding company Metro Cash & Carry International Holding BV (MCCIH) in Makro Netherlands' recent annual report caught the attention of RTL News. That company, wholly owned by German MCCIH GmbH, may take over the land and buildings for book value in case of bankruptcy. Moreover, MCCIH also bought real estate to rent it out again.
Source: retaildetail.eu
China: Missfresh receives delisting notice from Nasdaq
Missfresh Limited ("Missfresh" or the "Company") announced that the equity financings and the business acquisition under the share purchase agreements, as previously announced on August 3, 2023, and the transactions under the share transfer agreement, as previously announced on August 7, 2023, have been terminated.
Source: globenewswire.com
UK: Asda opens 100th Asda Express store
Asda has announced that it has opened its 100th Asda Express store, following its rapid rollout of Co-op and EG Group conversions. The 100th store opened in Hexham - bringing Asda quality and value to the local community following the conversion of an EG petrol forecourt.
Source: corporate.asda.com
Online grocery startup Pricepally to expand in Nigeria backed by $1.3mln funding
Pricepally, a Nigerian online grocery store for fresh produce and packaged food, has raised $1.3mln seed funding, backed by Samurai Incubate (a Japanese VC that also participated in the startup's 2021 pre-seed round), SOSV, ELEA, Hi2 Global, Chui Ventures and ex-Unilever executive David Mureithi.
Source: techcrunch.com
Tesco Ireland opens its first store in Kilkenny
Tesco Express Ferrybank has officially opened for business and is the very first Tesco store to open in Co Kilkenny. To date, Kilkenny was the only county in the Republic of Ireland without a Tesco store, but that has all changed. At more than 3,800 square feet, the new store promises customers a modern retail experience and a wide selection of quality fresh local and Irish produce.
Source: tescoireland.ie
UK: Retail sales volumes fall to lowest level since 2021 lockdowns
Retail sales volumes fell by 0.3% in October, following a drop of 1.1% in September, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Source: talkingretail.com
UK: Fresh Direct launches the perfect potato for chips and roast potatoes
Fresh Direct, the UK's leading food service fresh produce provider, has launched a premium Chef's Choice potato, which sets a new benchmark for chipping and roasting potatoes. This perfect-for-purpose potato has been developed in partnership with industry-leading producer Linwood Crops. Following extensive trials and taste tests, the partners have identified the exact specification for the very best-tasting potato, which will be exclusively distributed by Fresh Direct in food service.
Source: feast-magazine.co.uk
Belgium: Why customers gave Delhaize's brand positioning an uppercut
Franchisees of Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize face a very tough task, as their brand has badly been damaged in terms of differentiation, brand identity, and price-quality perception, an analysis by WPP Belgium shows.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Holland: Jumbo drops lowest price guarantee
Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo is revising its main marketing ploy, the 'Seven Certainties.' Certain hard promises, such as the lowest price or free shopping for the fourth in the queue at the tills, are dropped.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Ireland: Consumers should not 'expect raspberries in December'
Consumers should adjust their grocery buying habits towards the natural biological cycle of produce and not expect raspberries in December. This is according to the chief specialist of veterinary public health at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), Dr. Mícheál O'Mahony.
Source: agriland.ie
Alibaba sheds over $20bln in market value after scrapping plans to list its cloud business
Alibaba, which competes with U.S. tech giant Amazon, said that it would not proceed with the spinoff of its Cloud Intelligence Group. Alibaba said that U.S. chip export curbs have "created uncertainties for the prospects of Cloud Intelligence Group," which competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Alibaba lost more than $21bln in market cap off the back of its ill-fated cloud spinoff plans, according to CNBC calculations of data from FactSet.
Source: cnbc.com
US: Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage announces fiscal 2023 fourth quarter and full-year results
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, and provided its outlook for fiscal 2024. Highlights for fourth quarter fiscal 2023 compared to fourth quarter fiscal 2022: net sales increased 7.6% to $295.1mln; net income was $5.9mln, with diluted earnings per share of $0.26. Highlights for fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022: net sales increased 4.7% to $1.1bln; net income was $23.2mln, with diluted earnings per share of $1.02.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: 91% of consumers plan to celebrate Thanksgiving
Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has released new data on Thanksgiving 2023, sourced from verified purchase data and a sentiment survey of 4,500 consumers on their 2023 holiday intention. Almost all celebrants (88%) say they plan to purchase food for Thanksgiving, with the most popular items being turkey or turkey breast (59%), dinner rolls or bread (54%), holiday pies (52%), stuffing/dressing (50%) and vegetables (48%).
Source: globenewswire.com
US: Medline announces new Food Benefit Solution for health insurance providers
Medline announced a new Food Benefit Solution allowing Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid Organizations to offer locally sourced fresh produce, healthy groceries, and prepared meals - delivered directly to member homes - as an added supplemental benefit.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: BJ's Wholesale Club sees mixed third-quarter results
Accelerated membership growth, robust traffic gains, and continued increases in market share were all highlights of BJ's Wholesale Club's third-quarter performance. Gross profit was $902.5mln in the third quarter, which is $34mln more than a year ago. So far for the year, gross profit is over $120mln ahead of the 2022 pace.
Source: supermarketnews.com
Canada: No Frills reaches tentative agreement with Unifor
A tentative agreement has been reached between No Frills and Unifor, which represents more than 1,200 workers at 17 No Frills stores across Ontario. "Our bargaining committee at No Frills was determined to build on what grocery store workers had achieved this past summer with Metro,"” Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, said in a statement.
Source: globalnews.ca