UK: Ocado surges after shoppers start to spend more online again
Ocado Group Plc shares surged as the provider of robotic warehouses narrowed its losses, even after delays from some key customers. The British company nearly halved its pretax loss for the first half of the year to £154mln ($200mln), a better result than analysts expected, and said cash flow is improving. Ocado's shares rose almost 20% in early London trading, having lost half their value so far this year.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
UK: Morrisons giving away free food to families at 398 stores this summer
The supermarket chain has partnered with Kellogg's to launch breakfast clubs in all its 398 cafés and will be giving out free bowls of cereal to families over the next three weeks. Alongside this, customers can get a portion of free fruit alongside their breakfast and can choose from bananas, apples, pears or oranges.
Source: mirror.co.uk
Lidl, Ahold Delhaize ahead of the pack in terms of protein transition: Study
Lidl and Ahold Delhaize are outperforming other European retailers in terms of transitioning their protein offering to a more planet-friendly, lower-emission template, a new study by Madre Brava has found.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Studenac delivers on international expansion strategy with deal to buy Slovenian retailer Kea
Studenac, Croatia's fastest growing food retailer by number of stores, has agreed to acquire Slovenia's Kea, expanding abroad to open up new opportunities for growth after disrupting its home market and tripling its business under the ownership of private equity fund Enterprise Investors. The acquisition of Kea, which operates 31 stores, is subject to approval from Slovenian competition regulators. With a strong presence in and around Maribor, Slovenia's second-largest city, and an average store size of 250 square meters, Kea had revenue of almost €50mln last year.
Source: studenac.hr
UK: Aldi to launch hash brown fries for just £2.79
Aldi UK reported: "For those looking for an option that's perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack, Aldi has shoppers covered with its brand-new Four Seasons Hash Brown Fries (£2.79, 550g). Available for the summer, Aldi is currently the only UK supermarket to stock hash brown fries".
Source: aldipresscentre.co.uk
Grocery inflation in UK hits lowest level for three years: Kantar
Grocery price inflation in the UK fell to 1.6% in the four weeks to 7 July, its lowest level since September 2021, new data from Kantar has found.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Spain: Mercadona allocates €150mln to reducing the prices of its products again
Mercadona, the physical supermarket and online sales company, has once again reduced prices in its selection, bringing the total number of products reduced in 2024 up to 1,000.
Source: info.mercadona.es
Iceland giving free £100 to supermarket shoppers in new cost of living scheme
The scheme sees the supermarket give away £100 each day to someone who has spent money in one of its Iceland or Food Warehouse stores - and so far has paid out over £1,000 to shoppers.
Source: mirror.co.uk
Calabrian, a fruity, smoky flavor from Southern Italy
The descriptor "Calabrian" on a restaurant menu usually denotes a Calabrian chile, a type of red chile from the region of Calabria in Italy's south - the toe of the great Italian boot as it appears on a map. According to market research firm Datassential, 17% of the U.S. population has tried food with the Calabrian flavor, and it's best-known among vegetarian/vegan consumers, Gen Z, and Asian consumers.
Source: restaurant-hospitality.com
CFIG appoints FCL's Ron Welke as its new president and CEO
The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) has appointed Ron Welke as its new president and CEO. He succeeds Tom Shurrie, who will act as an advisor to Welke and the board of directors until the end of this year.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
Walmart, Instacart promotions boost delivery sales
Online grocery sales reached $7.7bln in June, up 8% year over year for the month, with delivery surging, ship-to-home sales showing strong results, and pickup sales holding steady relative to last year, according to the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopper Survey. "Delivery's strong performance in June likely benefited from the promotional offers made last month, first by Instacart and then by Walmart", David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, said.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Amazon AI assistant Rufus makes its debut
It's been a few months since Amazon released its AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, in beta, but the online retail giant announced that the chatbot is now available to all U.S. shoppers.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Target's new store openings in July
Mass retailer Target Corp. is adding to its nearly 2,000-store network with the opening of three new locations in California, Missouri and Pennsylvania on July 21. Target will open a location in Lomita, California, located at 2130 Pacific Coast Highway. In Missouri, Target will open a store in St. Louis at 900 South Grand Boulevard. Target will open its 78th location in the state of Pennsylvania with a store in Doylestown, located at 456 North Main Street.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Whole Foods Market rings Nasdaq's opening bell to celebrate 20th anniversary of New York flagship store
Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel, alongside 70 Team Members, rang the Nasdaq opening bell to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its first New York City flagship store. The 2004 opening of the Columbus Circle flagship store marked a major step in the company's expansion in New York and transformed the city's grocery offerings with high-quality natural and organic foods in the largest grocery store the city had seen at that time.
Source: media.wholefoodsmarket.com