Indian online grocer restricted fruit and veg delivery

Dansk Supermarked to take over 81 former Kiwi stores
Danish retailer Dansk Supermarket is set to acquire the leases of 81 former Kiwi stores from rival Dagrofa, of which approximately half are going to be converted to Netto outlets. According to a statement on Dagrofa's website, Dansk Supermarked plans to offload the remainder of the leases to other retail operators. (esmmagazine.com)

Ocado trialing driverless vans in the UK
Online supermarket Ocado is starting trial deliveries in the UK with driverless vans in conjunction with technology firm Oxbotica, according to CV News by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The company believes that the self-driving vans may improve safety and increase the speed of the more than 170,000 grocery deliveries per week. (trailer-bodybuilders.com)

India: Grofers restricted fruit & vegetable delivery
Online grocery delivery startup Grofers restricted delivery of fruits and vegetable for two days after supply was hit due to the ongoing farmers strike. Grofers said it also had to delist certain stock keeping units (SKUs) from the app due to unavailability in Mumbai. “Supply was hit at not only shops but vegetable mandis as well. Since we procure our fresh vegetables directly from farmers at mandis, we also faced a crunch in Mumbai and Pune. Deliveries were restricted on 3 and 4th of June,” said Pavitra Agarwal, head of fruits and vegetable vertical, director of operations, Grofers in an email response to Media Nama. (medianama.com)

X5 to develop retail centres at Russian transport hubs
Russia's X5 Retail has partnered with private equity fund Acmero Capital and investment company Marathon Group to develop universal retail centres at passenger transport hubs. The retailer expects to open between 600 and 1,000 passenger service centres (PSCs) at bus and railway stations, roadside facilities, and airports across Russia by the end of 2021. The PSCs will offer multiple services ‘under the one roof’, including Pyaterochka grocery stores, pharmacies operated by Marathon, catering facilities by Acmero, ticket booths, parcel lockers, ATMs and payment terminals. (esmmagazine.com)

Sweden’s ICA sees May sales rise 2.4%
Swedish retailer ICA has seen like-for-like sales across its store portfolio rise by 2.4% in the month of May, to SEK 9.754 billion. Its Maxi ICA Stormarknad division posted the strongest increase in like-for-like sales, rising by 3.3%. Its ICA Kvantum and ICA Supermarket each saw sales rise by 2.4%, while its ICA Nära business saw a 1.2% increase. (esmmagazine.com)

US: Village posts sales, earnings increase in Q3
Village Super Market on Thursday reported modest gains in sales, comps and earnings in its fiscal third quarter, as lower expenses and higher sales from new and renovated stores overcame new competition and challenges of deflation. It said sales of $392 million in the quarter increased by 1.1% and comparable-store sales also increased by 1.1% in the quarter, which ended April 29. (supermarketnews.com)

Trader Joe's Canadian knockoff closes shop
Pirate Joe’s, a store in Vancouver, British Columbia, known for reselling signature products from Trader Joe’s – which doesn't operate stores in Canada – is shutting down following a long-running legal dispute, Canadian broadcasting network CTV News has reported. Pirate Joe’s owner, Michael Hallatt, had been called back to court due to Trader Joe’s new claim that he isn’t handling its goods according to its standards, the network said. (progressivegrocer.com)

Tops sees Q1 sales dip as traffic slows
Tops Markets saw its same store sales drop 3.4% during the first quarter of this year amid a slowdown in store traffic, according to Supermarket News. The 173-store retailer also attributed its declines to food deflation and reduced funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. To combat the slowdown, Tops CEO Frank Curci said in a company release that Tops gradually increased its promotions in recent months and was seeing improved results by the end of the quarter. (fooddive.com)