Retailers join USDA on food waste reduction
Kroger: Nation's top seller of organics <2 yrs
A large range in fresh fruit and vegetables is a priority for EDEKA. The local fruit and vegetables star in the new advertising campaign about regionality. The campaign uses all types of media; the web special Locally Fresh informs about the large variety of locally produced fruit and vegetables. A new TV add has a fairytale theme, and it is clear that Snow White can trust the competent EDEKA salesman and the apple selection. EDEKA and the WWF inform the customer about sustainably produced food with the new folder Sustainability wins. The folder is free and available in most EDEKA supermarkets. A game, Panda Bingo, can be found in the folder and has great prizes, with a total worth of €450,000, for instance E-Bikes, five BMW and travel vouchers. (HORIZONTnet)
Kroger expects to be nation's top seller of organic food <2 yrs
Kroger's Simple Truth organic brand is dominating. In just two years, Simple Truth products reached $1bn in annual sales, becoming a major threat to Whole Foods. “Simple Truth has been our most successful brand launch ever, reaching billion-dollar brand status in less than two short years,” said Mike Ellis, president and chief operating officer of Kroger, during a March 5 call with financial analysts. “During the year, more than 20m households bought one or more of our 2,688 Simple Truth or Simple Truth Organic items. The brand continues to earn double-digit unit and sales growth, which we don’t see ending anytime soon," he said. A study by the Organic Trade Associate shows that 78% of organic buyers say they typically shop at conventional food stores and supermarkets. Whole Foods has been working to attract a wide audience by launching lower-priced stores in 2016. Kroger is thriving in a difficult market for grocery stores. The supermarket chain is expected to surpass Whole Foods Market within two years and become the nation's top seller of organic and natural food, according to a recent report by JPMorgan. (yahoo.com)
Costco Mexico doubles online sales
Costco Mexico has reported a 97% growth in online sales for its fiscal year running from September 2014 to August 2015. Iñigo Astier, director of e-commerce for Mexico, said the wholesaler expects online sales to increase by 60-67% next year. Costco revealed annual sales of USD113.5bn at the start of September. (igd.com)
UK: Supermarket chain Lidl announces minimum wage
More than 9,000 staff at supermarket chain Lidl are being given a pay rise worth £1,200 a year after the discounter said it was hiking its minimum wages. The move - which will cost it £9m - sees Lidl increase pay above the incoming national living wage, instead matching the rate expected to be set by the Living Wage Foundation, which is due to be announced in November. (home.bt.com)
US: Haggen to downsize to core and possibly sell
Haggen hopes to downsize its operations to “a set of successful core stores” and then to reorganize around those units or to sell them as a group, according to the company’s CFO. In a declaration to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, CFO Blake Barnett said the company believes its 17 supermarkets and one standalone pharmacy in the Pacific Northwest, combined with some of the stores it acquired from Albertsons and Safeway, “will ultimately form a set of successful core stores” that the company can “reorganize around, or sell as a going concern, for the benefit of its creditors.” Published reports said the chain is projecting average weekly sales of $44.7m over the next few weeks but expects that figure to fall by about two-thirds by mid-November. The reports also said expenses for grocery inventory are expected to fall from $24.5m in the week ending Oct. 9 to $8.6m the following week, and the company also anticipates sharp decreases in payroll expenses by late October, the reports said. (supermarketnews.com)
Retailers join with USDA, EPA on food waste reduction
The USDA and EPA on Wednesday called for a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030, the first national food waste reduction effort. To achieve the lofty goal, the federal government will work with charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, the private sector and local, state and tribal governments. According to the National Resources Defense Council, as much as 40% of food is wasted in the US. (supermarketnews.com)
Penny to withdraw from Bulgaria
Penny, which currently operates in 6 European countries outside of Germany, has announced it will exit Bulgaria to focus on its operations in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Romania. Billa, the full range international banner for Rewe, will continue to operate its 92 stores in Bulgaria. Where possible, it will take over some of the current 49 Penny outlets in the country. The move comes as Rewe struggles to grow Penny sales and looks to give more focus to Germany and its other markets, particularly Italy, where Penny is performing well. Rewe has announced it will rename all its Penny Discount stores in Germany with unique names, chosen by its customers. (igd.com)
US: ACME buys local supermarkets
ACME stores will replace the outgoing A&Ps in Mahwah and Midland Park as part of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.’s liquidation of 120 stores across the tri-state area. More than 100 buyouts, including roughly a dozen A&P’s in Bergen County and other subsidiaries, were purchased by ACME, Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. and Key Food Stores Co-operative Inc., the company has announced. (northjersey.com)
UK: Ocado goes 'extra mile’ to move ahead of opposition
Investors added Ocado to their shopping baskets yesterday, after a bullish broker note described the online grocer as “a disruptive long-term winner” in an otherwise beleaguered industry. In a note entitled “going the extra mile”, the bank said it preferred Ocado to other UK-listed food retailers. Describing it as “best-in-class”, Morgan Stanley said the online supermarket’s customer proposition is becoming increasing mass-market, with almost half of new clients coming from households earning less than £40,000 - up from 25pc in 2010. (telegraph.co.uk)
US: Fred Meyer rolls out online ordering for groceries
A local grocery chain is stepping up its digital game with online ordering. For now, the online service is only available at Fred Meyer’s Burlingame store, off Southwest Barbur Boulevard. The company hopes to expand to half-a-dozen other locations, including those in Gresham and Hillsboro, by the end of the year. (igd.com)
Carrefour Brazil opens new hypermarket
Carrefour Brazil opened a new hypermarket in the state of Espírito Santo in the south of the country. This “new generation” hypermarket offers 20,000 items, of which 1200 are local products. (eprretailnews.com)
Woolworths becomes top value gainer South-Africa
Woolworths and Capitec are the top value gainers of the year in brand value, according to a study by Brand South Africa and Brand Finance Africa where they revealed the country’s top 50 corporate brands. Capitec grew by 63%, placed at 30 and Woolworths climbed 53% as the 6th most valuable brand for 2014/15. (cnbcafrica.com)
US: Amazon Prime now lands in Los Angeles
Amazon announced that Prime Now, the company’s one-hour delivery service, has expanded to Los Angeles and Orange County. It can deliver tens of thousands of items including groceries. (Amazon)
Japanese chain plans California expansion
Marukai Corp., a Japanese-owned company with 12 U.S. stores, is testing a pair of new formats as it prepares to launch a major expansion program in California. The company, which once operated as a membership chain, has abandoned that approach at all but two locations — at the same time it has changed the name on two stores to Tokyo Central and two smaller stores to the name Tokyo Central and Main. (supermarketnews.com)
US: Meijer combines natural and organic PL lines
Meijer Inc. is transitioning its Meijer Naturals and Meijer Organics products into one line called True Goodness to avoid shopper confusion, the Grand Rapids, Mich., retailer announced. (supermarketnews.com)
Interesting links on retail:
UK: Four ways to win with The Co-operative (for suppliers)
Please, click here to read the article.
Auchan: format development in France
Please, click here to read the article.
Haggen seeks OK for Albertsons to rehire workers
Please, click here to read the article.