Aldi crowned Grocer of the Year -
Aldi has been named Grocer of the Year at the Grocer Gold Awards beating last year's winner, Lidl, the Grocer reports. The discounter fought off Lidl and Ocado to scoop the trophy after judges said it offered up a “compelling” case for victory. It is the third time in four years that Aldi has been named Grocer of The year. (thegrocer.co.uk)
Whole Foods gets warning letter from FDA
The Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to Whole Foods co-CEOs John Mackey and Walter Robb about what the FDA called "serious violations" it found after inspecting a Whole Foods food preparation facility in Everett, Massachusetts, in February. The FDA said in the letter - dated June 8 - that it found various items were in areas where "condensate" was leaking from ceiling joints, a doorway and condenser fan. The FDA inspector cited many other violations, such as failure to sanitize food prep surfaces, dirty dishes near food, sinks without hot water for hand-washing and a worker who sprayed an ammonium-based sanitizer on "an open colander of salad leafy greens." Whole Foods was not immediately available for comment about the FDA's concerns. (CNN / news4jax.com)
Southeastern Grocers to only source from local farms
Southeastern Grocers, parent company to BI-LO, Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores, announced a new local sourcing policy with a commitment to only source produce from local farms and orchards in the Southeast whenever possible. Southeastern Grocers is completely devoted to helping grow Southeastern agriculture and provide customers with the freshest local produce by developing and maintaining great relationships with local farmers and growers. Currently up to 30% of Southeastern Grocers’ fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables are sourced directly from the Southeast. (businesswire.com)
Smart & Final says Aldi having little impact
Smart & Final Stores is not feeling much effect from competitive openings by Aldi in Southern California, the company’s president and CEO told investors Tuesday. Speaking at the 36th annual Piper Jaffray Consumer Conference in New York, Dave Hirz said Smart & Final competes with about 20 of the 26 Aldis that have opened in the past couple of months, “but their impact has been minor. “Our stores lost an average of $5,000 in sales during opening week, and it’s now down to about $2,000,” he said. (supermarketnews.com)
Thai DIT helps farmers sell more fruits at supermarkets
A collaboration between the Department of Internal Trade (DIT) and Tesco Lotus has allowed fruit farmers to sell more fruit and cope with the ongoing drought crisis. According to DIT Director General Wiboonrak Ruamrak, 8.5m kg of rambutans, mangosteens, longans, lychees have been sourced from farmers to sell at 200 Tesco Lotus branches across the country. The feat was made possible by an agreement between the department and the supermarket chain. The arrangement is also expected to encourage consumers to eat more fruit and promote sustainable income for farmers. (news.thaivisa.com)
Online supermarket chain Ocado has seen its shares plummet as fears of an Amazon takeover remain. Following the launch of AmazonFresh last week, Ocado’s share price has continued to fall and has made the retailer more vulnerable to a takeover by the internet giant, City experts have commented. Shares dropped to a three-year low today, down more than 7% as the retailer recorded its third consecutive set of losses. (retailgazette.co.uk)
MyWebGrocer the leading provider of eCommerce and digital marketing solutions to the grocery and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industries, announced today that Giant Eagle has selected the company’s Digital Experience Platform to power its omni-channel shopping experience. (MyWebGrocer)
Analysts expect volume gains, but modest comps, for Kroger
Kroger’s streak of positive identical store sales gains will likely reach its 50th quarter when the retailer reports first-quarter financial results this week, but analysts don’t expect the figure itself will be especially eye-popping. (supermarketnews.com)
Sweden: Axfood to come with pre-planned grocery bags
Sweden’s Axfood is introducing pre-planned grocery bags in partnership with specialist dinner kit company, Middagsfrid this summer. Middagsfrid will be designing exclusive ranges for Axfood’s Hemköp supermarkets, including organic and family-friendly options. Axfood has also recently said that it is launching grocery click & collect in three store locations in Stockholm and Malmö this autumn. (igd.com)
Walmart Canada to name new CEO
The president of Walmart Canada is moving to China as part of an executive shuffle in three countries. Dirk Van den Berghe will become president and CEO of Walmart China as well as regional president of Walmart’s Asia business, which includes operations in Japan. (canadiangrocer.com)
Asda's Andy Clarke to remain as IGD President
Andy Clarke, who will step down as CEO of Asda in July but will continue to work for Asda as an advisor for the remainder of 2016, is remaining as President of IGD, the food and grocery research and training charity. (igd.com)
Alibaba wants to double transaction volume by 2020
Chinese online giant Alibaba has no plans to slow down the company's growth: the company want to double its transaction volume by 2020, up to 6 trillion yuan (800 billion Euro). In order to get to that number, Alibaba aims to increase its number of active users from 423m now to 2bn by 2036. (retaildetail.eu)
Whole Foods Market: 365 ‘very competitive’ but is it enough?
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