Food Lion to sell specially marked bagged apples

Germany: Rewe's new private label range includes freshly cut fruit -
The new brand is called 'Rewe to go' and is a healthy range aimed at customers who are looking for convenient snacks and meals. The range includes breakfast cereals, fruit smoothies, freshly cut fruit, salads and pre-cooked full meals. (igd.com)

Food Lion launches specially marked bagged apples
Food Lion is partnering with its customers to help solve hunger by launching specially marked Food Lion Feeds bagged apples for sale in its stores today. In its third year, the bagged apple campaign will help provide over 1 million meals to families facing hunger in local communities across the grocer’s 10-state footprint. (newschannel10.com)

Target opening hundreds of small-format stores
Target CEO Brian Cornell said the retailer will open "hundreds" of new small-format stores in urban areas, according to news reports. Cornell said the small-format locations will offer an assortment of product-mixes, customised according to the demographics of local neighbourhoods and to serve as pickup stations for online orders, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg / retaildive.com)

Asda winning paid-search online grocery battle
Asda has been the most successful UK supermarket so far this year in terms of online paid-search advertising, according to a new study by Kantar Media company AdGooroo. Research on click-through traffic found that Asda.com generated 5.8 million clicks during a set period, giving it a 2.5 million click lead ahead of its closest competitor, Waitrose.com (3.3 million). (essentialretail.com)

UK's Waitrose cuts new store plans to invest in food-to-go
British upmarket grocer Waitrose has scaled back plans for new stores but will add more cafes and bakeries to existing shops, while owner John Lewis shifts its investment into logistics and technology as online shopping booms. (Reuters)

Russia: O'KEY group strengthens its private label business
O'KEY Group, announces the appointment of Milina Sevcikova Mikulova as Private Label Commercial Director, reporting directly to the Company's CEO Heigo Kera. The new Commercial Director will be developing and implementing the Group's private label strategy for supermarkets and hypermarkets. In her role, Milina will manage assortment, production, supply, pricing, positioning and promotion of the O'KEY private labels and control marginality of this business. Her top priority is to improve quality of the O'KEY private label products by auditing production facilities and testing samples in independent accredited laboratories. (lse.co.uk)

US: Produce for Kids is teaming up with Publix
Produce for Kids is teaming up with Publix to support local Feeding America®food banks. From Sept. 15 to Oct. 26, shoppers can look for Produce for Kids signage in the produce department of all Publix stores. Supporting the brands with the Produce for Kids logo will help give back to Feeding America food bank programs that support children and families. Last year's campaign donated over 2.2 million meals to children and families in need. (produceforkids.com)

Africa: Former Uchumi manager arrested over alleged corrupt dealings
Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Thursday arrested former Uchumi Chief Finance Officer, Chadwick Omondi Okumu, over allegations of fraud and misconduct. The retailer's board sent Mr Okumu packing in June last year alongside former chief executive Jonathan Ciano for “gross misconduct and gross negligence.” (businessdailyafrica.com)

US: Third 365 by Whole Foods Market opens
Whole Foods Market has opened its third ‘365 by Whole Foods Market’ format store in Bellevue, WA. The development of this new retail model is providing the company with learnings around operational efficiencies which can be applied to the core business. (igd.com)

US: Albertsons to convert 3 acquired Fresh Markets
Albertsons Cos. said late Wednesday that it has acquired three former Fresh Market stores in the Dallas area and will reopen them under its Tom Thumb banner by year-end. The stores, which Fresh Market closed in May, are located in the Turtle Creek and Lakewood districts in Dallas, with one in Fort Worth's University District. The Fresh Market entered the Dallas region in 2014. (supermarketnews.com)

IGD Wholesaling Summit reveals new opportunities for growth
According to food and grocery charity IGD, sales at the UK’s grocery wholesalers increased 0.3% in 2015 to £30bn, despite continued price deflation in retail. IGD said it forecasts the channel to grow by a further 1.3% over the next five years, driven primarily by the development of new clients in the food service market. IGD chief economist James Walton said: “Now is the time for wholesalers and their partners to take the initiative and develop new growth opportunities. We have noted a decline of symbol stores this year (by 0.7%), but this is rooted in short-term structural change and, once passed, we should see growth reassert itself. (talkingretail.com)

Expect more cuts at Sobeys as ‘sales challenges’ continue amid botched Safeway integration
More pain is likely to be in store for Sobeys owner Empire Co. as the grocery retailer seeks to cut costs and drive up flagging sales in the wake of its botched integration of the Western Canadian Safeway chain. Please, click here to read more at business.financialpost.com.

How Target plans to boost grocery sales without copying Walmart
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British supplier support from Tesco’s Master of Apples
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