Romania: Carrefour launches initiative to fight inflation
Carrefour Romania is introducing a nationwide price reduction programme, to help customers cope with inflation and rising prices. The programme, titled Minus la Sută, will see Carrefour Romania offering discounts of up to 20% on 1,200 everyday essentials across various categories, including groceries, personal-hygiene items, and household goods.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Pick n Pay's plan could turn South African retailer around, say analysts
Break-even targets and a new strategy for South Africa's core Pick n Pay supermarkets seem "plausible", analysts said, a day after the new CEO of the struggling retailer outlined his plan.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Asda's brand-new store in Hale Barns officially opens
Asda has announced that its long-awaited store in Hale Barns is officially open. The 11,000 sq. ft store is one of the largest that Asda has opened in recent years and is the latest in a series of investments Asda has made to grow its store estate as part of its long-term growth strategy to become the UK's second largest supermarket. The store located on the Central Hale Road, Altrincham, will stock over 8000 branded and own-label favourites, including fresh food, fruit and veg, frozen favourites and cupboard essentials.
Source: corporate.asda.com
UK: Government reappoints Groceries Code Adjudicator
Mark White has been reappointed as Groceries Code Adjudicator for a further 3-year period. Mark was appointed as the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) on 31 October 2020, after serving as the deputy GCA from July 2020.
Source: gov.uk
Rising demand for classic side dish prompts opening of UK's biggest mash factory
Rising demand for mashed potato has prompted the opening of Britain's biggest and most modern mash factory in Lincolnshire. Last year Tesco shoppers alone bought more than one million more packs of fresh ready-made mash than in 2022 with the classic British staple proving very popular during the cost of living crisis. Now, Branston, one of the UK's largest potato suppliers, based in Lincolnshire, says it has worked with the supermarket to take the mash potato dining experience to the next level.
Source: tescoplc.com
Belgium: Carrefour tests app for the visually impaired in Brussels
In a Belgian hypermarket, Carrefour is testing if technology can help visually impaired customers to shop independently and without obstacles. This is a European first.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Holland: Albert Heijn to achieve emission-free deliveries for customers, stores by 2030
Dutch retailer Albert Heijn is poised to achieve emission-free deliveries for all customers and stores in the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030. Albert Heijn operates around 270 charging stations in the Netherlands - for 74 trucks and 250 delivery buses - and claims to have the largest electric fleet among retailers in the country, it added.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: What's next for online retailers as investors lose faith?
Ocado is to be booted out of the FTSE 100 after the online grocery group's share price plummeted more than 85% from the highs of the pandemic. The exit is representative of a wider sweep against pure plays on the London Stock Market, which are all trading at a fraction of what they once were during their peak in 2021.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
UK: Aldi store colleagues to receive latest pay rise from this week
Aldi reported: "From this week, Aldi Store Assistants will receive a minimum rate of £12.40 an hour. The new pay increases, announced in March, will see the hourly rate of Store Assistants nationally rise from £12.00 to £12.40, and from £13.55 to £13.65 for those within the M25".
Source: aldipresscentre.co.uk
US: Meijer to open first grocery format store in Indiana on July 11 in Noblesville
Meijer announced it will open its new 90,000-square-foot grocery format store on July 11 at the Promenade of Noblesville (5956 Promenade Shops Blvd). This is the first grocery format store by Meijer in Indiana, complementing its other 42 well-known supercenters throughout the state with the same quality customers have come to expect from the Midwest retailer.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Weis Markets breaks ground on Maryland store
Weis Markets held a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the construction of a new store. The Lake Linganore supermarket, which will be located on Old National Pike in Ijamsville, Maryland, is Weis Markets' first new construction project since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Whole Foods' John Mackey on labor unions, 'stirring the pot,' and running a startup at age 70
John Mackey, the always colorful cofounder and former CEO of Whole Foods Market, left the grocery chain in 2022, five years after the influential organic foods supermarket he built from scratch was acquired by Amazon. Last week, he launched his memoir about the company's history - and his role leading it - from the early days when its Austin, Texas store was devastated by a historic Memorial Day flood to its seemingly odd couple acquisition by the online retail behemoth after battling activist investors.
Source: forbes.com