US: Dollar Tree, Inc. announces retirement of Executive Chairman Bob Sasser
Dollar Tree, Inc. announced that Bob Sasser, 70, intends to retire from his role as Executive Chairman of Dollar Tree’s Board of Directors prior to the Company’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. In recognition of his many years of outstanding service to the Company, the Board has unanimously determined to bestow Bob Sasser with the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus upon his retirement.
Source: businesswire.com
Amazon workers in NYC set to vote on whether to unionize
The battle to unionize Amazon workers is intensifying after labor officials officially set a date for a union election in a New York City facility next month. The election, which will be held in-person, is slated for between March 25-30, confirmed the National Labor Relations Board. The ballot count will be conducted on March 31. An independent and fledgling group called the Amazon Labor Union is spearheading the push.
Source: apnews.com
US: Walmart is expanding autonomous delivery pilot with GM’s Cruise this year
Cruise plans to expand the self-driving delivery pilot it has with Walmart in Arizona, the company’s senior government affairs manager said in a recent public meeting with state legislators. The autonomous vehicle company, which is a subsidiary of GM, is mostly focused on testing – and eventually launching – a commercial robotaxi service in California. But Cruise also has a small fleet of electric autonomous Chevy Bolts in Arizona as part of a limited pilot program with Walmart.
Source: techcrunch.com
Amazon’s sprawling grocery business has become an ‘expensive hobby’ with a cloudy futureAmazon’s grocery endeavors have cost many billions of dollars over the past 15 years but have yet to yield a coherent strategy. As of mid-December, Amazon.com and Whole Foods accounted for a combined 2.4% of the grocery market over the past 12 months, according to research firm Numerator. “It’s almost like the grocery business is an expensive hobby”, said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, which owns shares of Amazon.
Source: cnbc.com
John Lewis logistics firm Clipper agrees £940mln US takeover
A warehousing company that counts John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Asda among its customers has agreed a possible takeover deal worth up to £940mln with a New York rival, in the latest sign of the boom in online delivery. The board of Clipper Logistics, headquartered in Leeds, unanimously recommended the possible takeover offer by New York-listed GXO Logistics of 690p a share plus shares in the Connecticut-based company worth up to 230p for each Clipper share.
Source: theguardian.com
China objects to U.S. inclusion of Chinese e-commerce firms in ‘notorious markets’ list
China does not agree with the U.S. government’s decision to include some e-commerce sites in its “notorious markets” list, calling the action “irresponsible”, the Chinese ministry of commerce said. Chinese e-commerce sites operated by Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd were included on the U.S. government’s latest “notorious markets” list, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said.
Source: reuters.com
UK: Poundland set to open its largest ever store
Just days after opening its biggest UK store in Nottingham, Poundland has revealed that it will open an even larger store in the North East on Saturday 26 February that will feature its expanded food range. The new 19,000 sq. ft. outlet at Teesside Park in Stockton-on-Tees will be over 3 times the size of an average Poundland store. Teesside Park will be one of around 20 stores across the country getting fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as a selection of beers, wines and spirits.
Source: kamcity.com
UK: SPAR appoints industry veteran as chairman of SFD
SPAR UK has announced the appointment of Nick Bunker as Non-Executive Chair of the SPAR Food Distributors (SFD) Board. He takes over the position from Martin Agnew, Joint Chair of Henderson Group, who has held the role since 2011 and will continue to be a director.
Source: kamcity.com
Food sales from shops fall back in January as consumers return to eating out
Food sales were one of the few retail sectors to see a fall in sales in January compared with December 2021, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics. While overall retail sales rebounded by 1.9% as shoppers returned to high streets after Omicron, food sales in stores fell by 2.3%. Food sales dropped below their pre-pandemic level for the 1st time (0.8% below February 2020).
Source: talkingretail.com
Malta: Lidl opens supermarket in Sliema
Lidl Malta has opened its ninth supermarket on the Maltese islands in Amery Street, Sliema, creating 30 jobs in the process. The company currently has over 400 employees in its Malta stores, warehouse and national headquarters. The new store in Sliema offers a wide range of over 2,500 products, including fresh fruit and vegetables, and an in-store bakery with fresh bread and pastries daily.
Source: timesofmalta.com
South Korea is set to introduce delivery robots in city roads by 2023
Seoul might be one of the first cities in Asia to witness delivery robots, named Dilly Drive, become an everyday thing. Food delivery service provider Woowa Brothers has already started testing these robots and other delivery-based organisations are opening up to the idea as well. The South Korea government plans to develop such robots and have them deployed by 2023.
Source: thegrowthist.com
India: BigBasket acquires Kerala startup Agrima Infotech
Tata-group owned online grocery seller BigBasket has acquired the enterprise business unit of a deep-tech company Agrima Infotech incubated by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) with a focus to revolutionise offline retail in the country, the company said. BigBasket, a Tata enterprise, will be implementing Kochi-based startup Agrima Infotech’s unique customer vision technology platform, Psyight, at the self-checkout counters of the former’s retail stores, it said in a statement. The financial details of the deal remained undisclosed.
Source: vccircle.com
UK: Tesco removes one and a half billion pieces of plastic
Tesco has now removed more than one and a half billion pieces of plastic from its UK business since it launched its 4Rs – Remove, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle – packaging strategy. In the last 12 months, 500mln more pieces of unnecessary plastic have been identified and removed.
Source: tescoplc.com
UK: Blakemore Retail unveils new concept store at SPAR Aberystwyth
Blakemore Retail has launched a brand-new concept store at SPAR Aberystwyth. ‘Eat Some…’ is the 1st of its kind food-to-go concept to open in the UK and offers local shoppers a variety of exciting great food to take away.
Source: afblakemore.com
Turkey to investigate complaints by Migros warehouse workers
Turkey will investigate complaints about the treatment of employees at a warehouse used by the supermarket chain Migros Ticaret AS, the labor and social security minister said. Vedat Bilgin said on Twitter that he wouldn’t allow workers to be victimized. It follows public outcry against the detention of a group of dismissed workers that protested their treatment by the company.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
Croatia: Retailers say they will not change margins, food to be cheaperRetailers won’t increase their margins and the price of food will go down, the Večernji List daily reported, citing the Lidl supermarket chain which has announced lower prices as of March already, 1 month before the government’s decision to cut VAT rates on certain food products goes into force.
Source: total-croatia-news.com
