Sep 28, 2023

UK: Rami Baitiéh appointed as Morrisons Chief Executive Rami Baitiéh, formerly the Chief Executive of Carrefour France, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of Morrisons. He will succeed David Potts, who has been Morrisons CEO for nine years. China: Freshippo Premier store opens in Shanghai to offer diversified services Freshippo's prime store in Shanghai: the first of its kind in the country. Freshippo's new premier store hopes to attract food lovers with imported fruit, bakeries, and Shanghai-style cold dishes, as well as the younger generation that enjoys offline shopping. Croatia: Konzum opens its first 'smart' store in Southeast Europe Croatian supermarket chain Konzum has opened its first 'smart' store in the Southeast Europe region. The store is located in Zagreb (Kurelčeva 1), Croatia , and is completely cashierless and item-scanning-free. The retailer also focuses on the fresh Department, drinks, and to-go assortment. Aussie woman shows up Coles and Woolworths by selling fruit for 29cents a kilo: 'Real people selling for real prices' An Aussie fruit and vegetable market is showing up Coles and Woolworths by selling its produce for as little as 29c a kilogram. Jacqui Morabito took to social media to promote her Sunday prices for her pop-up stall at La Trobe University in Melbourne 's north, starting with oranges and sweet potatoes at 49c a kilo. She runs the Morabito Wholesale Fruit & Vegetables Grocery in Thomastown and hosts market stalls across the city. Ms Morabito claimed her prices have been even lower. 'No, we have had in the past 29c bananas, and we got more specials this week'. Discount retailer Pepco cuts profit outlook for the second time this month Discount retailer Pepco Group has lowered its profit outlook for the second time this month, blaming an “increasingly challenging” trading environment in its core markets of Central and Eastern Europe. It now expects full-year 2023 core earnings, or EBITDA, of about 750mln euros ($788mln), versus 731mln in 2022. UK: Asda to introduce new Commercial operating model Asda has briefed colleagues on plans to introduce a new operating model for its Commercial function at its home office in Leeds. The change is part of Asda’s ongoing transformation to ensure it has the right structures, technology, and people skills in place to support its long-term ambition to become the UK’s second-largest grocery retailer. Spain: Grupo Dia names Benjamin J Babcock as new president Benjamin J Babcock has been elected chair of the board of directors of Spanish retail group Dia, having been appointed proprietary director by co-option in May 2023. Rohlik Group’s Knuspr.de acquires Bringmeister, fortifying leadership in European and German online food retail markets Rohlik Group acquires Bringmeister from Czech investment group Rockaway Capital, which will, in return, receive a stake in the Rohlik Group. The amount of the stake will depend on the performance achieved by Knuspr.de and Bringmeister after the merger over the next year. Poland: E-commerce firm Allegro sees accelerating profit growth in Q3 Poland's biggest e-commerce platform, Allegro, said it expected its core earnings to grow 30-32% in its key Polish market in the third-quarter after its second-quarter results beat market expectations. Allegro's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) from Polish operations rose 22% on the year to 673mln zlotys ($152.4mln) in the second quarter, clearly above the 638mln zlotys expected by analysts polled by the company. UK: Aldi reveals where it is still looking to open new stores after £1.4bln investment pledge Aldi has revealed the areas it wants to create new stores as it invests £1.4bln over the next two years. Britain’s fourth largest supermarket, which opened its 1,000th store earlier this month, is committed to a long-term target of 1,500 stores in the UK - meaning it is on the hunt for more locations across the UK. Holland: Jumbo seeks buying power in alliance with Edeka Jumbo needs international buying power to offer customers lower prices. The chain would, therefore, join Everest, the buying combination set up by German market leader Edeka. UK's Morrisons keeps guidance as quarterly sales rise British supermarket group Morrisons kept its earnings guidance for the full 2022/23 year as it reported a 2.9% rise in third-quarter underlying sales. Morrisons, owned since 2021 by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, said total sales, excluding fuel, rose 3.1% to 3.8bln pounds ($4.6bln) in the 13 weeks to July 30. Chedraui USA announces retirement of Smart & Final President Scott Drew Chedraui USA, the fourth largest grocery retailer in California and parent company for El Super, Smart & Final, and Fiesta Mart stores, announced the retirement of Smart & Final President Scott Drew, effective Friday, September 29, 2023. US: Goodwill Industries of the Valleys to develop full-scale grocery store in NW Roanoke Goodwill Industries of the Valleys has been working on bringing a full-scale grocery store to a Northwest Roanoke community. Representatives said it will also offer competitive pricing to Walmart, Kroger, and Food Lion while participating in Virginia Fresh Match, which is a program that covers 50% of fresh produce. The Fresh Market was named the best grocery store in America by USA Today The Fresh Market has once again been named the “Best Grocery Store in America” by USA Today. The honor is a part of USA Today’s “10Best Readers’ Choice Awards”. A panel of local experts and contributors nominated their favorite American grocery stores based on value, selection, and service. Jerónimo Martins announces expansion plan for Ara in Colombia Portuguese retail group Jerónimo Martins is aiming to expand its Ara supermarket chain in Colombia to 1,300 stores by the end of 2023 - up from 1,093 last year. Total sales are expected to reach €2.5bln in 2023, representing an 8% increase in 2022 and accounting for 8% of the group’s total sales. More than a market, UB Veggie Van is a 'living lab' At first glance, the new mobile produce markets on the University at Buffalo’s North and South campuses appear to be just that: a place to buy fresh produce. But beyond the peaches, cherry tomatoes, and red potatoes, there’s much more going on. Lucia Leone, Ph.D. , associate professor in the Department of Community Health and health behavior in UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions, calls it “a living laboratory”. Sweetgreen co-founder Nicolas Jammet talks about the growth plan and why they’re banking on robots Sweetgreen’s unlikely plan for domination includes potato chips, robots, and (maybe) airport food courts. Co-founder Nicolas Jammet talks about the company’s roots over breakfast for a new Forbes column, Cereal Entrepreneur.