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☆ Factbox: Mega merger talks turn spotlight on Kroger, Albertsons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 13 (Reuters) - Grocery giant Kroger Co (<KR.N>) is in talks to merge with smaller rival Albertsons Companies Inc (<ACI.N>), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, in what would be one of the biggest deals in the U.S. retail landscape in recent years. A potential deal would create a combined company with a market cap of about $47 billion and nearly $210 billion in annual sales. Here are some key facts about the grocers:Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. grocer Kroger in talks to merge with rival Albertsons - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 13 (Reuters) - U.S. grocery giant Kroger Co (KR.N) is in talks to merge with smaller rival Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Albertsons rose 7% on the report, while Kroger's stock slipped. Kroger, which also houses supermarket chains such as Fred Meyer, Ralphs and King Soopers, trails Walmart Inc (WMT.N), the top grocer in the country. A deal could be reached as soon as this week, Bloomberg reported, adding that no final decision has been taken and talks could still be delayed or falter. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kroger and Albertsons in Deal Talks to Create Supermarket Powerhouse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Cara Lombardo | Jaewon Kang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Kroger-Albertsons combination would be expected to face an antitrust review because the companies’ stores overlap in some markets. Kroger is in discussions with smaller rival Albertsons Inc. over a potential combination that could unite the two largest supermarket operators in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be announced as soon as this week, assuming talks don’t fall apart, the people said.

☆ Albertsons Seeks Online Safety With Kroger
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Supermarket giant Albertsons ‘ potential combination with Kroger makes a lot of sense. So much sense, in fact, that perhaps investors shouldn’t bank on it just yet. Albertsons’ stock price jumped more than 11% after reports emerged on Thursday that Kroger was in talks to combine with Albertsons. Kroger’s shareholders were less enthused and its shares dipped slightly.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Digital World, Domino's, Revlon, Albertsons and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It was a 52-week low for the stock. Applied Materials – The chip stock turned 4% higher after hitting a 52-week low earlier on disappointing revenue outlook. Otonomy — The biopharmaceutical company shot down 56.1% after the company said a drug for hearing loss showed "no clinically meaningful improvement." Dish Network — The TV and wireless company hit a 52-week low, down 2%. The stock was at a 52-week low during day trading.

☆ Factbox: Kroger-Albertsons merger to bring Fred Meyer, Safeway under one roof
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 14 (Reuters) - Supermarket chain Kroger Co (<KR.N>) said on Friday it will buy smaller rival Albertsons Companies Inc (<ACI.N>) in a $24.6 billion transaction, in one of the biggest deals in the U.S. retail landscape in recent years. read moreThe merger would create a supermarket titan with expected annual sales of around $210 billion. Here are some key facts about the grocers:Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kroger deal to buy rival grocery company Albertsons could be announced this week
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Kroger could announce a deal to buy rival grocery company Albertsons this week, sources told CNBC's David Faber. The companies could announce the all-cash deal as soon as Friday morning, sources told Faber. Albertsons' market cap is about $14.9 billion. Its stores, which now include Amazon Fresh, still command a small percentage of the overall U.S. grocery market, but sparked a wave of investment. Kroger, for example, struck a deal with British online grocer Ocado to build huge robot-powered fulfillment centers to pick and pack online grocery orders.

☆ Ocado shares jump over 10% on Kroger/Albertsons merger report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Kroger is in talks to merge with Albertsons, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterOcado struck a deal with Kroger in 2018 to help the U.S. firm ratchet up its delivery business with the construction of robotically operated warehouses. The initial deal saw Kroger identify at least 20 sites to build automated warehouses, or customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) as Ocado calls them, in the United States. Ocado reported in May that six Kroger CFCs were live. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by James Davey; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kroger and Albertsons are reportedly in talks over a proposed merger that would swell the combined chain to a footprint of 5,000 stores
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Áine Cain | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kroger and Albertsons are engaged in talks around a potential merger, Bloomberg reported. A merger would boost the joint chain to a store footprint of over 5,000 locations. Albertsons' latest annual SEC filing listed 2,276 stores as of February 26, 2022, under a total of 24 different banners. The merger alone would not make the combined chain the largest in the United States, however. The company's total retail units around the globe comes out to 10,593, as of January 31, 2022.

☆ Kroger in talks to buy Albertsons, sources tell CNBC
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailKroger in talks to buy Albertsons, sources tell CNBCCNBC's David Faber reports on a potential deal and ongoing talks between Kroger and Albertsons, according to sources. The companies may agree to a deal as soon as this week, but it is not final, sources told CNBC's David Faber.

☆ France's AXA commits up to 200 mln euros to Monte dei Paschi cash call - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Factbox: Mega merger talks turn spotlight on Kroger, Albertsons, article with imageDeals · October 13, 2022 · 4:52 PM UTC · undefined ago · undefined agoGrocery giant Kroger Co (KR.N) is to merge with smaller rival Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, in what would be one of the biggest deals in the U.S. retail landscape in recent years.

☆ How Amazon’s big private-label business is growing and leaving small brands to protect against knockoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Katie Schoolov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Peak Design CEO Peter Dering compares his company's Everyday Sling Bag to the Amazon private label version at his San Francisco headquarters on September 6, 2022. A selection of some of Amazon's 118+ private label brands as of October, 2022. Then there are specialty firms that only do private labels, and some store brands have their own devoted manufacturing facilities. By comparison, private labels make up a whopping 77% of Aldi's sales, followed by Trader Joe's at 59% and Wegmans at 49%. A variety of Amazon's private label goods are shown on September 29, 2022.

☆ Whole Foods is quietly raising prices on small brands and industry insiders worry the grocer could be returning to its 'whole paycheck' image
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Whole Foods is raising prices on some emerging brands, according to food-industry insiders. Whole Foods' recent price increases are larger than many expected, even with inflation. Brokers act as advocates for food brands, especially when it comes to working with retailers to increase brands' distribution. But Whole Foods' recent price increases are larger than many expected, even with inflation, according to the consultants Insider spoke to. "I am concerned that the price increases at the retail level have been significantly higher than that," she said.

☆ Instacart grew sales, but has lost ground to Costco and Sam's Club's in-house delivery options as more grocers go at e-commerce alone, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Instacart's sales grew slower than those of delivery options offered by retailers it works with. Instacart's grocery-delivery sales grew over the past year, but not as fast as sales through in-house options at some of the retailers it works with. E-commerce sales through Walmart's Sam's Club grew by 5.5%. Such sales grew by 80.7% at Costco and by 9.3% at the Texas-based chain HEB. "They have brands that they like, and if they offer that delivery service, they're very likely to go to that brand."

☆ Low-price grocers like Aldi are winning as consumers trade down
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-08 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN Business —With grocery prices soaring, consumers are changing the way they shop for food. “Inflation is hitting everyone.”More consumers are additionally switching over to store brands, also called “private label,” which are often comparable in quality and lower in price. “I don’t think you can underestimate the strength of all these private label offerings,” said Heather Lalley, editor in chief of Winsight Grocery Business, a trade publication. “Now we’re seeing other retailers trying to emulate them.”In September, for example, Kroger (KR) announced a new budget private label brand called Smartway, which consolidates some of its other private label brands under one umbrella. Aldi, for one, is rolling out a new tagline to explain what it’s all about: It’s An Aldi Thing.

Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Rewards Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. $95 *Waived for existing Honors Advantage Members Rewards Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. $0 Rewards Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Enlisting in the Army helped my parents build generational wealthAfter college, my mom worked for the State of Michigan for 27 years.

☆ Kroger is doubling down on its subscription delivery business as it weans itself off of Instacart. Here's a rundown of its other initiatives, from ghost kitchens to smart carts
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Here are Kroger's biggest e-commerce and technology initiatives:A ClusterTruck ghost kitchen inside a Kroger in the Midwest. ClusterTruckGhost kitchensIn December 2019, Kroger began improving its prepared meals offering by partnering with ghost kitchen startup ClusterTruck. The delivery-focused ghost kitchen touts a Cheesecake Factory-inspired menu of 80 to 100 food items. Over the last few years, ClusterTruck opened locations inside Kroger stores in Indiana and Ohio. But the firm, which tracks where consumers shop, said Kroger stores with the ghost kitchens are seeing an uptick in visits compared to neighboring Kroger branches.

☆ What Kroger, Walmart, Target learned from China's Alibaba about grocery's future
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Rebecca Fannin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Kroger has adopted an omnichannel strategy, integration of offline or in-store sales with online orders and logistics. They looked at the New Retail model born in China for complete integration of offline and online channels," he said. But the action was jumpstarted when Amazon bought Whole Foods Market in 2017 and began introducing several advanced technologies to streamline in-store shopping, a shift that also spread to large retailers Walmart and Target. Kroger digital sales gained by 8 percent in the second quarter of 2022, while in-store and online combined gained 5.8 percent from a year earlier. He pointed out that "half of Kroger's app stores are bringing in incremental business and half are cannibalizing in-store sales."

☆ A new player in the grocery software startup just raised $10 million to compete in the nearly $150 billion online grocery segment. Check out the 13-page pitch deck that helped Vori secure the deal.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vori raised a $10 million Series A for its grocery-inventory software aimed at indepedent grocers. Roughly a third of US grocery sales happen at independent grocers, but many of these grocers lack the technology of bigger players like Kroger and Walmart. Vori, an inventory-management startup, pitches itself as a solution for those smaller grocers — a position that just helped it raise $10 million. Vori's inventory software provides inventory services to grocers that might only have a few stores, Hill said. "Our customers have been our most active and enthusiastic investors," Hill said.

☆ Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are racing to capture a $9B opportunity by selling ads off their own sites — but it could destroy what makes retail advertising so unique
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's extremely important to snatch this new opportunity now, as more retailers leap into ad sales. Insider Intelligence, which is owned by Insider, expects for retailers' offsite ad revenue to grow from $5 billion this year to $8.5 billion in 2024. Brian Gleason, the company's chief revenue officer, said offsite ads open up new programmatic ad budgets for retailers. But in pursuing offsite ad sales, retailers risk undermining the main draw of their ad-selling business. But companies that sell ads off their own sites have difficulty proving that ads drove someone to do something.

☆ Aldi says sales are booming amid inflation as even wealthier shoppers trade down
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Aldi says its US sales are rising as inflation-strapped shoppers turn to budget stores, Reuters reported. Aldi is known for its low prices, which are possible because of the range of unusual cost-cutting measures it deploys. Patton said that one million new customers have started shopping at Aldi over the past year, including a rise in middle- and high-income shoppers. Some products, including eggs, butter, and cooking oil, have been much harder hit than others. Customers are trading down by switching to grocery-store private labels — both because of inflation and because shoppers are increasingly brand agnostic.

☆ CVS, Walmart reach $147.5M opioid settlement with West Virginia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Morrisey recently announced a settlement with Rite Aid for up to $30 million to resolve similar litigation. Morrisey said the deal with CVS includes a provision that means West Virginia can still receive money from any future national settlements that arise. The money from all opioid settlements will be distributed throughout the state to abate the opioid crisis. In August, West Virginia cities and counties reached a $400 million tentative settlement with three major U.S. drug distributors: AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. In April, Morrisey announced the state would receive $99 million in a settlement finalized with Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.

☆ Walmart is bolstering its $2 billion ad biz by selling ads on TikTok and Roku, as rivals like Kroger are also pushing to sell ads in other platforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Walmart data can now power ads on TikTok, Roku, and Snap. Walmart's $2 billion ad business just got a major shot in the arm amid heated competition from retailers like Kroger and Amazon. Walmart data can now power ads on TikTok, Roku, and Snap. This is the first time it will power ad sales on other sites, said Rich Lehrfeld, SVP and GM of the retailer's ad arm Walmart Connect. BCG estimates that retail media will be a $100 billion market by 2026; ad agency GroupM has an even more ambitious forecast, saying retail media will hit $160 billion by 2027.

☆ The biggest ad buying agency predicts e-commerce advertising will be a $100 billion industry this year. Here are 3 problems retailers need to fix for that to come true.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new report from ad network GroupM says retail media will be worth $100 billion by the end of 2022. But retailers need to entice ad dollars from brands that don't sell e-commerce products. Retailers also need to make sure people keep buying online, despite an e-commerce slowdown. An automaker, for example, could use a retailer's data to target ads for people who recently bought ice scrapers. E-commerce activity is slowing down, and retailers need to make sure consumers keep buying onlineRetailers will need to keep customers shopping online to grab ad budgets.

This is the first time Cruise has acknowledged the long-term need for remote human operators. Truly autonomous vehicles are far behind the optimistic rollout schedules predicted just a few years ago. In a June interview on YouTube, Musk said developing self-driving cars was "way harder than I originally thought, by far." Over time, those people will act as "air traffic controllers," supervising a growing number of autonomous cars. "Even decades from now you will not get to 100% truly autonomous vehicles," Kaveh added.

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