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☆ DoorDash is headed to Super Bowl, pushing its on-demand grocery business again. Here are 7 key moves it is making to dominate retail delivery after conquering restaurants.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In August 2020, DoorDash launched retail delivery with chains like 7-Eleven and Walgreens. Editor's note: On Sunday, DoorDash is airing its second Super Bowl commercial to promote its grocery delivery business. Lately, DoorDash has its sights set on a new prize — dominance in retail and grocery delivery. "We have more retail stores, grocery included, than any other platform in North America today." DoorDashDoubleDashA year after launching grocery delivery, DoorDash introduced DoubleDash.

☆ Amazon is closing certain Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, suggesting that grocery hasn't been as fruitful as it hoped
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon said Thursday that it will close certain Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores. Critics say the focus on tech rather than retail experience in stores is putting off shoppers. Initially, via its online delivery service Amazon Fresh, then through its acquisition of Whole Foods, and more recently with the launch of its Amazon Fresh supermarkets and Amazon Go cashier-less stores. This is a less transactional shopping experience, where customers that come into stores need to be seduced into buying products. Other critics say that Amazon has made the mistake of focusing too much on the tech in stores rather than the retail experience itself.

☆ Amazon is shutting some Fresh and Go stores as the company cuts costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon will also temporarily halt expansion of its line of Fresh grocery stores until it can find a format that differentiates the company's offering from others in the industry. Amazon currently operates several dozen Fresh grocery stores and 28 Amazon Go convenience stores, according to its website. The Information reported in December that a handful of built-out U.S. Amazon Fresh stores sat vacant, signaling a pullback in the company's grocery strategy. Amazon has been determined to crack the grocery segment since the launch of its Fresh grocery delivery service in 2007. Last March, Amazon announced it would slim down its physical stores portfolio by shutting all its Amazon Books, 4-star and Pop Up shops.

☆ 5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday, January 30
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Mike Calia | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

This week it will run into some big tests, given the earnings schedule dominated by big tech names (more on that below) and the Federal Reserve's next moves. Here's a look at the earnings week ahead: Tuesday: General Motors McDonald's UPS Pfizer Spotify Snap AMDWednesday: Peloton MetaThursday: Apple Alphabet Amazon Ford Starbucks Qualcomm3. Renault aims to cut Nissan stakeRenault and Nissan automobile logos are pictured during the Brussels Motor Show on January 9, 2020 in Brussels. France's Renault and Japan's Nissan have agreed to restructure their agreement, which they struck in 1999. The overall health and size of its business allows it to mix things up and try new things.

☆ Amazon will start charging Prime members up to $10 in delivery fees on grocery orders under $150
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is adding delivery fees on all grocery orders under $150, the company announced Friday. "This service fee will help keep prices low in our online and physical grocery stores," Amazon said on Friday. The company previously offered free delivery on all grocery orders over $50. Specifically, Amazon will tack on a delivery fee of $3.95 for orders between $100 and $150, $6.95 for orders between $50 and $100, and $9.95 for orders under $50, per the email. Previously, Amazon Prime members could get free delivery on all orders over $50.

☆ They Poured Their Savings Into Homes That Were Never Built
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Isabelle Qian | Agnes Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

We talked to four people who emptied their life savings and took out huge loans for homes that have not been completed. “It was a simple dream — to have a home, a family,” Mr. Tang said. Mr. Tang, who works in a restaurant, sold a small place he had out in the countryside. “When I think about the unfinished apartment, it’s as if I’m falling from heaven to hell, ” Mr. Tang said. Homeowners atop one of the unfinished apartment towers call for construction to fully resume.

☆ Amazon is rapidly opening new Whole Foods stores after halting Amazon Fresh's expansion, in a troubling sign for online grocery sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Whole Foods wants to triple the number of stores it opens, CEO Jason Buechel said Monday. Last year, Whole Foods opened 11 stores, according to industry publication Winsight Grocery Business. Last March, Amazon said it would close 68 stores, including all of its Amazon Books and Amazon 4-Star locations. Amazon has also reportedly paused new store openings for its Amazon Fresh grocery chain, The Information reported in December. "We are so bullish on our potential to continue to add stores," Buechel said according to Winsight.

☆ Kroger's stock is a solid bet, with or without the Albertsons' deal, Bernstein says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Analyst Dean Rosenblum said he's bullish on Kroger without the deal, seeing 25% potential upside for the stock from Tuesday's close. Although the grocery market is highly fragmented, Kroger and Albertsons are two of its biggest players. Says 90% chance the deal will close Rosenblum said he has "pretty high-conviction" that the deal will close, based on his research. Once the deal closes, Albertsons shares should be worth about $27, based on the deal price, net a special dividend the company plans to pay as part of the transaction. The bigger picture Beyond the strategic reasons for the Kroger-Albertsons deal, Rosenblum also sees reasons to be optimistic about both grocery and home improvement sectors.

☆ What to watch when Club holding Costco reports quarterly results Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Gross margin Costco shareholders will be looking for an improvement to its gross profit margin, or the percentage of revenue that's left over after subtracting the costs of producing its goods. Costco's gross margin has been lower over the past several quarters due to inflationary pressures like higher freight and labor costs, as well as supply chain disruptions. Sales growth Costco last week said total company core sales for November grew by of 5.3% , well below the the 8.5% growth predicted by analysts. While Costco's sales growth has come under pressure, revenue is still growing, albeit at a slower pace. Importantly, we would like to see an improvement in Costco's gross margin, which could bolster the stock price.

☆ Bank of America sees a super volatile year ahead but has 2 stock-buy strategies so you can sleep at night
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"We expect another volatile year and recommend owning High Quality stocks … But today's High Quality stocks look different than a few years ago (e.g. The oil refiner posted third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street's expectations in October. The health insurer beat analysts' expectations with its third-quarter earnings report in November. Walmart's strength in its third-quarter earnings came from its food business, which is bigger than Target's. Walmart's per-share earnings beat expectations , while Target reported a third-quarter earnings miss and profit that fell by about 50%.

☆ Amazon is gutting its voice-assistant Alexa. Once founder Jeff Bezos's pet project it's now the primary target of historic layoffs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Amazon's Alexa and the devices team at large is now the prime target of the biggest layoffs in the company's history, according to press reports and an internal email seen by Insider. Instead, Amazon wanted shoppers to buy more things through Echo devices by placing orders through the voice-assistant. Reports of Alexa mistakenly sending voice recordings to the wrong person or Amazon employees secretly listening to private conversations stoked fear of privacy concerns. But even so, its financial contribution often fell short of expectations, more than half a dozen employees told Insider. Employees told Insider the product is Bezos's latest pet project.

☆ Walmart is crushing Target by luring wealthier shoppers and dominating groceries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Meanwhile, Walmart sales were up over 8% in the quarter and the retailer raised its full-year outlook. Walmart said its success was driven by two factors: its robust grocery business, and an influx of higher-income shoppers in its aisles. That trend began earlier this year as rising inflation nudged wealthier shoppers away from their usual grocery stores and toward Walmart locations across the country. And as upper middle-class shoppers trade down to Walmart's grocery aisles, they may get curious about the rest of Walmart's offerings, Wall Street analysts predict. Walmart is winning the grocery warsBut it's not just wealthier shoppers that are driving Walmart's dominance over Target — it's groceries, too.

☆ Analysts see one retailer winning this holiday and taking share as Target struggles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In contrast, Target reported an earnings miss Wednesday, with profit that fell by about 50% in its fiscal third quarter. "General merchandise softness continues to be linked to Covid-winner categories (CE, home, and apparel basics), although the category's performance also improved sequentially." Walmart's general merchandise sales fell at a low-single digit pace, its chief financial officer, John Rainey, said on the earnings conference call Tuesday. For Target, the softness in general merchandise is taking its toll. The retailer has made some progress clearing through its excess inventory, but the fiscal thir quarter brought higher-than-expected markdowns, Target said.

☆ Jim Cramer says the Fed should consider retail earnings over economic data for its inflation strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve must pay attention to recent retail earnings reports to plan the rest of its battle against inflation. At the same time, October sales data showed that retail spending increased slightly more than expected. However, Cramer said that the individual retailers' earnings reports are more indicative of the state of the economy than macroeconomic data. TJ Maxx and Marshalls parent TJX Companies reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings boosted by the industry-wide inventory glut. Disclaimer: Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of TJX Companies.

☆ Primark owner AB Foods warns of 'substantial' cost inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF.L) faces "substantial and volatile" input cost inflation that will hit results in its current financial year, it said on Tuesday, taking the shine off a 42% jump in 2020-21 profit. AB Foods, which also owns sugar, grocery, ingredients and agricultural businesses, reported annual adjusted operating profit of 1.44 billion pounds ($1.65 billion), up from 1.01 billion pounds in 2020-21, mainly reflecting higher Primark sales after the end of COVID-related restrictions. The group also announced a 500 million pound share buyback programme and an 8% increase to its total dividend. AB Foods expects 2022-23 profit in its grocery business, which includes Twinings tea, Jordans cereals, Kingsmill bread and Ovaltine drinks, to be broadly in line with 2021-22. ($1 = 0.8705 pounds)Reporting by James Davey Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Investors will reap billions if Kroger takes over Albertsons. Workers and shoppers may not be as happy.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Wealthy investors in Safeway’s parent, Albertsons Companies, have done better. And next week, they were slated to reap a $4 billion cash dividend in connection with a proposed $25 billion takeover of Albertsons by rival Kroger. Based on that stake and the amount of the dividend, Cerberus stands to receive roughly $1 billion of the dividend payout. Six of Albertsons’ 14 directors who voted for the dividend are affiliated with the major investors. This is the last, best and final hope for a truly unionized chain.”Nervous about the pensionThe proposed $4 billion cash dividend is large by many measures.

☆ Ocado enters South Korea with Lotte Shopping deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Paul ChildsSummarySummary Companies Lotte Shopping becomes Ocado's 12th partnerOcado to build six robotic warehouses by 2028Ocado shares soar 34%LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Ocado (OCDO.L), the British online supermarket and technology group, has entered South Korea, one of the most mature e-commerce markets in the world, through a partnership deal with Lotte Shopping (023530.KS), the companies said on Tuesday. Lotte, South Korea's second largest grocer, becomes Ocado's 12th partner across 10 countries. Ocado's in-store fulfilment technology will also be rolled out across Lotte stores from 2024. Lotte Shopping, part of South Korea's Lotte Group conglomerate, operates department stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and e-commerce, with more than 1,000 stores nationwide and an annual revenue of 9.5 billion pounds ($10.9 billion). Ocado Group's shares have been hurt this year by the performance of Ocado Retail, its retail joint venture with Marks & Spencer (MKS.L).

☆ Amazon reporter Eugene Kim shares how he gets inside one of the most powerful — and feared — companies in the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Sarah Belle Lin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This week, Sarah Belle Lin, an Insider fellow, interviews Eugene Kim, our Amazon reporter and chief tech correspondent, about covering the US's largest online retailer. You're an Amazon reporter whose expertise lies in Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, e-commerce, and cloud computing. I started out as an enterprise-tech reporter in 2014 covering business software like Salesforce, Oracle, and Dropbox. We didn't have a full-time reporter covering Amazon at the time because it wasn't as big. Both of those things have been integral to Amazon's corporate culture for a very long time, so it's fair to say they are key parts to the company's success.

The announcement by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee antitrust panel, and Republican Senator Mike Lee confirmed a previous report by Reuters. A Kroger spokesperson said the company looked forward to the hearing. "We welcome the opportunity to outline how this transaction will benefit America’s consumers by expanding access to fresh, affordable food," the company said in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSeparately, Klobuchar and fellow Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker released a letter expressing concern about the deal. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by David Shepardson and Diane Bartz; Editing by Franklin Paul, Josie Kao and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A merger with Albertsons could bring Kroger's tech initiatives, like automated warehouses and smart carts, to over 5,000 locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Kroger is building its own tech infrastructure, including automated warehouses for delivery orders. Here are Kroger's biggest e-commerce and technology initiatives:A ClusterTruck ghost kitchen inside a Kroger in the Midwest. 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. Another partnership, this one with the autonomous-car startup Nuro, has stationed self-driving vehicles to deliver grocery orders in certain cities since 2018.

☆ Kroger has to win over Wall Street and Washington on its Albertsons deal – here's how it plans to do that
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In this article ACIKR Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTA customer shops for eggs in a Kroger grocery store on August 15, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty ImagesKroger knows it needs the blessing of investors and federal regulators to pull off its $24.6 billion deal to buy rival grocery company Albertsons . If approved, the grocers would become a more formidable second place in terms of grocery market share behind Walmart . Together, the companies would capture nearly 16% of the U.S. grocery market, according to market researcher Numerator. That's because Wall Street has already seen a spree of grocer acquisitions — including some by Kroger and Albertsons — but no meaningful changes in profit margins.

From a broader national perspective, a combined Kroger and Albertsons does not pose any major threat to the competitive dynamics of the market." Kroger said it expects to reinvest about half a billion dollars of cost savings from deal synergies to reduce prices for customers. "The merger will accelerate our position as a more compelling alternative to larger and non-union competitors," Kroger Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen said. Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse were the financial advisors to Albertsons, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo advised Kroger. Kroger will have to pay Albertsons $600 million if the deal is terminated.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Classic American Dream: From 1 Bodega to 20 Super Markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | 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 EmailClassic American Dream: From 1 Bodega to 20 Super MarketsEquity and Opportunity shines a spotlight on Gala Foods, a Dominican-owned grocery business that provides multicultural communities with the flavors of home.

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