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☆ Britain's grocery inflation falls for first time in 21 months -Kantar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - British grocery inflation edged lower in November, a first decline in nearly two years, but remained near record highs, providing little relief for consumers ahead of the key Christmas trading period, industry data showed on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar said grocery inflation in the four weeks to Nov. 27 was 14.6%, down 0.1 percentage points from October's record high, marking the first fall in 21 months. Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, dog food and butter, said Kantar. It said grocery sales rose 5.9% year-on-year in the 12 weeks to Nov. 27, masking a drop in volumes once inflation is accounted for. Kantar said its data did not indicate a significant boost to sales from the soccer World Cup, which started Nov. 20.

☆ Germans spending less as soaring power, food costs gnaw finances
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Mathis Richtmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterSummary Germans consuming less as inflation bitesMore worried about personal finances than FrenchState support arriving, but will it work? But this year he took the dish off the menu because rising costs all along the supply chain would have doubled its price compared to last year. That would be beyond the budgets of Germans looking to cut back on non-essentials amid a cost of living crisis fuelled by rising energy prices. At some point in 2023, he and hundreds of thousands of others will receive a bill for his 2022 heating to recover additional costs from rising prices. Discount retailer Primark said in November it was looking to reduce its presence in Germany as it grappled with weak sales and rising costs.

☆ From wine to fishing tackle, retailers pray Advent calendars draw in shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Doyinsola Oladipo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dior is selling a $3,500 Advent calendar inside a wooden and cotton canvas box fashioned like its Paris boutique on Avenue Montaigne. For toddlers, Walmart sells the Baby Shark Advent Calendar, priced at $44.99. And for anglers, there's a $34.99 fishing tackle Advent calendar with life-like and color-changing soft baits at The Fishing Shop. Selfridges & Co has 128 Advent calendars priced from 4.99 to 623 pounds this season, more than double last year's offerings. The ALDI Holiday Magic Wine Advent Calendar includes 24 unique labels and 16 wine varieties from eight countries of origin for $59.99.

☆ Walmart, Best Buy, Trader Joe's and other retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving this year — see the list
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Ann Matica | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Stores like Walmart and Best Buy will be closing their doors on Thanksgiving again this year. Here's a list of retailers that have decided to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day. AppleREUTERS/Alyssa PointerApple stores located in the US will be closed this Thanksgiving, according to a company spokesperson. NordstromJeff Greenberg/Contributor/Universal Images Group Editorial via GettyNordstrom will not be opening its doors for business this Thanksgiving, according to Forbes. PetcoEducation Images/Contributor/Universal Images Group Editorial via GettyA company spokesperson confirmed to Insider that Petco will remain closed on Thanksgiving Day.

☆ Meet the Underground Network of Butter Bargain Hunters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Clare Ansberry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Word oozed out earlier this month. The news quickly spread. Worries softened. Aldi supermarket had lowered the price of butter. “Everyone was abuzz,” says Laura Magone, who moderates the Wedding Cookie Table Community Facebook page, where the butter deal was the big talk among bakers who share recipes and cooking tips.

☆ We compared 9 major grocery stores to find out which one offers the best deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ann Matica | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Thanksgiving turkey prices increased by as much as 28 percent from the same time last year. Insider compared turkey prices at nine different retailers to find out which one has the best deal. We compared turkey prices from nine major grocery store chains to determine which one offers the best bang for your buck this holiday season. "Even as grocery prices rise nationally, shoppers can rely on Lidl for the best deal to feed their family this holiday season, Stefaqqn Schwarz, Lidl US chief product officer, said. Talia Lakritz/InsiderThe grocery store Wegmans has an array of turkey sizes available for customers to choose from.

☆ These 2 charts show how much more expensive Thanksgiving dinner is this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The average 2022 cost for a "classic" Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is $64.05, according to results from the American Farm Bureau Federation. The overall average cost of a "classic" Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people, which includes things like a 16-pound turkey and a dozen dinner rolls, is $64.05. The following chart shows how the average cost of a "classic" Thanksgiving dinner has varied over time and just how much it has climbed this year from last year. The other 14 items noted for either a classic or updated Thanksgiving dinner will see some kind of increase in their average price from 2021. People concerned about higher prices on items they need for their Thanksgiving plans may find some deals and sales at stores.

In Germany, the HDE retail association is forecasting the strongest slump in Christmas sales since 2007, with retail sales in the crucial November-December period seen dropping by 4% year on year on a price-adjusted basis. In the United Kingdom, a raft of surveys indicate half or more Britons plan to spend less this Christmas. Should September's sharp drop in retail sales be repeated in December, it would be the worst outcome since comparable annual records began in 1989. Official data showed UK retail sales volumes, excluding fuel, dropped 6.2% year on year in September. Another association Acotex expects retailers to offer slight discounts during the holiday season as consumer demand slows.

☆ British grocery inflation hit record 14.7% in October -Kantar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( James Davey | Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Too early to call peak of inflation, Kantar saysBritons face 682-pound jump in annual grocery billSales of cheapest-value own-label ranges soarDiscounters Aldi, Lidl are fastest growing grocersLONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - British grocery inflation hit 14.7% in October, another new record, and it is still too early to call the ceiling, market researcher Kantar said on Tuesday. It said UK consumers would face a 682-pound ($785) jump in their annual grocery bill if they continued to buy the same items. Kantar said 27% of UK households reported that they are struggling financially - double the proportion it recorded last November. Kantar said grocery sales rose by 5.2% on a value basis in the 12 weeks to Oct. 30 year-on-year - masking a drop in volumes once inflation is accounted for. Sales of own-label goods, which are generally cheaper than branded goods, jumped 10.3% over the four weeks to Oct. 30, while sales of branded goods rose 0.4%.

☆ New & Notable: Latest releases from Brooks, Burrow and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Zoe Malin | Zoe Malin Is The Associate Updates Editor For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

This story is part of Select's New & Notable column, where we highlight our favorite product launches, major sales, what we're buying and some of our latest recommendations and advice. This week, we’ve got Burrow’s new shelving system, the latest Brooks running sneaker, Lalo’s bath collection for kids and more. Brooks debuted the Ghost 15 sneaker for men and women. The sneaker is also designed with 9% more recycled material than the Ghost 14. — Zoe Malin, associate updates editorI decided to take advantage of Sephora’s Holiday Savings Event to stock up on some of my favorite skin care essentials.

☆ Israel's Trigo raises $100 mln to expand autonomous shopping technology
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JERUSALEM, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Israel’s Trigo said on Wednesday it raised $100 million in a private funding round to ramp up deployment for its technology that allows customers to shop without having to wait in line at a store’s checkout. The round was led by Singapore investment firm Temasek and 83North. Trigo said its technology transforms existing supermarkets into fully autonomous digital stores through the use of ceiling-mounted cameras that track customer movement and product choices, to make shopping “frictionless”. It said it would use the new funds to expand further into the United States and Europe, while developing an inventory management application suite. Trigo noted its technology is being used by Tesco PLC (TSCO.L) in Britain, ALDI (ALDIEI.UL) in the Netherlands, Wakefern in the United States and and Netto and REWE (REGRP.UL) in Germany.

☆ Britain's Boots to recruit 10,000 workers for Christmas period
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - British health and beauty retailer Boots said on Monday it planned to recruit more than 10,000 temporary workers, as competition for staff for the Christmas trading period heats up. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe British arm of German discounter Aldi said this month it aimed to recruit 3,000 workers before the festive period. John Lewis said in August it would recruit 10,000 Christmas staff for its department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and online operations. Boots is offering staff 45% off own brand products, while John Lewis is offering free meals. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by James Davey; Editing by Edmund BlairOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sales of Spam and fish heads soar as shoppers search for cheaper food
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sales of Spam and fish heads have both jumped by about a third, supermarket Waitrose said. The upmarket UK retailer says cash-strapped shoppers are "more mindful" about grocery costs. Sales of the canned meat had jumped by 36%, while sales of fish heads were 34% higher, the upmarket UK supermarket Waitrose said in its annual food and drink report. Sales of fish heads – typically used in stews, soups and curries – have been helped by the "use-it-all" trend, where consumers ensure nothing goes to waste. The German discount chains Aldi and Lidl are attracting more shoppers in the UK, with Aldi overtaking Morrisons last month to become Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket chain by sales.

☆ Aldi is the US's fastest-growing grocery chain and more households earning $50-100K are shopping there. Here are the no-frills tactics that help make it so cheap.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Aldi is the US's fastest-growing grocer for the third year running, the real-estate firm JLL said. Aldi almost always has the lowest prices for core products like bread, milk, and eggs, Monford said. Monford added that consumers "don't mind" that products aren't taken out of their boxes because they're shopping at Aldi for value. Campbell said the Aldi stores near her generally had just four or five aisles. Vadakkepatt said Aldi's stores have fewer employees and shorter hours than at other chains.

☆ Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and at least 15 other retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving this year — see the list
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Ann Matica | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Retailers like Walmart and Target are closing their stores on Thanksgiving Day again this year. The following year, Target followed suit, announcing it would be closed on Thanksgiving for good. Here's a list of retailers that have decided to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day. While a small number of employees still work on Thanksgiving Day to keep things operating smoothly, they all receive holiday pay, according to Target. PetcoEducation Images/Contributor/Universal Images Group Editorial via GettyA company spokesperson confirmed to Insider that Petco will remain closed on Thanksgiving Day.

☆ I run an 8-figure biscuit business that started as a side gig. Here's how I caught the attention of major distributors like Whole Foods and Costco.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Kimanzi Constable | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ayeshah Abuelhiga, 36, started selling biscuits in 2014 as a side hustle while consulting full time. A customer asked if she would consider selling frozen dough so they could bake the biscuits at home. The day after, I drove a big ice chest filled with frozen biscuits to the stall before work. Two hours later, I got a call from my chef asking whether we had more frozen biscuits at the off-site kitchen because we had sold out. The company turned over eight figures last year, and Target, Publix, Safeway, Costco, and Aldi all stock our frozen biscuits.

☆ Analysis: World Cup could be nightmare before Christmas for Britain's supermarkets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Retail executives say the World Cup, moved to the winter to avoid the intense Qatari summer temperatures, has totally thrown the algorithms they increasingly use to predict trading and plan their logistics. "It's also an executional headache, because right when you want to have everything Christmas out, you've got to somehow reflect slabs of booze and snacking for the World Cup," he said. During the last World Cup in July 2018, which coincided with a prolonged period of hot weather, shoppers visited UK supermarkets an extra 13 million times, according to market researcher Kantar. Of course, customers visiting stores to buy festive goods could buy in World Cup supplies at the same time. "It's not going to be as big as the summer World Cup, that is clear," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.

☆ What would a Kroger-Albertsons merger mean for grocery prices?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A Kroger-Albertsons merger could reshape the grocery industry. The companies say they will divest hundreds of stores in areas where they overlap to win regulatory approval. Albertsons has higher prices than Kroger and other grocers, analysts say, and they predict Kroger will try to reduce Albertsons prices to be more competitive against discount chains like Aldi. Antitrust advocates say the merger would force out competition and concentrate power among the largest chains, driving up prices. A Kroger-Albertsons merger would spark a fresh wave of mergers and acquisitions as companies seek to keep up, analysts predict.

The companies said Kroger agreed to buy Albertsons for $34.10 a share in a deal valued at $24.6 billion. The tie-up comes during a challenging time in the grocery industry. The grocery industry is highly fragmented. Albertsons’ share was about 5%. Consolidation in the grocery industry has not historically paid off in the form of higher profits, he said.

☆ Food prices are still surging — here’s what’s getting more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —Prices at the grocery store continued to soar last month, adding even more pressure to shoppers’ wallets. The food at home index, a proxy for grocery store prices, increased 0.7% in September from the month prior and a stunning 13% over the last year, according to new government data released Thursday. Fruits and vegetables surged 1.6% for the month, while cereals and bakery products rose 0.9%. The company’s prices increased 17% annually. But higher prices at the grocery store are forcing customers to make some trade offs.

☆ 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.

☆ With eye on rising energy bills, Britons seek cheaper ways to cook -Kantar
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Faced with soaring energy bills, Britons are searching for cheaper ways to cook as they try to avoid using their ovens, market researcher Kantar said on Tuesday. Kantar also noted that sales of duvets and electric blankets increased 8%, while sales of candles increased 9%, suggesting people may be preparing for possible winter blackouts. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLast week, department store chain John Lewis said Britons were stockpiling thermal underwear, gloves and dressing gowns. The market researcher said grocery sales rose by 4.8% in the 12 weeks to Oct. 2 year-on-year - masking a much larger drop in volumes once inflation is accounted for. For the fifth month in a row discounter Lidl was the fastest-growing grocer, pushing up its sales 20.9% over the 12 weeks, marginally ahead of rival Aldi whose sales rose 20.7%.

A vegan falafel product sold at Aldi supermarkets in 38 states has been recalled after it was linked to 20 cases of E. coli — five of which resulted in hospitalizations. Cuisine Innovations Unlimited announced the voluntary recall of its Earth Grown Vegan Traditional Falafel and Garlic & Herb Falafel products in a release posted Friday afternoon on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's website. The type of E. coli suspected in the contamination, known as Shiga toxin-producing, primarily impacts elderly individuals, children, and people with weakened immune systems, according to the release. In a release on its website, Aldi said it had pulled the product from its shelves. Last year, Cuisine Innovations recalled a crabcake product after finding it contained undeclared egg yolks.

☆ 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.

☆ Lidl, Hugo Boss, and other European retailers switch off illuminated logos, keep doors closed, and cut heating as the energy crisis takes its toll
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lidl, Hugo Boss, Aldi, and other retailers told Insider what they've done in stores to save power. Switching off illuminated logos for 18 hours and keeping doors shut are just some of the plans. Many retailers, including supermarkets and clothes outlets, use large amounts of energy with their lighting inside and outside, illuminated advertising, heating, and air conditioning. "We do take the current situation very seriously," a spokesperson from Aldi Süd, the German grocery store tied with Aldi Nord, told Insider. "Examples of initiatives we are taking to improve energy efficiency include switching to LED lighting, upgrading building management systems, improving insulation and using energy recovery from heating and cooling," an Ingka spokesperson told Insider.

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