NEW YORK — Hurricane Harvey brought record rainfall to Houston and flash floods across the Texas and Louisiana coastal region. The storm also elicited an outpouring of generosity from the retail community. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer by sales, and the Walmart Foundation announced they had committed up to $20 million in support of relief
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart and Google announced a new partnership that will enable voice shopping through Google Assistant, Google’s virtual assistant that resides on devices such as its smart speaker, Google Home. Consumers will now be able to utilize Walmart’s Easy Reorder feature through an integration with Google’s shopping service, Google Express. This will allow
SEATTLE — Amazon.com has moved quickly to transform Whole Foods Market, cutting prices on popular items by up to 43% in an effort to end the natural grocer’s “whole paycheck” reputation for expensive offerings. Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods closed on August 28, five days after the Federal Trade Commission approved the deal
ZAANDAM, Netherlands — A year after the merger that brought Ahold Delhaize into being, the company shows every sign of delivering on the promise that led to the deal. Strong second quarter results, released last month, reflect an organization that is effectively leveraging its newfound scale to operate more efficiently, develop synergies and capitalize on
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Southeastern Grocers last month appointed Anthony Hucker to the posts of president and chief executive officer. Hucker had been serving in those roles on an interim basis since July 1. “We are pleased to welcome Anthony as CEO of Southeastern Grocers as he was always part of our succession plan,” the company
ARMONK, N.Y. — Retail giants Walmart and Kroger Co. are among a number of companies teaming up with IBM Corp. to explore how to apply blockchain technology to help bolster consumer confidence in the global food system. The coalition includes retailers and food companies such as Unilever, Nestlé, Tyson Foods and Dole. They will be
DEMOTTE, Ind. — CVS Health has purchased Fagen Pharmacy’s 20 drug stores in northwest Indiana and northeast Illinois. Terms were not disclosed. Plans call for eight of the stores to be rebannered as CVS Pharmacy by late September. The other 12 are slated to be closed, with their prescription files transferring to nearby CVS pharmacies.
MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. has tapped Minsok Pak to serve as executive vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer. In that post Pak will oversee Target’s enterprise strategy development and retail innovation. “Minsok brings deep business acumen and proven leadership capabilities to Target,” commented Target chairman and chief executive officer Brian Cornell. “Throughout his
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee Inc. is adding a hamburger chain and fitness centers to its service mix at a number of locations through two strategic partnerships. The Midwest grocery chain announced it will build, own and operate 26 Wahlburgers restaurants, a hamburger chain popularized in a reality TV show. They also announced it
COMMERCE, Calif. — Smart & Final Stores Inc. has introduced a new delivery platform powered by Instacart Inc. that sources groceries off the shelves of about 160 partner grocers and delivers the food to customers in more than 100 markets across the United States. Last month’s announcement represents an expanded partnership between Smart & Final
ORLANDO, Fla. — Innovative products in the beverage, snacks and dry grocery categories were recognized by ECRM and MMR earlier this summer, at a pair of ECRM EPPS events held here. Beverage Award Winners Bottlegreen won the ECRM/MMR Buyers Choice Award for its Elderflower Sparkling Pressé during ECRM’s Beverage EPPS held here recently. MoodWater was
Suddenly, without warning, mass retailing is experiencing a transformation without precedent — or, at the least, without precedent in this century. Within the space of days, Amazon.com Inc. has purchased Whole Foods Market Inc., an alliance that brings together two of the most fascinating retailers currently vying for business in America, while Walmart has entered