ORLANDO, Fla. — After a two-year, COVID-induced hiatus and subsequent postponement from January to March 2022, FMI – The Food Industry Association convened its Midwinter Executive Conference at the Hyatt Regency Orlando hotel. The gathering of supermarket industry leaders and their counterparts from the consumer packaged goods and technology sectors was notable for the level
While leaders of the supermarket industry convened in Orlando for the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference, standout performers from the next generation were sharpening their skills at an event sponsored by the Academy of Food Marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Organized by Joe Bivona, the academy’s executive director, the inaugural Rising Stars training program
The metaverse is emerging as a new frontier in the battle for supremacy among retail pharmacy operators. CVS Health staked its claim in the still inchoate realm, asking the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect its brand, logo and stores “online and in online virtual worlds.” The company envisions the day when it could
It’s clear that high inflation, which some overly optimistic economists had predicted would be a short-lived phenomenon, is now a persistent problem. Nowhere is the financial squeeze it causes more immediately evident to most Americans than at the supermarket. Leslie Sarasin, president and chief executive officer of FMI – The Food Industry Association, and Ricky
NEW YORK — At a time when changing expectations of consumers, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and digital technology are causing long-held assumptions about business to be called into question, the National Retail Federation (NRF) is fortunate to have a leader focused on developing an effective response to those dynamics. John Furner, the
Walgreens Boots Alliance is off to a fast start on the transformational journey that chief executive officer Roz Brewer mapped out at the company’s investor conference last fall. Results for the first quarter of the fiscal year were impressive — sales rose 7.6% on a constant currency basis, while adjusted earnings per share increased 53%,
With the holiday selling season nearing an end, retailers are preparing to close the books on a calendar year characterized by major disruptions caused by COVID-19. Thanks to skillful executive leadership and the heroic efforts of frontline personnel, the nation’s food, drug and discount stores can look with satisfaction at a time when they fulfilled
The importance of the business community’s efforts to help ensure a sustainable future for the planet was thrown into stark relief by the decidedly mixed results coming out of the COP26 global climate change conference in Glasgow. The gathering was intended to secure commitments from the almost 200 nations in attendance that would stave off
Physician-administered primary care is shaping up as the next big battleground for pharmacy operators, insurers and other providers that want to revamp the nation’s health care system and, in the process, address chronic problems of access, quality and cost. Recent remarks by the leaders of CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance portend the approaching fight
In the 72 years that FMI has issued “The Food Retailing Industry Speaks” report, the survey of retail and wholesale companies is unlikely to have uncovered such a confluence of promise and peril as it has today. With COVID-19 acting as the catalyst, the supermarket sector experienced unprecedented demand and buttressed its standing over the
ZAANDAM, Netherlands — Foresight and adaptability have been two distinguishing characteristics of Ahold Delhaize since its formation in 2016, and those qualities continued to serve the retailer well in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, as it negotiated COVID-induced market changes around the world. During the three months, net revenue reached €18.6 billion, up 3%
The essential nature of the services that Hy-Vee provides in eight Midwestern states was brought into sharp focus by COVID-19. The company deserves high marks for quickly and effectively adapting operations to ensure that customers continued to have access to food, medicine and other basics throughout the pandemic. The necessity of dealing with the formidable