Australia: Woolworths lowers the shelf price on hundreds of basket essentials and family favourites
Woolworths Group reported: "From Wednesday 14 May, shelf prices will be lowered on almost 400 popular products from the Woolworths quality own brand range as well many customer favourite branded products. Woolworths Frozen Mixed Berries 1kg was $12, now $11 (save 8%/$1.00). Other ways customers can find great value at Woolworths include: Shopping The Odd Bunch range, which offers another way to save at least 20% on fruit and vegetables that are slightly odd, but still great quality, while also supporting Australian farmers who are able to sell more of their produce".
Source: woolworthsgroup.com.au
Belgium: Delhaize doubles e-commerce capacity with new distribution centre near Brussels
Delhaize has opened a new e-commerce distribution centre in Forest, on the outskirts of Brussels, doubling its capacity to 50,000 online grocery orders per week. The €53mln investment, made in partnership with the logistics real estate firm Montea, will support Delhaize's efforts to become the market leader in Belgium for in-store order collection, a position currently held by Colruyt.
Source: belganewsagency.eu
Poland: Żabka Group successfully executes its strategy in the first quarter
Żabka Group reported: "Żabka Group sustained strong sales momentum in Q1 2025, driven by further network expansion (11,460 stores at 31 March), 6.0% LFL growth, rising digital-channel sales and continued development in Romania. New Polish stores generated higher average daily transactions than prior-year openings. As a result, sales to the end customer increased almost 15% YoY to PLN 6.6bln. The Group's adjusted EBITDA reached PLN 596mln, up 15% YoY. The uplift reflects increased scale and a 0.4 p.p. expansion in the core Polish EBITDA margin, allowing the Group to maintain solid margins while investing in Romania. The Q1'25 adjusted EBITDA margin remained at 9% in the quarter, broadly unchanged YoY".
Source: zabkagroup.com
Call for support in advancing an EU - UK SPS agreement
EuroCommerce reported: "Dear Mr. Šefčovič, EuroCommerce, the voice of the European retail and wholesale sector, and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the trade association for UK retailers, are reaching out to request your support in securing a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom. The re-establishment of such an agreement has already been identified as a priority by the UK government".
Source: eurocommerce.eu
UK: New Morrisons Daily opens in High Wycombe in partnership with experienced retailers Sunny & Vicky Singh
Morrisons is opening a new Morrisons Daily store in High Wycombe to provide a fresh and affordable shopping experience to the local area. Chilled and fresh ranges will be available as well as an in-store bakery, food to go, barista-style coffee, and a premium frozen offering.
Source: morrisons-corporate.com
Vasco International Trading B.V. appoints Ewa Jankowiak as General Manager
Colruyt Group reported: "Ewa Jankowiak has been appointed General Manager of Vasco International Trading B.V., a new international buying alliance for purchasing leading multinational brands. Vasco International Trading B.V. aims to enhance the purchasing effectiveness of its shareholders (Coop Group (Switzerland), Colruyt Group (Belgium), and Superunie (The Netherlands)) and to re-establish a level playing field to secure competitive terms and conditions for FMCG goods from international major brand suppliers. With the establishment of this new independent company, the three participants are responding to developments in the international procurement market".
Source: press.colruytgroup.com
India: More Retail plans ₹2,000-crore IPO in 2026 to aid expansion, reduce debt
Amazon and Samara Capital-backed supermarket chain More Retail is planning to raise around ₹2,000 crore through an initial public offer (IPO), which is expected to hit the market in the calendar year 2026, a top company official said.
Source: thehindu.com
US: Teamsters at Albertsons vote overwhelmingly to authorize strike
Over 90 drivers at Albertsons, represented by Teamsters Local 745, have voted by a more than 97% margin to authorize a strike in response to the company's repeated refusal to offer a fair contract. In the face of Albertsons attempt to cut jobs, the workers are demanding the same fair wages, pension, and job protections that Teamsters at Albertsons locations across the country already receive.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: US Foods reports first quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings
US Foods Holding Corp., one of the largest foodservice distributors in the United States, announced results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. First quarter fiscal 2025 highlights: net sales increased 4.5% to $9.4bln. Gross profit increased 8.0% to $1.6bln. Net income increased 40.2% to $115mln. Adjusted EBITDA increased 9.3% to $389mln.
Source: businesswire.com
Carrefour Brasil sees fivefold profit growth in first quarter
Carrefour Brasil saw its net profit soar to R$225mln (€35mln) in the first quarter of its financial year, more than five times higher than the R$39mln (€6mln) it earned in the same period last year. Revenues during the quarter rose by 6.2% to R$27.99bln (€4.3bln), adjusted EBITDA increased by 3.7% to R$1.47bln (€227mln), while capex was 15.4% higher at R$359mln (€55mln).
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: McDonald's announces plans to hire 375,000 workers with Trump Labor secretary
McDonald's plans to hire up to 375,000 workers across its company-owned and franchised U.S. restaurants this summer. U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer was present at the announcement as the fast-food chain cozies up to the Trump administration. McDonald's is one of the country's largest private employers.
Source: cnbc.com