Spain: DIA seeks growth with renewed board, fresh capital, new logistics hub
Retailer DIA has announced key changes to its board of directors, designed to bolster its strategic plan for 2025-2029. Alberto Gavazzi has been appointed chair, bringing his operational expertise to lead DIA's accelerated growth phase. The newly composed 10-member board demonstrates DIA's commitment to strong corporate governance, with 70% independent directors and 50% female representation, exceeding Spanish recommendations, the company noted. Shareholders also approved using reserves to offset losses (€78.9mln in 2024) and the €290.3mln capital reduction aimed at restoring the company's balance sheet after a negative net worth of €37.7mln. Meanwhile, the Spanish retail group is investing €42mln in a 64,000 square meter logistics hub in León, slated to open in early 2026. The facility will serve approximately 200 supermarkets in Castilla y León and Asturias, enhancing the reatiler's regional customer proximity.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Celebrating the berry best of Scottish soft fruit
To champion and strengthen Scotland's £188mln berry sector, Scotland Food & Drink, supported by the Scottish Government, is launching a brand-new celebration of Scottish-grown berries, encouraging shoppers, chefs, retailers and more to learn about the innovative industry, and add more delicious local fruit to their plates. Experts from The James Hutton Institute - who attended the Berries of Scotland launch alongside growers from Castleton Farm and Angus Growers - have been breeding and trialing soft fruit for almost 75 years, including raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, tayberries, and honeyberries.
Source: foodanddrink.scot
Struggling retailer Homeplus gets approval for sale plan from South Korean court
A South Korean court approved grocery retailer Homeplus's plan to sell the struggling company, in a move that the court said was aimed at providing funds to repay creditors and to ensure job security for employees at the company.
Source: reuters.com
UK retail sales record biggest monthly drop since 2023
British retail sales volumes recorded their sharpest drop since December 2023 last month, as demand fell after shoppers splurged on food, summer clothes and home improvements the month before, official figures showed. Retail sales volumes dropped by 2.7% in May, the Office for National Statistics said, a much sharper decline than the median forecast of 0.5% in a Reuters poll.
Source: reuters.com
Greece: Carrefour stores to increase through the Bazaar chain
Retail & More, a subsidiary of Nikos Vardinoyannis' AVE Group, will now seek the fastest growth of Carrefour stores through the acquisition of part of the network of the Bazaar grocery chain. The Athens-listed group announced the signing of an MoU with Bazaar for the acquisition of 40% of the latter, with the aim of the two sides reaching a final agreement by the end of the year. AVE sources said several Bazaar stores will be renamed Carrefour, especially in tourist-frequented areas.
Source: ekathimerini.com
Magnum is withdrawing from the Uzbek market
Kazakh retailer Magnum is shutting down operations in Uzbekistan and leaving this market. Magnum had six stores in Tashkent, as indicated on its website: five of them operated in the supermarket format, one in the hypermarket format. According to Forbes Kazakhstan, some have already been closed, and some are selling off leftovers.
Source: yuz.uz
REWE Group taps Trigo, AiFi, Reckon.ai, Pixevia, Stüwer tech as retail space changes rapidly
Christophe Eltze, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at REWE Group, has taken to social media to discuss how the retailer is consistently investing in future technologies amid a rapidly changing industry. In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Our claim - we meet our customers where they are at the moment. One thing is clear: The requirements of our customers are diverse, shopping habits are changing - one concept that we are actively testing and constantly developing in this context is smart store solutions. Within REWE Group, we pursue various options across different sales lines and look at a broad repertoire that continues to grow".
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
M&S champions Scottish farmers and food at the Royal Highland Show
M&S reported: "Marks & Spencer will return to the Royal Highland Show this year unveiling a refreshed exhibition stand and an exciting programme designed to showcase M&S's enduring commitment to Scottish farming, sustainability, and great quality food production across Scotland. Young visitors will be encouraged to explore the stand and complete a series of fun, hands-on games themed around M&S's trusted supply chain and Select Farm produce".
Source: corporate.marksandspencer.com
GXO clears UK hurdle in Wincanton deal
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared GXO's takeover of British logistics firm Wincanton, conditional on the sale of a small number of Wincanton's UK grocery contracts. The remainder of the integration may proceed once certain administrative conditions are met.
Source: trans.info
UK: Amazon under investigation over late payments to food suppliers
Amazon is being investigated by the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) following concerns the ecommerce giant may have been delaying payments to food suppliers. The investigation will look into whether Amazon failed to meet its obligations under paragraph 5 of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), which requires designated retailers to ensure there is "no delay in payments" to suppliers.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
Collaboration, innovation & leadership at the 2025 Global CGF Summit
Ahold Delhaize reported: "The 2025 Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Global Summit brought together over 1,000 senior leaders from retail and manufacturing. The Summit opened with a warm welcome from CGF Managing Director Wai-Chan Chan and Board Co-Chairs Frans Muller, President & CEO of Ahold Delhaize, and Dirk Van de Put, Chairman & CEO of Mondelēz International".
Source: newsroom.aholddelhaize.com
US Foods unveils programming for the most all-encompassing foodservice solutions show in company's history aimed at helping operators "Make It": Food Fanatics® 2025
US Foods reported: "US Foods Holding Corp. has unveiled programming for the most all-encompassing foodservice solutions show in the company's history: Food Fanatics® 2025 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, August 19-20. Themed "Every Second Counts", the event will bring together more than 5,000 foodservice operators, culinary professionals, vendors, industry experts and an exciting roster of celebrity chefs, for two days of immersive content and experiences designed to provide countess solutions to address operators' most pressing needs".
Source: businesswire.com
US: Weis Markets opens 1st new store in nearly 3 years
Weis Markets leaders officially cut the ribbon on the grocer's latest location in Lake Linganore, Maryland. Spanning 65,000 square feet, the Lake Linganore supermarket features an array of fresh produce items, full-service meat and seafood departments, made-in-house sushi offerings and an expansive deli and prepared foods area, in addition to center-store staples.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Kroger looks to cut costs as it chases growth
Kroger plans to close about 60 underperforming stores by the end of 2026 as a part of a broad effort to improve its performance, the company announced. Identical-store sales growth excluding fuel came in at 3.2% during the company's first fiscal quarter of 2025, driven by strong sales in pharmacy and fresh departments, the grocer reported during an earnings call. Sales were off slightly during the period, to $45.1bln.
Source: grocerydive.com
US: Walmart brings in the most SNAP dollars, some 25% of all sales
Walmart captures a whopping 25% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars and general merchandise spending, according to a recent analysis by data and tech company Numerator.
Source: supermarketnews.com