Food prices pushed up by hot weather hitting harvest yields, say UK retailers
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said rising fruit and vegetable prices had contributed to a jump in food price inflation in June, while retailers also passed on tax rises and employment costs to consumers. Drawing a direct link between the climate crisis and shop prices for British consumers, the trade body representing more than 200 major UK retailers said "hot, dry weather reducing harvest yields" had fuelled some of the rise in prices.
Source: theguardian.com
Coop Italia's private-label brands powers growth
Coop Italia and its associated cooperatives reported total revenue of €16.6bln in 2024 - a 1.2% increase, year-on-year - with retail operations accounting for over €14.9bln (+1%). Although Coop's market share decreased slightly - by 0.3 percentage points, to 11.1% - the retailer remained among the top three in Italian large-scale distribution.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Early Summer spending boosts Irish grocery market by an extra €29mln
Kantar reported: "According to our latest grocery data, shoppers were in store an average of 22.7 times during June, contributing an additional €28.8mln to the market's overall performance. Shoppers spent a combined additional €11.6mln on prepared fresh fruit, water and dilutes, smoothies and juices".
Source: kantar.com
Top 5 supermarket retail chains in Montenegro
ESM - European Supermarket Magazine reported: "ESM takes a look at the country's top five retailers based on data from CompanyWall Business: 1) Voli Trade turnover: €368.9mln (FY 2024). 2) Idea-CG turnover: €286.9mln (FY 2024). 3) Hard Discount Laković turnover: €260.1mln (FY 2024). 4) Domaća Trgovina turnover: €138.9mln (FY 2024). 5) Megapromet turnover: €53.6mln (FY 2024)".
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: Sainsbury's boosts sales to hit highest market share since 2016
Sainsbury's has reported its strongest start to the year with grocery sales up 5% in the 16 weeks to 21 June 2025, driving its highest market share since 2016. The supermarket's growth is fuelled by "consistently great value, outstanding quality and excellent availability," according to CEO Simon Roberts, who highlighted the retailer's expanded Aldi Price Match campaign which covers around 800 everyday essentials. Sainsbury's fresh food ranges continue to perform strongly, with Taste the Difference sales up 20%, led by new deli and picnic products popular with shoppers enjoying the warmer weather.
Source: retailgazette.co.uk
New Zealand: New World to launch trial of returnable deli containers
Foodstuffs North Island reported: "New World is preparing to launch a trial of a new returnable container system in two of its stores, supporting Foodstuffs' wider HereforNZ commitments to reducing single-use packaging and sending less waste to landfill. As an example, a customer buys fresh salad from the deli. The deli team select a RePlay container, scans its unique QR code and fills it with salad. The customer taps their card or phone at the deli counter to 'borrow' the RePlay container. This places a temporary hold of $3 per container. The customer then pays for the salad at the checkout with any other groceries just as they normally would. Once the container is empty, the customer rinses and returns it to the store's RePlay smart bin. The smart bin reads the QR code and releases the $3 hold".
Source: foodstuffs.co.nz
Wholesale market in Bulgaria stable: No economic basis for retail price hikes
The wholesale food market in Bulgaria remains stable, with no underlying reasons for price increases in retail outlets. This was emphasized by Vladimir Ivanov, Chairman of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets, during a briefing where he presented comparative data on key product prices from the past year. According to Ivanov, certain vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes are currently cheaper compared to the same period last year. Although cabbage is more expensive, it is expected to see a price drop due to a significant surge in supply. Fruit prices, on the other hand, have risen notably, largely because of unfavorable weather conditions. The steepest increase has been recorded for cherries, which are now approximately 180% more expensive. However, the import of apricots has helped bring down their price levels.
Source: novinite.com
Holland: De Bijenkorf gets 'family insider' as new CEO
Dutch luxury department store chain De Bijenkorf has a new CEO: Sean Hill, a member of the family that controls De Bijenkorf's Thai owner, Central Group. "As a member of the Chirathivat family behind Central Group, retail has been ingrained in him from a young age", the company states in a press release.
Source: retaildetail.eu
Estonia: Large retail chains' profits and turnover fell last year
Several major retail chains saw a drop in both revenue and profit in 2024, according to their annual reports, which have been attributed to low consumer purchasing power and the unstable economic situation. Sales of food fell for the second year in a row last year, newly released data from Statistics Estonia shows. The five largest supermarket chains by revenue were Coop, Selver, Maxima, Rimi, and Grossi Toidukaubad.
Source: news.err.ee
Maersk plans last-mile delivery upgrades
Maersk is planning upgrades to Maersk E-Commerce, its service leveraging a network of national and regional carriers to deliver packages, Sam Coiro, the company's head of global business development for e-commerce, told Supply Chain Dive. Maersk may also deploy its own vehicles to make U.S. deliveries where there's enough volume to justify such an operation. "If you're in New York, potentially you will eventually start seeing a Maersk truck show up to your door to deliver the good, but that's several quarters away", Coiro said.
Source: supplychaindive.com
Canada: Summer should bring some relief on produce prices, Loblaw says
As June kicks off the local growing season in Canada, shoppers should soon find some relief at the checkout, Loblaw Companies said. Canadians can expect savings on local products until October, with July and August bringing the widest variety of local fruit and vegetables, the grocer's latest food inflation report said.
Source: canadiangrocer.com
Canada: Alimentation Couche-Tard closes on its $1.57bln acquisition of GetGo Cafe + Market
The $1.57bln sale of convenience-store chain GetGo Cafe + Market to Laval, Quebec-based Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard is complete. The deal, which includes about 270 GetGo and WetGo locations, was effective Sunday, Giant Eagle Inc., owner of GetGo, said. On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission approved the acquisition.
Source: cspdailynews.com