Save-A-Lot cuts debt, secures $350 million in new capital
In an effort to help fund its business transformation plan, discount grocer Save-A-Lot has secured $350 million in new capital. The company, owned by Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp., said last week that it completed a transaction that cut about $500 million in debt and brought an infusion of $350 million from lenders. Save-A-Lot […]
Giant Food parent to provide $10 million coronavirus relief package
Alhold Delhaize USA, the parent company of East Coast supermarkets Giant Food, Stop & Shop, Food Lion and Hannaford, announced this week that it plans to donate $10 million in the form of a relief package to address critical needs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The company plans to distribute the funds in […]
Walmart to take employee temperatures upon arrival for work
Walmart, which employs 1.4 million hourly workers, announced this week that it will begin taking the temperatures of associates as they report to work in stores, clubs and facilities. Any employee that has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher will be paid but asked to return home and to seek medical treatment, if necessary. […]
Walmart, Target making big investment in employees during pandemic
Walmart announced plans to pay U.S. hourly workers a cash bonus as part of a $550 million package in support of their work during the coronavirus pandemic, and Target announced that it will invest over $300 million in an hourly wage increase, bonus payments, paid leave and an employee relief fund. Walmart said it will […]
Instacart to hire 300,000 personal shoppers as demand rises
With COVID-19 cases mounting nationwide and order volume increasing 150% year over year in recent weeks, Instacart announced that it will hire 300,000 additional full-service personal shoppers over the next three months. The hiring push will significantly increase the size of the company’s personal shopper community. The hiring will focus on states with the highest […]
Village Super Market and Amazon awarded stores in Fairway Market auction
Yesterday I wrote that Amazon had bid on four Fairway Market stores (Amazon bids on Fairway Market stores in NY and NJ), along with bids from ShopRite operator Village Super Market and Food Bazaar operator Bogopa. In all, Fairway Markets, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, operates 14 stores in New York City, Long […]
Amazon bids on Fairway Market stores in NY and NJ
The New York Post reported that Amazon has made bids for four Fairway Market stores. The stores are in Brooklyn and Pelham Manor, NY, and Woodland Park and Paramus, NJ. Fairway Market recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Two supermarket operators previously made bids on Fairway stores. Bogopa, which operates 26 Food Bazaar supermarkets in […]
Modern food distribution system not yet able to handle coronavirus
In the last few years, a “shipping revolution” has caused the food industry to prepackage food products at the factory, according to Jeffrey Tucker of Tucker Company Worldwide, a NJ-based logistics firm. Just the right amount of food is prepackaged for restaurant deliveries, and just the right amount is prepackaged for grocery stores. The system […]
Whole Foods giving raises, supermarkets reacting to coronavirus
Grocery stores are seeing high levels of customer activity with both the reasonable and panicked reactions to the coronavirus. Cleaning supplies and toilet paper (really?) are of particular interest to consumers. Some stores seem to be restocking better than others. Earlier this week Whole Foods announced that it’s giving hourly employees a $2 per hour […]
Amazon Go: Amazon adding grocery formats in effort to dominate markets
With the opening of the first Amazon Go Grocery store in Seattle a few weeks ago, along with the company’s plans for a new supermarket chain, industry expert Bill Bishop of Brick Meets Click believes that “Amazon’s ultimate goal for grocery is to be the dominant provider in many of the most affluent market areas.” […]