Ahold Delhaize

One hotel chain is putting a new spin on room service.   Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham is partnering with Peapod and Instacart on a new grocery delivery pilot. Targeting the many travelers who are eager to keep a few “staples” in their hotel room, but struggle to hunt down the closest grocery store in an unfamiliar city, Hawthorn Suites is piloting a program that delivers groceries directly to guests’ doors.  

Jewel-Osco shoppers soon will be able to order groceries directly from their go-to supermarket.   By the end of the summer, Jewel-Osco, a division of Albertsons, will offer online ordering. The chain will begin rolling out its e-commerce offering early this summer, according to The Chicago Sun Times.   

After growing its store base through an acquisition last year, Weis Markets is investing $90 million in its growth in 2017.    The budget includes new stores and remodels of existing locations. It also calls for supply chain improvements and continued information technology upgrades.    

Not only was the 2017 Super Bowl a game for the record books, it also drove shoppers to their favorite e-grocers to prep for the big game.   As time-pressed Americans football fans shopped with online grocers for game day necessities, they spent more than $150.18 per order — just a few cents more than the average cart size of all goods purchased on Black Friday, which was $149.68.  

The new retail is here and a sector that is definitely feeling the wave of this reality is the grocery industry. With the strong penetration of Aldi, Amazon’s move into online grocery, Wal-Mart’s purchase of Jet.com and the dreaded arrival in the U.S. of the highly competitive German grocery store Lidl, it’s no wonder grocers are fighting for survival in this ever-changing, highly saturated environment.   

Ahold Delhaize on Wednesday announced that management board member James McCann had resigned to move into non-executive and advisory roles. The company has named Kevin Holt, Delhaize America CEO and Ahold Delhaize management board member, as his successor.   

The Federal Trade Commission has given its blessing to a deal that creates the fourth largest supermarket company in the United States.   Delhaize Group, owner of Food Lion, and Royal Ahold NV, owner of Stop & Shop, on Sunday completed their $29 billion merger after they received regulatory clearance by the Federal Trade Commission.   

Party City Holdco Inc. on Thursday named Daniel J. Sullivan as CFO.   Sullivan succeeds Michael A. Correale, who is stepping down as Party City CFO to focus on the newly created position of executive VP chief accounting officer and treasurer, effective Aug. 29. In his new role, Correale will be responsible for all of the company’s external financial reporting, treasury functions, banking and credit relationships.