Capgemini

Starbucks posted disappointing sales growth for its first quarter, citing “a challenging environment for restaurant retailers overall.”   The coffee giant reported that its consolidated net revenues increased 7% in the quarter, ended January 1, 2017, to $5.73 billion, less than analysts had expected.  

Political feelings aside, the fact remains: When Hillary Rodham Clinton was nominated as our nation’s first official female presidential candidate, history was made. It sets a tone for all going forward — women can achieve anything they have the determination to pursue, regardless of the industry.   

Fresh produce comes out on top as the most important feature to customers in their grocery store experience.   That’s according to a new report by Acosta, a full-service sales and marketing agency in the CPG Industry, in which fresh produce (89%) ranked as a more important feature than competitive pricing (86%) and product selection (84%).   

Customer experience remains at the hub of all retail strategies, including technical strategy. Whether it’s global inventory availability, mobile payment or loyalty apps, e-commerce and call center integration, or ubiquitous points-of-sale, infrastructure that uses all assets while integrating suppliers and consumers continues to define a retailer’s network design. Further, in highly competitive retail segments, managing the costs of digital fluidity is not only vital to capturing profitable share; it can also distinguish competitive advantage. 

Customer experience remains at the hub of all retail strategies, including technical strategy. Whether it’s global inventory availability, mobile payment or loyalty apps, e-commerce and call center integration, or ubiquitous points-of-sale, infrastructure that uses all assets while integrating suppliers and consumers continues to define a retailer’s network design. Further, in highly competitive retail segments, managing the costs of digital fluidity is not only vital to capturing profitable share; it can also distinguish competitive advantage. 

Top Walmart executive Michelle Gloeckler, who landed 38th on Fortune’s list of most powerful women last year, will leave Bentonville to take over as executive VP and chief merchandising officer at Academy Sports + Outdoors.  

News of Dollar Shave Club’s recent $1 billion sale to global packaged-goods giant Unilever came like a splash of cold water to the face of most in the retail business.    But it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.    The booming success of subscription services is just the next step in the evolution towards seamless, contactless retail that emphasizes ease, convenience, common sense and just a touch of personality and cheeky humor.   

Kroger has reached a long-term agreement with IRI that will enable the firm to provide the nation's largest grocery chain with market measurment serices that further enhance its "Customer 1st" strategy.

The first fully autonomous drone delivery to a customer home has occurred, and the retailer behind it is not who you would expect.   Leading convenience chain 7-Eleven partnered with independent drone delivery service Flirtey and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) to complete two deliveries from a store in Reno, Nevada on Sunday, July 10. 7-Eleven merchandise, including hot and cold food items, were loaded into a Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s house.

The Unilever-Dollar Shave Club deal reflects the growing importance of emerging brands, vertical integration, and the consumer direct route to market favored by new CPG market entrants such as Dollar Shave Club, Honest Co., and NatureBox.