Retail

Aldi already has a reputation for low prices and now it wants to shore up shoppers’ perception of quality with a new brand called SimplyNature.

The operator of 1,300 no frills food stores said the chainwide introduction of SimplyNature is a reflection of its commitment to emphasize impressively high quality products at impossibly low prices. SimplyNature features simple foods such as cereal, honey, fruit bars, apple juice, pasta sauce and snacks that are made with only all-natural or organic ingredients.

Food safety and compliance issues earned Walmart some unwanted attention this week after it was learned that snacks made with donkey meat in China were also found to contain fox meat.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan Program has reached the initial goal of funding $10 million in low-interest loans to local and independent food businesses, and has now committed up to $25 million in funding. The Local Producer Loan Program (LPLP) has provided 184 loans to 155 companies since its inception in 2007.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Overall fourth quarter online sales were up 10.3% year-over-year. The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark indicates that soaring mobile traffic and sales were one of several key drivers.

Mobile traffic accounted for nearly 35% of all online traffic, up 40% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Mobile sales also remained strong, reaching 16.6% of all online sales, up more than 46% from the same period last year.

Alfred Marshall, a founder of the Marshalls department store chain in the mid-1950s, died Saturday, Dec. 28 in Boca Raton, Fla., at the age of 94, according to a New York Times report.

Click here for more details.

 

By Rich Thompson, managing director of supply chain & logistics solutions for the Americas at Jones Lang LaSalle

OnlyLeggings.com is borrowing a page from the playbook of Costco and Amazon to create a membership-based program to appeal to those who regularly purchase leg wear.

Birmingham, Ala. — Online meal planning service eMeals is offering retailer-specific make-at-home menus of 500 calories or less per serving as part of its new Low Calorie Menu Plan. Consumers can specify a store such as Aldi, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Target, Walmart or Whole Foods to take advantage of sale prices that help shape eMeals' weekly menus.