News Briefs

Walgreens Boots Alliance continues to reduce its stake in Cencora.

The pharmacy retailer said it sold shares in the drug distributor, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, for proceeds of about $1.1 billion. With the transaction, Walgreens’ stake in Cencora has decreased to about 10% from approximately 12%.

The pharmacy retailer said that proceeds from the share sale will be used primarily for debt pay down and general corporate purposes as its continues to build out a more capital-efficient health services strategy rooted in its retail pharmacy footprint.

Walgreens noted that the sale has no impact to the long-term partnership between the two companies. Ornella Barra, COO of Walgreens, will continue to serve on Cencora’s board.

Walgreens has been steadily reducing its stake in Cencora. In May, the company sold $400 million worth of shares, after lowering it from 15% earlier in the year.

The latest sale comes as Walgreens is working on a strategy to turnaround its U.S. business. In June, the company said it was finalizing a "significant multiyear footprint optimization program" to close certain underperforming U.S. stores. 

Primark is continuing its Southern U.S. expansion — with a twist.

The global value fashion and essentials retailer will open a location at The Florida Mall in Orlando on August 29. With the store close to Walt Disney World Resort and in a first for Primark, the two-level 36,200-sq.-ft. outpost will have an entire floor dedicated to Disney fans. The offerings, part of the chain’s Disney at Primark collection, will include a broad array of apparel and accessories featuring Disney characters. 

Primark stores feature women's, men's and kids fashions and essentials as well as beauty, home goods and accessories. With denim starting at $10 and tee shirts at $4.50, the retailer is known for its budget prices.

The Florida Mall location will bring Primark’s U.S. fleet to 26 stores across 10 states. It also marks the retailer's 450th store globally as it works towards its goal of reaching 530 stores by the end of 2026. 

The Orlando store comes as Primark continues its expansion in the Southern states. The retailer currently has a location at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Fla., and a distribution center in Jacksonville, Fla.  It has also announced plans to open three stores in Texas. 

[READ MORE: Primark continues U.S. growth; enters new state] 

"Florida is a pillar of our expansion into the Southern U.S. market,” said Kevin Tulip, president of Primark US. “What makes this location so unique and exciting is our entire floor of affordable, high-quality Disney merchandise. Whether you're a local or Orlando visitor, the magic of Disney is sure to be found here."

Digital grocery coupons are overtaking traditional paper circulars.

Grocery wholesaler United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) and retail solutions provider Swiftly found that 43% of Americans use digital coupons at their local grocery store via a smartphone app, compared to just 23% who physically cut coupons from a paper circular. Nearly half of Americans (45%) report relying on deals and promotions as part of their everyday grocery shopping experience, and (49%) desire more deals on things they want or already buy.

Saving money is top-of-mind for grocery shoppers. Just 8% of those surveyed say they don’t care about finding ways to save money at their local grocery stores, and only 12% say price does not factor into purchasing decisions. Nine-in-10 Americans (92%) know whether their local grocery store offers digital coupons and nearly a third (32%) wish their local grocery store offered more digital coupons.

[READ MORE: Consumer confidence edges up in July]

The survey follows the launch of UNFI’s retail media network for independent and regional grocers, made up of more than 30,000 retail locations and nearly 11,000 brand partners to “help them compete in an increasingly digital-first world.”

“The results of this survey are a meaningful validation of our strategy and reaffirm the importance of our focus to help our customers leverage retail media to more impactfully reach today’s consumers,” said Louis Marin, UNFI’s president of wholesale.

The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of UNFI from June 25-27, 2024, among 2,092 adults ages 18 and older.

CBRE has secured $69.4 million in financing for SJC Ventures to build an 83,000-sq.-ft. grocery anchored center on a busy intersection in Doral, Fla.

Doral Marketplace will be located approximately 14 miles west of downtown Miami on a 10-acre site at the intersection of Northwest 41st Street and Northwest 107th Avenue. The Doral Park Centre mall and several sit-down restaurants and QSRs are found at the crossing. 

The planned center—already 69% pre-leased to 12 tenants--will be anchored by a national organic grocery brand and will contain five buildings in total.

“This is a really special piece of real estate, and we are very proud to have worked with the SJC team on this project,” said CBR senior VP Richard Henry.. “SJC Ventures is an exceptional developer and Doral Marketplace will make a perfect addition to the neighborhood.”

The Atlanta-based SJC has completed 60 mixed-use, grocery-anchored, and multifamily projects totaling 4.5 million sq. ft.in nine states. Most of its similarly sized centers are anchored by Whole Foods. 

Amazon is delivering its Prime orders faster than ever.

The company said it achieved its fastest Prime delivery speeds ever so far this year in the U.S. and around the world,  with more than five billion items arriving the same or next day globally — an increase of more than 30% year-over-year, the company said. The majority of the items were delivered on behalf of independent sellers via Fulfillment by Amazon.   

In a post on its corporate website, Amazon said the speed improvements came primarily from shortening the distance deliveries had to travel to reach customers by regionalizing its fulfillment network. In the first half of 2024, Amazon reduced the distance items traveled between its U.S. sites and the customer by nearly 10% year-over-year.

“Combining machine learning with regionalized inventory means more orders can ship from a single local site — reducing transportation distance by placing the right products closer to our customers to fulfill orders quickly,” Amazon said. 

Through scaling this effort in the first half of the year, Amazon said it increased the average number of items per box in the U.S. compared to the same period in 2023, which reduced the number of required deliveries for these items.”

Amazon now offers same-day delivery in more than 120 U.S. metro areas.

Sprouts Farmers Market raised its full-year outlook on the heels of another strong quarter. 

The fresh, natural and organic foods grocer reported profit of $95.3 million, or $0.94  a share, for the quarter ended June 30, up from $67.3 million, or $0.65 a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected earnings per share of $0.79.

Net sales increased 12% $1.9 billion, topping analysts’ estimates of $1.84 billion. Comparable store sales rose 6.7%.

Sprouts, opened five new stores during the quarter, for a total of 419 stores in 23 states as of June 30, 2024. The company expects to open about 35 new locations this year. Sprouts’ new outposts are in keeping with the company’s smaller-format design concept, which features an approximate 23,000-sq.-ft. footprint. The stores feature a bright and airy farmers market experience with an open layout, community feel and produce at the heart of the space.

"Sprouts saw outstanding second quarter results, thanks to exceptional teamwork and strategic focus,” said Jack Sinclair, CEO of Sprouts Farmers Market, which is based in Phoenix. “Customers are responding to our healthy product assortment and our unique in-store experience. We are excited about the opportunities ahead."

For the full year, Sprouts expects net sales growth between 9% and 10% in fiscal 2024, up from its prior projection of between 7% and 8%. It also increased its same-store sales outlook, to between 4% and 5%, up from 2.5% to 3.5%.