News

Report: Major new player may enter grocery vertical
Seattle – Everyone from mass merchandisers to dollar stores has been getting into the grocery business in recent years, and the vertical may soon have a new and very large participant.
Canada's largest grocer closing stores
Canada's biggest food retailer Loblaw announced it plans to close 52 unprofitable stores over the next year at the same time the company reported lackluster second quarter financial results.

Loblaw Companies has more than 2,300 stores, including Loblaws, Provigo, and Extra Foods. It also owns Shoppers Drug Mart.

Moms can get tooth wipes at Wal-Mart

Bentonville, Ark. – Busy moms who need tooth wipes, or maybe more well-known baby items, have a new resource in Wal-Mart. In a post on the official Wal-Mart blog, Diana Marhsall, VP of baby for Wal-Mart U.S., says the retailer is expanding the products and services for moms (or anyone else) shopping for baby needs.
Walmart acclerates omnichannel agenda in China

Walmart wants to advance its long-term growth prospects in China and has acquired full ownership of an e-commerce company in which it already held a majority stake to further that objective.
K-VA-T picks up 29 Bi-Lo stores

Abingdon, Va. - K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. is expanding in Tennessee and Georgia. K-VA-T, parent company of the Food City supermarket chain, will acquire 29 Bi-Lo stores located in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Northwest Georgia from Southeastern Grocers. K-VA-T intends to continue to operate all of these stores under the Food City banner and hire the vast majority of their store associates.
Starbucks snubs Uber in loyalty partnership

Seattle – Starbucks Corp. is snubbing Uber in new extension of its loyalty program. Starbucks is partnering with rival online transportation service Lyft to offer Lyft drivers and passengers the chance to earn points in its loyalty program.
Amazon swings to rare profit in Q2

Seattle – Sales growth outpaced that of expenses during second quarter 2015, leading to a rare report of positive net income at Amazon.com Inc. Amazon reported net income of $92 million, compared to net loss of $126 million the same quarter the prior fiscal year.
Target centralizes security efforts

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is taking a centralized approach to security to help ensure that data breaches such as the one which inflicted serious financial and branding damage in late 2013 do not happen again. Target has opened a Cyber Fusion Center (CFC) that brings Target’s key information security teams together.
Dollar General thinks digital for back-to-school

Dollar General is taking a decidedly modern approach to the age-old tradition of back-to-school shopping.
Survey: Young female with kids? Sell on Etsy

Brooklyn, N.Y. – If you’re wondering whether you should become an Etsy seller, being young, female, and a parent may be factors in your favor. According to a new survey of 4,000 U.S. Etsy sellers conducted by the online handmade crafts marketplace, 86% of Etsy sellers are women. In addition, Etsy sellers are twice as likely to be under the age of 35 and many are parents with children at home.