UK's Sainsbury's ends talks to sell Argos to China's JD.com
British supermarket group Sainsbury's said on Sunday it has terminated talks with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com over selling the Argos general merchandise retailer, a day after confirming discussions were underway.
Source: reuters.com
Aldi announces record £1.6bln expansion plan to meet UK's 'demand for discount'
Aldi reported: "Aldi has announced plans to invest a record £1.6bln over the next two years (2026-27), opening 80 stores as sales continue to rise. The supermarket said it was 'more determined than ever' to meet the UK's growing demand for affordable groceries as more families look to balance household budgets. A total of 21 stores are set to open in the next 13 weeks, including Shoreditch in London, Durham in the North East, and Kirkintilloch in Scotland".
Source: aldipresscentre.co.uk
No significant fruit and veg shortages due to drought in Europe - retailers
A number of retailers have said they are not yet anticipating any significant impact on fruit and vegetable availability in the near future as a result of extreme weather events in Europe. Ireland imports large volumes of fruits and vegetables each year. A Tesco spokesperson told Agriland that it recognises warmer and drier than average conditions were seen across much of Europe this summer. "Many of our growers have adopted proactive measures to safeguard water resources which has helped them reduce the risks associated with these conditions", the spokesperson said. "We are not expecting to see any significant impacts over the coming months". Musgrave said that at present, it is not expecting any produce availability issues linked to the recent drought or wildfires in Europe.
Source: agriland.ie
Croatia: Bolt Food
Bolt Food, one of Croatia's three major food delivery services, has decided to cease operations from 6 October. While Bolt's ride-hailing and electric scooter rental services will continue in Croatia, the company cited 'business reasons' for discontinuing its food delivery arm.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Italian grocery habits shift towards health and home cooking
The annual Coop Italia report on the state of the Italian economy and consumption habits reveals that Italians continue to struggle with inflation. Concurrently, grocery shopping is rebounding, with large-scale retail sales increasing by 3.8% in value and 2% in volume during the same period. This growth is largely driven by fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables, as Italians prioritise healthy eating. Seven out of ten Italians regularly check nutritional labels, leading to a rise in purchases of exotic fruits, fermented milk, bread, yogurt, and oil, alongside a reduction in sugar, salt, and carbohydrates.
Source: esmmagazine.com
UK: One Stop celebrating 50th year with a month-long activation
Tesco-owned convenience retailer One Stop is celebrating its 50th birthday with a nationwide campaign spanning over 1,000 stores. Running until 13th October, One Stop will celebrate the milestone in-store and online with special deals, customer giveaways, and community grants.
Source: kamcity.com
Two decades on, why Whole Foods can't make its U.K. operations work
The company reported pre-tax losses of around $27mln for the year to December 31 2024, despite a 14% decline in operational costs to circa $65.5mln last year, adding to a similar $31.3mln deficit the year prior. The results mean the business has pulled in total losses of over $271mln since debuting in the U.K. in 2004 and which after openings and closures currently has just six outlets in the U.K., all in capital London.
Source: forbes.com
Poland: Lidl generates billions of zlotys for the Polish economy
The consulting company Deloitte estimated that in 2024, the operation of Lidl Polska stores generated over PLN 11.4bln in added value (this is PLN 1.3bln more than in 2023), of which PLN 6bln was generated by the company itself, and PLN 5.4bln by the suppliers of the Lidl Polska chain and thanks to salaries paid to employees.
Source: discountretailconsulting.com
Inside HelloFresh's handpicked global supplier network: 2,000+ partners across 18 markets
HelloFresh Group reported: "When HelloFresh was founded 14 years ago, our founders Dominik Richter and Thomas Griesel sourced all ingredients from a nearby supermarket and assembled our meal kits in the kitchen of the co-working space they had rented. Today, operating eight brands across 18 countries, HelloFresh runs a complex, international supplier network which enables serving yearly around a billion meals to customers worldwide. Volume is an important consideration. The quantities needed to meet demand - such as the 7,000 tons of potatoes sourced annually for Germany - often require collaboration with suppliers who can consistently provide large-scale volumes".
Source: hellofreshgroup.com
Asda hits major milestone as Project Future sees food depots migrate to new SAP platform 
Asda reports significant progress delivering Project Future - pitched as Europe's largest systems implementation programme - which involves the separation of more than 2,500 systems from former owner Walmart and aims to lay the technological foundations for the grocery giant's future growth. A recent milestone involved the retailer's food depots.
Source: retailtechinnovationhub.com
Kroger-Ocado partnership in question
Kroger's exclusive partnership with automated warehouse operator Ocado may be in jeopardy after the retailer said it is conducting an evaluation of the fulfillment centers the two companies have opened together.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: New Whole Foods Market in Parker, Colorado, to open October 9Whole Foods Market will open a new 43,000-square-foot store, located at 8665 Kings Point Way, Parker, Co., on October 9, 2025. Features of the new Parker store include: an array of certified organic, conventional and Sourced for Good Local options include carving pumpkins from Hirakata Farms, hard squash from Golden West Farms and organic Honeycrisp apples from Rogers Mesa Fruit Co.
Source: media.wholefoodsmarket.com
US: Consumer Price Index - August 2025
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, after rising 0.2% in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The index for fruits and vegetables rose 1.6% over the month as the index for tomatoes increased 4.5% and the index for apples rose 3.5%.
Source: bls.gov
US: Wegmans, Publix among Best Workplaces in Retail
Great Place To Work and Fortune magazine released the 2025 Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail List. Rochester, New York-based Wegmans Food Markets Inc. took the No. 1 spot as the best large retail workplace. This is the 10th consecutive year that Wegmans was featured at the top of the list. For the 12th consecutive year, Publix Super Markets was featured on the 2025 Best Workplaces in Retail list, ranking third.
Source: progressivegrocer.com