Amsterdam stops the opening of a “dark store” distribution center.
The city of Amsterdam has announced a 1-year shutdown for the opening of new dark shops in residential areas or nearby shopping streets used by growing fast food services such as Gorillas, Getir and Flink. “In Amsterdam, as in all other major cities around Europe, there is a huge growth in all these different companies that deliver your groceries within 10 minutes,” said City Council spokeswoman Marieke van Doornick, who proposed the ban. But “with these companies, there will also be a growing number of complaints from the immediate neighborhood.”
Source: simplerealtytheme.com

Romanian e-commerce: 10% of total retail last year
The Romanian e-commerce market will reach RON18.4 billion (EUR3.7 billion) in 2021, an increase of 15% compared to 2020 – when revenues exceeded RON16 billion, according to a study published by Termene.ro, a platform that provides updated real-time information on financial and legal information for Romanian companies, quoted by Economica.net.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl

UK retailers report disappointing sales in January – CBI
British retailers reported better sales in January than this time last year, when covid-19 locks kept customers at home, but they still judged it to be a disappointing recovery, a survey showed. A net balance of + 28% of retailers reported an increase in sales this month compared to January 2021, said the Confederation of British Industry, up from + 8% in December.
Source: reuters.com

China: Missfresh enables livestream shopping with a superior, instant delivery experience
Missfresh Limited (“Missfresh” or “The Company”), a pioneer in China’s neighborhood retail, announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Ocean Engine, a digital marketing platform owned by Bytedance, and expanded its presence on one of China’s most popular social networking platforms. , Douyin, by launching a unique livestream grocery shopping service with less than 1 hour delivery in Beijing and Shanghai.
Source: prnewswire.com

United Kingdom: Sainsbury’s brings new convenience stores to Liverpool and London
Sainsbury’s welcomed customers to two new local shops with the opening of Berryland’s Raeburn Avenue Local in south – west London and Allerton Road Local in Liverpool. Bread and pastries will be baked in store every day and customers will be able to choose from an inviting selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, food to go and ready meals, as well as special assortments and seasonal favorites designed to cater to the various local communities they serve.
Source: about.sainsburys.co.uk

Russia: Lenta reports sales growth of 8.6% during the financial year 2021
Retailer Lenta has reported an increase in sales of 8.6% on an annual basis to RUB 483.6 billion (EUR 5.51 billion) during the financial year 2021. Retail sales amounted to RUB 475.8 billion (EUR 5.42 billion), an increase of 8.8% compared to with the same period last year. Sales in comparable stores increased by 2.4%, while the average ticket for LFL increased by 4.7%. The company saw 208% growth in online sales during the year to RUB 19.3 billion (EUR 220 million), with online orders increasing by 221% to 10.4 million.
Source: simplerealtytheme.com

Lidl is recruiting 750 new roles this year
The Lidl supermarket chain has said it will recruit more than 750 new employees to its Irish operations this year. The jobs will be in a variety of operational and office-based roles in its 214-store network, 4 regional distribution centers and its headquarters in Dublin, expanding the team to 6,100 in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Source: rte.ie

The Japanese digital food market Bokksu is raising $ 22 million
Bokksu, a Japanese digital snack and food marketplace, has raised $ 22 million in a Series A funding round, the company announced. The investment raised its valuation to $ 100 million. The round, led by Valor Siren Ventures, will help hire, expand Bokksu’s product range and produce more original content, the startup said in the announcement. Bokksu, which has recently expanded into grocery stores, wants to build momentum by increasing online access to Asian foods and snacks in the United States.
Source: grocerydive.com

UNITED KINGDOM: Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton invests in fast-start food delivery Zapp
Fast food start-up Zapp has raised $ 200 million in a round of funding led by Lightspeed, 468 Capital and BroadLight Capital. During the round, British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton joined as an investor. Zapp is one of several apps that offer Europeans delivery of important items in minutes.
Source: cnbc.com

Sweden: Coop announces new store format
Coop Sweden has launched a new store format, X: -tra – Part of Coop, which will focus on the pricing of everyday goods, as well as the entire range. The retailer aims to open 70 X: -tra – Part of Coop stores by the end of 2022.
Source: simplerealtytheme.com

United Kingdom: Beelivery acquires London-based sustainable delivery service Pinga
Beelivery has acquired the Pinga business with its 600 London-based low-emission drivers and riders in the latest in a series of major expansions that the company has made over the past 2 years. Beelivery, which was incorporated in 2015 as the UK’s first fast food service, has provided fast delivery of essential foods and necessities to the door, achieving an average delivery time of 46 minutes, with 21% of orders delivered in under 25 minutes.
Source: issuewire.com

e-grocery customers expect more than digital shelves; they expect personal relationships
Alex Weinsteindigital manager at online grocers Hungryroot, who uses artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the shopping process with predictive technology, and former Senior Vice President of Growth on the food delivery platform Grubhub, spoke with PYMNTS about how e-commerce expectations are evolving. “[There’s now] the expectation that your online retailer understands you, the expectation that they will save time for you, the expectation that the next time you go there, they can really offer you a better reflection of what you need, as opposed to the same pattern you would see in a physical grocery store ”. in Weinstein. “If the typical shopping pattern in 2020 was to go to your online food destination and press the order button, today consumers want more. They want variety. They want recommendations.”
Source: pymnts.com

Ahold Dehaize USA is now partnering with 200+ CPG providers
After just one year in existence, Advantage, ADUSA Supply Chain‘s supplier collaboration program, now includes more than 200 suppliers of consumer-packaged goods working with Ahold Delhaize US companies to innovate supply chain management practices and ensure that customers of Ahold Delhaize USA grocery banner products can get the products they need, when they need them, through their election channel.
Source: progressivegrocer.com

USA: Sam’s Club provides inventory scanning for floor scrubbing robots
Sam’s Club is adding a walk-through scan function to robotic floor scrubbers that are already available in all of its 600 stores. Plans call for Sam’s to begin installing Brain Corps Inventory Scan towers on the fleet of Tennant Co. autonomous scrubbers powered by Brain software, the companies said.
Source: supermarketnews.com

United States: The Kroger Fulfillment Network expands to Louisville, Kentucky
Kroger Co., the largest grocery retailer in the United States, announced that it will offer more Americans supplies through the addition of a spokes facility in Louisville, Kentucky operated by the Ocado Group, combining vertical integration, machine learning and robotics to provide affordable, friendly, and fast delivery of fresh food as part of the company’s seamless ecosystem.
Source: prnewswire.com