retailers — Latest Stories

Can Amazon’s New Grocery Store Challenge Mainstream Supermarkets?

Amazon recently invited a select group of shoppers to tour its first Amazon Fresh grocery store, in Woodland Hills, California. While the new store has made headlines for its voice-powered Alexa kiosks and computerized “Dash Carts” that scan groceries as you shop, Amazon Fresh represents far more than a high-tech grocery store. The venture launches Amazon’s experiment in taking on more traditional grocery retailers, in an effort to expand its retail dominance. Amazon says that it will publicly open the store “in the coming weeks.”

RetailClaire KellowaySeptember 10, 2020retail, retailers

The Tradition of Public Food Markets Reemerges in Trump Country

Baldwin, Florida, a town of roughly 1,600 residents west of Jacksonville, lost its last grocery store in 2018. Residents were left with a Dollar General and a 10-mile drive to the nearest full-service store. The town council couldn’t attract another grocery chain to take over the store, but they did own the property. So the council and Baldwin Mayor Sean Lynch decided the town would get in the grocery business and re-opened the store.

RetailClaire KellowayDecember 5, 2019food access, grocery, public market, resiliency, rural, walmart, retail, retailers

One Private Equity Fund Could Own a Quarter of the Chicken Houses for Costco’s Nebraska Project

Will out-of-state investors own a sizable portion of Costco’s chicken production? One investor from North Carolina has applied for permits to build at least 132 chicken houses across nine locations in four Nebraska counties, according to public documents reviewed by Food & Power. Read Claire Kelloway's latest story on how one private equity fund could own a quarter of the chicken houses for Costco’s project in Nebraska.

Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayAugust 15, 2019chicken, contract farming, Costco, LLC, poultry, private equity, retailers

New Data Shows Walmart’s Dominance in Local Grocery Markets

Walmart sells 50 percent or more of all groceries in one in every ten metropolitan areas and nearly one in three “micropolitan” areas across the country, according to a report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, out last week. In 38 of these regions, Walmart sells 70 percent or more of all groceries.

Walmart Sells U.K. Subsidiary, Putting One-Third of the British Grocery Market Under One Roof

Last week, Walmart announced plans to sell its U.K. subsidiary Asda to rival British grocery chain Sainsbury’s. The proposed deal would create the largest grocery store chain in British history, with more than 31 percent of the market in the hands of one company. It would put even more pressure on farmers and food suppliers, and threaten 330,000 employees with job losses.

Retail, Mergers & AcquisitionsClaire KellowayMay 10, 2018retail, retailers, mergers

How Grubhub, UberEats, and Minibar are Taking over Your Local Restaurant and Wine Store

A frenzy of deal-making is remaking the food delivery app business. In January, UberEats acquired Ando, a food delivery startup founded by celebrity chef David Chang. In early March, Japanese conglomerate Softbank invested $535 million into DoorDash. A few weeks later, Grubhub expanded its partnership with the review site Yelp to facilitate ordering home delivery of restaurant meals. Meanwhile, the tech publication ReCode reported last week, DoorDash and Postmates have discussed merging.

RetailKevin CartyApril 12, 2018data, DoorDash, drizly, Grubhub, minibar, monopoly, Postmates, UberEats, price discrimination, retailers, retail, Beer, Big Data

FTC Allows Grocery Chains to Further Consolidate Power, Harming Farmers, Workers, and Consumers

Farmers, workers, and consumers alike may soon feel the effects of further consolidation in the already concentrated industry of grocery retail. On July 22, the Federal Trade Commission approved the latest in a long series of supermarket mergers, further concentrating control over U.S. food markets in the hands of a few giant corporations.

RetailLeah DouglasAugust 4, 2016Ahold, Delhaize, farmworkers, labor, mergers, retailers, Leah Douglas

Why You Might Pay More Than Your Neighbor for the Same Bottle of Salad Dressing

Retailers are positioning themselves to charge customers based on their willingness to pay—so that my Burberry-dressed neighbor pays more than my thrifty neighbor for the same product. How are retailers tracking our shopping habits, and what does it mean for you?

RetailLina KhanJanuary 19, 2014price discrimination, retailers, Lina Khan