A merged Kroger/Albertsons empire could supercharge store closures, layoffs, price gouging, and supplier squeezing, further harming shoppers, workers, farmers, and independent grocers.
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Ecolab sells an estimated 60% or more of all dishwashing and sanitizing chemicals that restaurants rely on, putting small restaurants in a bind.
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While Whole Foods talks a big game about supporting local businesses and their workers, both groups have been shunted as the chain seeks to compete with dominant retailers.
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Claire Kelloway wrote about the role of food corporations’ market power in rising prices (and rising profit margins) for Time magazine.
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No one seems to know how to offer quick, profitable grocery delivery without gouging grocers, exploiting workers, or abandoning brick-and-mortar stores altogether.
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A trade association for independent grocers calls on Congress to revise and enforce a law banning price discrimination that antitrust enforcers have put on the shelf.
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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.”
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Personalized pricing was a popular topic at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention in New York City this month, reports Food & Power Reporter Claire Kelloway. Grocery stores can leverage a combination of data analytics and customer identification and tracking tools to offer real-time individual pricing and promotions, both online and in-store. While the practice may still be in its infancy, some experts believe that personalized prices will become the standard in food retail and beyond.
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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.
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The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is investigating whether or not Amazon’s Los Angeles location meets state qualifications for a liquor store. Amazon intends to focus on delivering alcohol giving the online corporation a competitive advantage over California alcohol retailers who must pay for staff, stocking, and real estate.
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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.
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