Asda's depot management team is set to vote on whether GMB will become their official union representative following a landmark decision by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). More than 1,000 salaried managers across 23 UK depots will take part in the ballot after GMB submitted a petition indicating over 60% of eligible staff back formal union recognition, The Grocer reported.

The CAC and GMB allowed the ballot after the union provided a petition which showed that over 60% of the supermarket's staff members supported the move. GMB Union national officer Nadine Houghton said: "A clear majority of the workforce want GMB to be their collective union voice at work – now they will have a chance to vote in a full ballot."

Source: Retail Gazette

Casino Group, the SPAR licensed organisation in France, celebrates the opening of a new supermarket in Luynes revealing a new store concept which is signifying a focus on growing the SPAR brand presence nationwide. This new supermarket focuses on a renewed vision of local commerce, with the aim of providing authentic, local, and flexible shopping experiences for customers.

The new generation SPAR store concept was developed in collaboration with Casino Group and SPAR France's independent retailers, which make up nearly 95% of SPAR stores operating nationwide. This concept can be adapted to different localities, including rural, urban, tourist, and coastal demographics. Instore, the assortment is suited to meet the ever-changing needs of customers, with a focus on food-to-go, local produce, and convenience.

Source: Spar

For some 10 days now, workers who pick orders in Dutch supermarket distribution centres via staffing agencies have been going on strike in support of better pay and working conditions. Many of them are Polish nationals. "If Poles stopped working in the Netherlands, we would have to close down the country," Cihan Ugural from trade union federation FNV told the strikers in Rotterdam last week, where some 150 people had come to protest.

Friday's gathering was part of the first-ever strike of agency workers in the Netherlands and the strikers are mainly Poles working in distribution centres in the southern part of the country. The strike began in Pijnacker on June 25. Within a week, Zwolle and Geldermalsen joined in, followed by Tilburg on Wednesday, July 3. According to FNV representatives, between 200 and 300 people have participated so far.

Source: DutchNews

Sainsbury's head of own-label product development and innovation Claire Hughes, has stepped down after seven years with the company. Hughes, who joined from M&S in 2018, is widely credited with leading the transformation of Sainsbury's own-brand offer, boosting innovation output, growing the Taste the Difference line to over £1.8bn, and championing plastic packaging reductions across its range.

Speaking about her departure on the social media platform LinkedIn, she cited personal reasons, but thanked her team at the supermarket giant. She said: "After 7 incredible years, I have said farewell to Sainsbury's. The last 7 years have been an amazing journey full of purpose, challenge and working with brilliant people but I've decided to take a break to focus on family."

Source: Grocery Gazette

Spar South Africa has officially announced a partnership with Uber Eats to expand its grocery and liquor delivery footprint and supplement its Spar 2U service. "Since its launch in 2022, Spar's 2U app has experienced rapid growth in grocery and liquor delivery — especially in township and rural areas through smart, hyperlocal partnerships," the company stated.

"Whether through the 2U app or Uber Eats, customers can enjoy the same trusted service, unique local product ranges, including all their favourites, and connection to the community that Spar is known for." Spar said 2U delivered by Uber Eats is currently available in select locations. Its ambition is to grow to 400 stores by year-end, and the partnership aims to reach 150 Spar, Tops at Spar, and Kwikspar stores by the end of July.

Source: My Broadband

The online food delivery market continues to surge, driven by growing consumer demand for convenience. According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the global online food delivery market is on track to become a $2 trillion industry by 2030.

In just five years, the online food delivery market has evolved from a lockdown-era necessity into a trillion-dollar industry with billions of users worldwide. Millions of tech-savvy millennials and Gen Zs worldwide now see food delivery as a daily norm rather than an occasional treat, fueling growth across both restaurant orders and grocery delivery segments.

Source: Retail World Magazine

Umall has officially acquired Asian Grocer Online (AGO), one of the country's established digital retailers of Asian food products. Prior to the acquisition, Umall was already processing approximately 2,000 orders per day, with an average order value of AUD 85, underscoring its strong customer loyalty and operational scale.

As a technology-first company, Umall attributes its rapid growth to deep investments in algorithms, automation, robotics, and AI-powered systems, from smart route dispatching to automated warehouse workflows. These innovations have allowed Umall to deliver faster, fresher, and more efficient service than traditional players.

Source: SupermarketNews

Kroger rolled out a new tool aimed at making it easier for its Kroger loyalty shoppers to save on Weekly Digital Deals coupons whether you need just one of the items or all of them. Within the last few weeks, Kroger began placing separate printed flyers with pictured items of its Weekly Digital Deals offerings next to its sales flyer at store entrances.

Kroger customers with a loyalty card can grab a flyer and shop for the Weekly Digital Deals. At the checkout and after entering your Kroger loyalty ID or scanning a loyalty card, shoppers can scan a barcode on the flyer that downloads all the Weekly Digital Deals offered that week at once to the customer's loyalty card. Shoppers can use the flyer at the self-checkout or at registers.

Source: Detroit Free Press

Giant Eagle implemented the Manhattan Active Warehouse Management system at its over 1 million-square-foot supply chain facility in Bedford Heights, Ohio, according to a June 17 press release. The Bedford Heights warehouse is the fifth site within the grocery retailer's network to undergo the migration to the Manhattan Active WM platform. Giant Eagle plans to transition two remaining distribution centers by September, per the release. The grocery retailer is rolling out the cloud native system from Manhattan Associates across its network to unify and optimize its warehouse and transportation operations, the release said.

Source: Supply Chain Dive

Many retail produce merchandising programs are leaving dollars on the vine. But fortunately for operators, determining the causes of revenue shortfalls is often easy to pinpoint and rectify, said Russell Zwanka, associate professor of food marketing and director of the food marketing program at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

Chief among the errors is failure by retailers to consistently market all the key fruit and vegetable selections and leverage monitoring systems that reveal assortment gaps: "Before you know it, can be a bland assortment with very little variety," Zwanka said. "Produce needs to be about local, variety, treasure hunt, and seasonal," with the bundling of all selections under the health and wellness merchandising umbrella, he said.

Source: Supermarketnews

Grocery Dealz acts as an e-commerce marketplace that allows shoppers to compare costs between supermarkets and quickly build a cart. A new app aims to be "the Gas Buddy of the grocery industry," said Michael Waldroup, its CEO and one of its co-founders. Launched last month, Grocery Dealz is a grocery e-commerce marketplace that allows consumers to compare prices in real time between grocery stores.

The free app enables shoppers to compare grocers' prices and then quickly build a cart. Users will be able to build the cart in-app and then be directed to the selected grocer's app or website with the cart already made. In cases where the cart can't be carried over completely to the grocer's platform, shoppers will still be directed to their preferred grocer's website, according to the company.

Source: Grocery Dive