Retail Intel Weekly: Amazon, Ahold Delhaize & CVS

TOPLINE TOPICSThe fourth annual installment of dunnhumby’s Retailer Preference Index and the leading grocers it ranks reflects a disrupted food retailing world filled with massive change in how and where consumers shopped for food. The most notable change in the 2021 ranking, released on Jan. 11, is the emergence of Amazon as the most preferred grocery retailer among the 56 companies evaluated. Amazon moved past last year’s winner H-E-B and runner up Trader Joe’s to take the top spot in the overall rankings. Another notable development saw Target, for the first time, break into the top quartile of the Retailer Preference Index. Target was the only newcomer to the first quartile overall, jumping six spots to move out of the second quartile, a spot it occupied the previous three years. (View full study here.)SUPERMARKETAhold Delhaize has completed its acquisition of New York-based grocery delivery company FreshDirect after receiving regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Announced back in November, the definitive agreement makes the Dutch grocery company the majority shareholder (funded by cash on hand), and private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners a minority equity investor with a 20% stake. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. FreshDirect will retain its brand name and continue to independently operate out of its New York City facility. Albertsons Cos. is discontinuing its own grocery delivery service in Southern California and other areas and will begin using third-party services on Feb. 27. "While we know that this move will help us create a more efficient operation, it wasn’t a decision we made lightly or without a great deal of consideration," Andrew Whelan, senior director, communications & public affairs for Albertsons recently told Business Insider.Albertsons Cos. is piloting an automated, contactless grocery PickUp kiosk, created by robotics parcel producer Cleveron and installed by Telaid, at one Jewel-Osco location in Chicago. The temperature-controlled kiosk allows shoppers to simply select “Kiosk PickUp” at online/mobile checkout, drive up to the kiosk within the 2-hour time slot selected, scan a code using a smartphone and their groceries are robotically delivered to the front of the unit. The company plans to install a second unit at a Bay Area Safeway in the near future.“We are supercharging our digital and omnichannel offerings to serve customers however they want, whenever they want,” said Chris Rupp, executive vice president and chief customer & digital officer at Albertsons Cos. “This innovative and contactless PickUp kiosk makes it even easier for customers to shop with us in a way that is convenient for them.”Southeastern Grocers' Winn-Dixie has launched exclusive partnerships with two diverse local organizations to celebrate the culture and special traditions of Mardi Gras as the state of Louisiana faces modified 2021 activations as a precautionary safety measure. The grocer kicked off Mardi Gras with its fourth annual community donation program benefiting Ochsner Hospital for Children which invites shoppers to round up their total purchase to the nearest dollar to help support pediatric patients and programs through Jan 26. The grocer is also launching a partnership with Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club to honor Mardi Gras traditions.Southeastern Grocers is further divesting its Bi-Lo banner as two independent Piggly Wiggly store owners, with the support of C&S Wholesale Grocers, have entered into a definitive agreement with SE Grocers to acquire one Bi-Lo store in Lexington, South Carolina and one in Pooler, Georgia. Under the deal, which is expected to close in mid-January, the two stores will be rebranded to Piggly Wiggly stores. SE Grocers first revealed plans last June to cease its Bi-Lo operations and invest more in its Fresco y Mas, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie banners. Since then, it has completed a series of transactions, including selling 62 Bi-Lo stores to Food Lion and 23 stores to Alex Lee Inc. and B&T Foods. DRUGCVS Pharmacy is looking to its shoppers for private-label product feedback with the launch of its inaugural Best of Our Brands awards, allowing consumers to vote online for their preferred health-and-wellness, beauty and snack products exclusively sold at the retailer. Through Jan. 24, voting is open for consumers to weigh in on their preferred products in 13 categories such as “Favorite Self-Care Essential,” “Favorite Beauty Buy” and “Favorite Sleep Support Staple.”CVS Pharmacy named Michelle Peluso as its first chief customer officer, effective Jan. 25. Peluso will be responsible for transforming the consumer experience and accelerating CVS’ digital strategy. Peluso will have direct oversight for the retailer’s marketing and brand strategy, digital transformation and the end-to-end consumer experience. Peluso brings more than 25 years of experience to CVS. Most recently, she served as senior vice president, digital sales and chief marketing officer for IBM, overseeing marketing and brand strategy, digital sales and the commercial business.CVS has also nabbed Laurie Havanec as executive vice president and chief people officer, effective Feb. 8. Havanec will succeed Lisa Bisaccia who is retiring after 16 years at the company. Havanec brings more than 20 years of experience to CVS, most recently serving as evp and chief people officer of Otis Worldwide Co., an elevator and escalator maintenance, installation and service company. She's an HR professional who has worked across all human resources functions including talent development, diversity, equity and inclusion, compensation and benefits, labor and employee relations, and HR systems, shared services and operations. Havanec will also become a member of the company's executive leadership team and report to CVS’ incoming president and CEO Karen S. Lynch (effective Feb. 1).AMAZONRetail Media: Amazon Advertising is introducing Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) — a new, holistic measurement and analytics solution built on Amazon Web Services and currently in beta for eligible advertisers, according to a company blog post. The new rollout is geared toward household brands and steps up the competition with rival advertising giants. Amazon has shut down Prime Pantry, a service that offered bulk shipments of household and non-perishable pantry goods, Bloomberg reported. The company is folding thousands of products previously available under the Prime Pantry banner into its main retail site. Amazon had launched Prime Pantry as an exclusive service for members of its Prime paid membership program, but later began offering a stand-alone subscription for a $5 monthly fee. In March 2020, Amazon had temporarily stopped accepting new orders for Prime Pantry items due to high order volumes caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.Amazon founder and chief executive officer Jeff Bezos made the single-largest charitable gift in 2020, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of top donations. Bezos contributed to launch the Bezos Earth Fund, an initiative that seeks to fight climate change. The donation, which was announced in February, is one of the largest individual donations made to fight the effects of climate change. Bezos appears again on the list in the sixth spot with a $100 million donation to Feeding America.With the addition of 26 utility-scale wind and solar energy projects, totaling 3.4 gigawatts (GW) of electricity production capacity, Amazon brought its total investment in renewable energy in 2020 to 35 projects and more than 4 GW of capacity, representing the largest corporate investment in renewable energy in a single year. These projects made the company the largest-ever corporate purchaser of renewable energy.Amazon is adding 11 new aircraft to its Amazon Air fleet with its first-ever purchase of 11 Boeing 767-300 aircraft. The company is expanding its air delivery capacity as it has been offering Amazon Prime delivery of some items in as little as five hours in select cities.

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