FROM THE DESK OF DEBORAH WEINSWIG

Postcard from the World Retail Congress: How Retail Could Save the World The return of an in-person World Retail Congress, held in Rome this year after a two-year absence, brings forth mixed emotions. While the conference has a positive vibe and buzz, with attendees thrilled to be able to gather together again, at the same time, there is unimaginable human suffering and destruction being inflicted just 1,500 miles away in Ukraine. One word we have repeatedly been hearing from presenters at the conference is “purpose.” This reflects the idea that brands and retailers should define their priorities and what they stand for, allowing this purpose to permeate the organization’s culture and activity. Once purpose has been established, profits will follow. In addition to ongoing military conflict, we live in trying times amid declining public trust in the institutions that have built our societies. It is possible that the retail industry could leverage its greater position of trust and huge influence on consumers to improve social stability. In a keynote address, public relations and marketing consultancy Edelman discussed the results of its 22nd annual Trust Barometer survey, which shows an erosion of trust in government, global organizations and the media among the 36,000 respondents surveyed across 28 countries. The shift of trust toward peers and away from authority figures mirrors the rise in disinformation spread by national governments and political candidates. Thus, governments are unable to ensure citizens act on information disseminated to solve societal problems, leading to social instability. Whereas high-income groups recorded higher levels of trust, low-income groups demonstrated less trust, exacerbating the effects of income disparity. Retail ranks solidly in the middle of industries in terms of trust levels, and its trust figure rose year over year. Companies, particularly retailers, could and likely should assume the leadership mantle in these times of declining trust in governments, global organizations and the media. Grocery and fashion, in particular, interface the most closely with consumers, as we all wear clothing and consume food on a daily basis. The food sector offers numerous areas for realizing environmental and social benefits. The sector has a major environmental and social footprint, according to former Unilever CEO Paul Polman. According to Polman, the food industry currently generates 30% of the world’s greenhouse gases, uses 70% of fresh water and accounts for 70% of deforestation. Yet around one-third of food produced is wasted, while 800 million people face food insecurity issues every day, according to the UN’s World Food Programme. The fashion sector bears its own set of challenges, from pollution emitted to waste created, with surplus clothing occupying an enormous amount of space in landfills. These challenges come in addition to the carbon generated in manufacturing and transporting apparel and the industry’s high levels of water consumption. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has publicly characterized business as the greatest platform for social change on numerous occasions. With the retail industry touching practically every consumer in terms of what they eat and wear, we are hopeful that the industry can find its purpose and assume the leadership role that our society sorely needs.

US RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Kroger Launches New Restaurant Supply Service (April 5) Dallas.CultureMap.com

• Grocery retailer Kroger has launched Kroger Restaurant, a restaurant supply business in the Dallas area. It offers free next-day delivery for orders over $250 placed by restaurants, bakeries or catering companies.
• Kroger stated that commercial customers will be able to purchase by the case or by the unit, providing an alternative to models requiring orders in large quantities that have highly variable pricing and require deliveries on a set schedule.

Neiman Marcus and Farfetch Announce Global Strategic Partnership and Investment (April 5) Company press release

• Luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus has announced a global strategic partnership and investment with British online luxury fashion retail platform Farfetch, wherein Farfetch will invest up to $200 million in Neiman Marcus.
• The partnership initially will allow Neiman Marcus’s Bergdorf Goodman brand to expand overseas, using Farfetch’s technology to power its digital business.

PacSun Launches “Pre-Loved Pac” Resale Program with ThredUp (April 5) ChainStoreAge.com

• Apparel retailer PacSun has launched its new pre-loved offering, which aims to encourage consumers to turn their unused apparel into PacSun credits that can be redeemed on secondhand items on the retailer’s website.
• This resale program is powered by the ThredUp resale-as-a-service (RaaS) solution and includes a digital shop, clean-out program and cash offerings—all designed to encourage customers to rotate their wardrobes more sustainably.

Save Mart Companies Hires Albertsons Companies’ Former Marketing Chief (April 4) Company press release

• Supermarket chain Save Mart Companies has named Shane Sampson as the company’s new Executive Chairman. Sampson's appointment to lead the chain follows the company's disclosure last week that Save Mart has been acquired by Kingswood Capital Management, a private equity firm.
• Prior to serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Albertsons for five years—a role he held until departing the grocery company in September 2019—Sampson was President of Albertsons' Jewel-Osco and Shaws/Star Market banners. Previously, he also held executive positions at Ahold Delhaize-owned Giant Food and Walmart’s Sam's Club.

Walmart Health Expands into New Markets (April 5) Company press release

• Walmart is set to open five Walmart Health centers across North and Central Florida, its first foray into the region. It opened one location in Jacksonville on April 5, with four additional centers in the pipeline around the Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa areas.
• The Walmart Health centers, located adjacent to Walmart supercenters, provide a range of services, including primary care, labs, X-ray counseling, dental, hearing and eye care services. The centers are operated by qualified medical professionals.

EUROPE RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

Aldi Raises Food Prices by up to 50% as Inflation Escalates (April 4) RMXNews.com

• German discount supermarket chain Aldi has announced an increase of up to 50% in its food prices owing to significant cost increases for many food products, including meat and butter.
• The company has attributed this increase to the Russia-Ukraine war and price hikes for animal feed, fertilizers and energy, which has impacted livestock farmers as well as the meat processing industry. Aldi Süd, the chain's sister company in southern Germany, has also announced price increases.

Iceland Foods Cuts Minimum Order Threshold for Free Delivery (April 5) GroceryGazette.co.uk

• British supermarket chain Iceland Foods has dropped its threshold for free delivery services in stores and online to help hard-hit consumers. The minimum online order value will be reduced from £40 to £35 ($52 to $46) and from £25 to £20 ($33 to $26) for its in-store home-delivery service.
• Iceland stated that the initiative is being introduced in response to the rising cost of living, with consumers hit by soaring energy, petrol and food prices. The initiative will be trialed nationwide over a four-week period.

Marks & Spencer Enters Kidswear Resale Market with Dotte (April 5) Company press release

• British fashion retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) will be entering the childrenswear resale market after becoming the first major high street retailer to join Dotte, a newly launched resale platform where parents can buy, sell, donate and recycle kidswear.
• The Dotte resale collective is made up of 16 independent and sustainably minded kidswear brands, including Tobias and the Bear and Turtledove London. As part of M&S’s trial on the platform, the retailer will offer consumers who sell pre-loved M&S clothing a £5 ($7) voucher for a discount on their next purchase of £25 ($33) at M&S online.

Migros Collaborates with IP-Suisse on Shell Eggs (April 5) ESMMagazine.com

• Swiss supermarket chain Migros has announced its collaboration with IP-Suisse, an association that promotes environmentally friendly farming practices, on Swiss eggs. Under the new partnership, all conventional Swiss eggs will be certified by IP-Suisse by the end of August 2022.
• Migros stated that the collaboration aims to improve animal welfare and biodiversity on farms. Egg producers for Migros will now be required to take additional steps to promote biodiversity on their farms.

Secret Sales Launches in the Netherlands and Belgium (April 4) RetailDetail.eu

• British discount fashion marketplace Secret Sales has launched its e-commerce website in the Netherlands and Belgium as it kicks off its European expansion. The company stated that 450 brands and over €700 million ($915 million) worth of inventory is currently live on dedicated sites for the two new markets.
• The company’s CEO Chris Griffin said, “Secret Sales provides a sustainable route for brands to sell non-full-price stock and the wider theme of responsible retailing resonates well with consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium.”

ASIA RETAIL AND TECH HEADLINES

GoTo Set to Give IPO Shares to 600,000 Drivers (April 4) Bloomberg.com

• Indonesia-based ride-hailing, e-commerce and financial services company GoTo plans to give shares to each of its 600,000 drivers as part of its $1.1 billion IPO—establishing a precedent for Southeast Asia's ride-sharing economy. GoTo is set to list on the Jakarta stock exchange on April 11 and will be the first big Southeast Asian ride-sharing company to include part-time gig employees in its IPO share allotment.
• Drivers who signed up with the company between 2010 and 2016 will receive 4,000 GoTo shares, worth $94 at the IPO price of Rp338 ($0.024). Those who signed up between 2017 and February 2022 will receive 1,000 shares.

Meesho Rebrands Its Grocery Division (April 5) LiveMint.com

• Meesho, a Softbank-backed Indian e-commerce company, is rebranding its grocery division, Farmiso, to Meesho Superstore, and integrating it with the company’s main app. Meesho’s move is in line with the company's goal of becoming “a single shopping destination for the next billion users in India.”
• The company states that the integration would give its 100 million users access to over 87 million active product listings across more than 36 categories, including groceries and home care, all on one platform.

Razer Merchant Services Expands Across Malaysia Through Alipay+ (April 5) PYMNTS.com

• Razer Merchant Services (RMS), the business-to-business (B2B) subsidiary of American-Singaporean payment service company Razer, is expanding its payment services. It is set to offer Alipay+ to more than 60,000 online and offline retailers in Malaysia. Alipay+, a package of digital payments and marketing services for retailers, was launched by China's Ant Group in 2020.
• RMS stated that Alipay+ will also be extended to payment touchpoints for its offline merchants in Malaysia's food, beverage and ride-hailing industries.

Tata Digital Launches App To Combine Its Owned Digital Brands (April 5) YourStory.com

• Tata Digital, the digital business owned by Indian multinational conglomerate Tata group, launched a “super app” called Neu on April 7. Neu will combine all of the company's digital brands under one roof—including Bigbasket, Croma, Tata 1MG, Air Asia, Taj Hotels, Tata Cliq, Tata Play (formerly TataSky) and Westside, among others.
• Neu will connect each of its brands with a common reward system called NeuCoins, which can be earned on any purchase made across the brands. The coins can then be used to acquire discounts and earn coupons.

Wholesum Raises $50 million in Series A Round (April 5) TechCrunch.com

• Wholesum, an e-commerce aggregator based in South Korea has raised a Series A funding round of $50 million, including $35 million in debt and $15 million in equity. Kingsway Capital, Antler Global and Widus Partners led the newest round of fundraising, which also included Nordstar and Bass Investment.
• Andrew Joo, Co-Founder of Wholesum, stated that the investment comes after the company raised $4.75 million in equity in August 2021 and $18 million in debt in November 2021. Wholesum, which now owns five South Korean brands, including Mercado Libre and Lazada, plans to add another 15–20 new brands this year in the lifestyle, health, children and pet categories.