News Briefs

Convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ACT) has received the 2022 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA), which has recognized the world’s most engaged workplace cultures since 2007.

With data on more than 2 million employees in 276 organizations across 54 industries and 96 countries, Gallup’s metadata analysis on team engagement and performance is considered one of the most comprehensive workplace studies ever.

Operating in 26 countries and territories, with more than 14,100 stores, of which approximately 10,800 offer road transportation fuel, ACT is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the United States. As workplaces worldwide faced continuing historic upheaval, ACT managed to stand out in its ability to engage and develop its people amid another year of unpredictability in the workplace. The most recently completed Gallup employee engagement survey found 60% engagement among ACT employees.

“To be recognized as a Gallup exceptional workplace among such prestigious global honorees is a proud moment for ACT,” said Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of ACT. “Protecting and promoting ACT’s winning culture is a top priority for us, and we have worked hard, together as One Team, to create a highly engaged workforce and company that has only become better and stronger through the challenges of recent years.”

First-time winner ACT was the only convenience retailer among this year’s nominees.

Laval, Quebec-based ACT is No. 14 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Los Angeles-area organic grocer and café Erewhon has launched a partnership with Sameday Health, a COVID-19 testing and nationwide health care provider. The new partnership enables Erewhon members to access such benefits as 30% off any appointment, including house calls, and a complimentary first vitamin shot, valued at $50. Erewhon members can redeem the Sameday Health discount by entering their email on the Erewhon website’s Member Page.

Combining a human approach with intuitive technology, client-centered Sameday Health opened its first clinic in Venice, Calif., at the height of the COVID pandemic, and is now providing expanded same-day health care at locations in Los Angeles; San Francisco; New York; Miami; Washington, D.C.; Boston; and other cities. Along with COVID testing, Sameday Health offers a wide range of health-and-wellness services, including virtual therapy and primary care, IV drip therapy, vitamin injections, health assessments, and STD testing. 

Erewhon is an independent family-owned market with seven current locations across Los Angeles, including Calabasas, Fairfax/West Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Silver Lake, Venice and Studio City, and two currently planned future locations in Beverly Hills and Culver City. It was named among Progressive Grocer’s 2022 Outstanding Independents.

Stop & Shop has launched its 21st annual “Help Cure Childhood Cancer” campaign to raise funds for MSK Kids, the pediatric program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The campaign, which has raised more than $26 million to date, supports childhood cancer research that impacts children and their families at Memorial Sloan Kettering and around the globe. Shoppers can donate at checkout at every Stop & Shop location, with 100% of proceeds going toward MSK Kids.

“We are proud to have supported and funded life-saving treatments and research at MSK Kids for the past 21 years,” said Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid. “The goal of this campaign is to ensure that families at Memorial Sloan Kettering receive the best care possible for their children, and year after year, our customers step up and do just that.”

Based in Quincy, Mass., the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC employs 58,000 associates at more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is the parent company for Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. companies, consisting of Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co. and Hannaford, as well as e-grocer Peapod; Retail Business Services; and Peapod Digital Labs. Operating more than 2,000 stores across 23 states, Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. is returning as a sponsor for Rattler Racing 2022 events.

Colorado-based Rattler Racing started in 2015 with a simple grass-roots midweek mountain bike-racing series. Since then, it’s seen exponential growth in participation and added new sanctioned events to its lineup, including cyclocross, junior-focused races, a stage race, and a new gravel race for 2022. With each season, its focus remains on putting together quality, family-friendly events while maintaining that grass-roots feel.

Participants in this year’s Rattler Racing season kickoff can look forward to getting a free Natural Grocers reusable goody bag and Natural Grocers Brand Chocolate bar. Nutritional Health Coaches from the grocer will also be on-site to talk nutrition with athletes and to hand out bottled water, coupons and Natural Grocers samples.

In addition, the healthy grocer has a bike-racing team that will once again compete and volunteer at this year’s events – the first race being "The Bear" on April 2 at Bear Creek Lake Park, Colo.

The Natural Grocers Cycling Team consists of almost 100 members, encompassing all disciplines of cycling. The team invites cyclists to join them for local club rides throughout Colorado, Arizona and Kansas City.

With more than 160 stores in 20 states, Lakewood, Colo.-based Natural Grocers is No. 95 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

Living up to its name, Gimme is providing more solutions for grocery delivery operators as they face their own surging demands. The tech company is adding features on its vendor management system (VMS) platform to improve warehouse inventory management.

The enhancements come at a time when many retailers and warehouses are grappling with continuing supply chain issues. Updates include different tools to improve warehouse fundamentals and three new features related to warehouse rationing, product visualization and order calculations.

For warehouse rationing, the platform can now determine if an item will run out before the next delivery and then provide options to intelligently redistribute remaining inventory. Gimme also designed a new AutoPar feature that helps users visualize the ideal number of products differently by intelligently calculating warehouse product data based upon user-defined duration of days. The third new feature uses intuitive, days-based AutoPar calculations, along with real-time on-hand inventory and the estimated delivery date of the next order, to automatically calculate the number of each product to order.

"Being shorted products at the warehouse level are the headwinds that frustrate our customers and put revenue at risk. Markets have now become the biggest drivers of revenue. This update not only provides our customers with critical data, it also actively suggests the right answers to confidently handle product shortages,” explained Cory Hewett, Gimme’s co-founder and CEO.

In addition to making improvements for inventory management, Gimme is working on an AI-powered schedule suggestion tool to alleviate labor-related issues.  

Gimme’s VMS platform is described as “device agnostic” and can be used with smartphones, tablets and Windows PC systems. The platform uses live field data to provide greater accuracy and control over product inventory in multiple warehouses and ensures stable operation when offline.

Internationally known Italian retailer and restaurant Eataly has decided to end its franchise agreement in Moscow because of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

The Eataly store that has been operating in Moscow was the only one in Russia. According to the retailer, the decision to dissolve operations in Moscow is a way to show solidarity with Ukraine and to condemn the war. 

“As we continue to monitor the situation and support the people of Ukraine, Eataly will be working across all our locations in North America and EMEA, and network of suppliers to provide critical supplies, donations of food and other fundraising initiatives,” said Nicola Ferinetti, CEO of Alba, Italy-based Eataly.

Inspired by an idea sketched on a piece of paper and following five years of research and hard work, the first Eataly opened its doors in Torino, Italy, in 2007. Since it was first established, the franchise has opened 39 stores around the world, including Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Arabia, Germany and Turkey. 

In related news, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused instant-needs platform Buyk to go dark after it lost access to Russian capital in the wake of crippling sanctions, while many food retailers in the United States and elsewhere have launched relief efforts in support of Ukrainians.