The discount grocer is gaining hundreds of stores in prime locations. But integrating those traditional supermarkets into its operations will be tricky. Like many people around the grocery industry, I was very surprised to see Wednesday’s announcement that Aldi plans to acquire the Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket chains from Southeastern Grocers. Although the discount grocer has been on a growth tear over the past several years, and a large, transformative acquisition certainly makes sense to further its conquest, snapping up two conventional grocery chains whose stores are very different from Aldi’s didn’t seem like a move that company would make. From a growth perspective, this is a major step forward for Aldi in an area of the country where it has already built a considerable presence, including hundreds of stores and a brand new distribution center. “These are great locations Aldi is getting,” according to one industry source I spoke to Wednesday…

Operators need to embrace artificial intelligence to stay competitive in the fast-changing retail landscape. There’s been much written about artificial intelligence (AI) lately. Most retailers use AI or machine learning (ML) in some form or another, especially in the areas of inventory management and analytics. I was wondering what impact AI will have on the future of the convenience retail business, so I decided to ask the most popular AI app, ChatGPT, to educate me. Here’s what it said: “Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to revolutionize convenience retail businesses, transforming the way operators operate and enhancing overall efficiency and customer experience. With advancements in AI technology, operators can expect numerous impactful changes. “One key area where AI will make a significant difference is inventory management. AI-powered systems can analyze real-time data on sales, stock levels and customer behavior to optimize inventory control. Through predictive analytics, AI algorithms can forecast demand…

Coles Express will begin to disappear from local petrol stations next month if fuel producer and retailer Viva Energy gains approval from the competition watchdog for its merger with On The Run, an upstart quick-service restaurant and convenience brand. The fuel refiner is rapidly building a network of convenience fuel stores, occupying prime real estate nationwide, that it intends to rebrand under the OTR model. It also plans to roll out fast electric charge stations to diversify and future-proof its business against declining fossil fuel sales. “We’re doing our network assessments and working out which stores we do first, so we can move on with that as quickly as we possibly can,” Viva chief executive Scott Wyatt said. “Fast forward maybe 20 years and clearly any retail service stations that are completely reliant on selling fuel … are going to find it difficult to survive.” The deal is waiting on approval from the…

Hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles can now refuel at one of Brisbane’s busiest service stations, bp Lytton, in a first for an Australian retail fuel site. bp has brought its global expertise to demonstrate safe, fast and reliable handling of hydrogen refuelling to this pilot project in partnership with BOC as project lead, and with support from the Queensland Government and ARENA. The refueller will dispense hydrogen produced by BOC at its Bulwer Island production site[1]. It has the capacity to refill a hydrogen car in 3-5 minutes. Drivers of hydrogen vehicles can use the refuelling station provided they’ve signed up for access to hydrogen refuelling via their bp Plus card. Frédéric Baudry, president, bp Australia and SVP fuels & low carbon solutions, Asia Pacific said: “The refuelling station is part of bp’s global commitment to provide customers and partners with the energy and mobility they want, where they want it. “By safely…

Australian grocery shoppers are becoming less loyal to channels and brands as the cost-of-living crisis sweeping the nation forces tough decisions for many families on what to buy and where.  According to Neil Moody, GM for Australia and New Zealand at Focus Insights, this trend is driving more footfall to Aldi – a retailer broadly seen by consumers as a value-for-money proposition – and a higher uptake of discounted goods, promotional offers and private label brands.   Moody has more than 25 years of experience in the FMCG industry across a variety of sales, analytic and commercial roles, working with manufacturers including Yakult and Kellogg. He worked for Nielsen for almost 15 years before recently taking the helm of Focus Insights’ Australasian business.  Just as the world emerged from the pandemic and life began to return to normal, business and consumers alike have been plunged into a new challenge – soaring inflation,…

A remodeled location will be testing a fully digital store that boasts no shelves. A Wawa location on the Drexel University campus in Philadelphia is reopening after a recent remodel with a plot twist: no shelves. The location will now only accept mobile and kiosk ordering. Customers will be able to order from Wawa’s regular foodservice offerings as well as request items from store inventory, which an employee will retrieve from the back. The store prototype debuts at a time when Wawa is experimenting with different store layouts like drive-thru only restaurants, permanently adding pizza to the menu and expanding with more locations. Wawa is working toward doubling its store count by 2030. According to John Paul Titlow of the Philly Voice, “With over 1,000 stores and 40,000 employees, Wawa is the largest private company in Pennsylvania and currently ranks 24th among Forbes’ list of the largest private companies in the country.” Emma Dooling with the…