Lowe’s latest US firm to end some diversity policies at Reuters. “Lowe’s will no longer participate in surveys for Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group supporting transgender rights, and is also combining its various business resource groups that represent diverse employees into one umbrella organization…The company will not be sponsoring or participating in community events such as parades, festivals, or fairs and might also make additional changes to the policies over time…” Read more

 

Kroger and Albertsons defend merger plan in federal court against US regulators’ objections at AP. “Albertsons told a federal judge Monday that it might have to lay off workers, close stores and even exit some markets if its planned merger with Kroger isn’t allowed to proceed.” Read more

 

…Little-Known Company Key to $20 Billion Kroger-Albertsons Deal at WSJ. “The roughly $3 billion divestiture deal with Kroger and Albertsons would boost C&S’s store total to 744, on par with Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. C&S would become the eighth-largest U.S. grocer by revenue, with more than $40 billion in estimated sales, according to investment firm Solomon Partners, which is working with Kroger and Albertsons.” WSJ subs.

 

The Line For Japan’s Newest Costco Is Stretching Out The Door at Daily Meal/Yahoo. “It became increasingly clear that this opening was one to remember as the line to enter continued to grow, eventually reaching a five-hour wait time…Costco already operates 34 locations across Japan, and the Nanjo City location fills the absence of Costco locations in Southern Japan.” Read more

 

Shares of Temu parent company PDD plunge almost 29% at CNBC. “Harburg said the Chinese e-commerce sector is currently saturated, and that PDD faces domestic competitors such as JD, Alibaba, and Shein. Globally, the firm is coming up against incumbents like Amazon. This, combined with weak consumer growth in China, has resulted in a slump in the Chinese e-commerce sector, Harburg said..” Read more

 

Amazon aggregators Branded and Heyday plan to merge as once-booming industry continues to shrink at CNBC. “The Amazon aggregator space has faltered since venture capital money dried up and companies struggled to profitably operate the brands they acquired.” Read more

 

Canada’s largest railways to resume service as work stoppage ends at National Post. “The work stoppage came to an end at 12:01 a.m. on Monday based on a decision issued on Saturday by the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordering both companies and their workers to resume operations ahead of binding arbitration.” Read more

 

Walmart recalls apple juice sold in 25 states due to elevated arsenic levels at AP. “… applies to 9,535 cases of Great Value brand apple juice…Florida-based manufacturer Refresco Beverages US Inc. voluntarily recalled the contaminated six-packs of 8-ounce juice bottles.” Read more

 

SpartanNash Welcomes Erin Storm as SVP, Chief Marketing Officer “…following an 18-year career with Kellogg’s and its spin-off Kellanova, where she was most recently the Vice President of Commercial Strategy.” Press release

 

Walmart CEO discusses making a difference, the future, and his time at UTulsa at The University of Tulsa. “We say at Walmart, ‘You can’t run it. It’s too big to run, but you can lead it,’” he told the students. “The No. 1 responsibility I have is focusing on working with great people. Who you spend your time with and who you surround yourself with will have a lot to do with your degree of success.” Read more

 

Stop & Shop will stop selling cigarettes at CNN. “The supermarket chain, which has about 360 stores primarily in the US northeast, said the changes are part of its “commitment to community wellness” and will end sales of all cigarettes and tobacco products on Saturday, August 31.” Read more

 

Whole Foods Market Announces Participants of 2024 Local and Emerging Accelerator Program’s Early Growth Cohort Press release

 

Harps Food Stores makes leadership changes after longtime exec retires at Talk Business. “Jim Bob Tackett, director of store technology, has been appointed as the new vice president of store systems, and John Taylor, vice president of information systems, was named to the company’s executive committee after Thurow’s retirement.” Read more