THE FRIDAY 5: Albertsons Cuts Corporate Staff; Amazon Stands Firm on Grocery Ambitions

1. Albertsons Undertakes Another Round of Layoffs

News came in this week that Albertsons Cos. is laying off an undisclosed number of corporate associates in Phoenix. While the grocer declined to comment on which of its banners were affected by the move, a spokesperson confirmed to PG that no store-level associates were let go.

This is at least the third round of staff cuts made this year by Albertsons. In January, the company made reductions in its corporate and divisional support staff, but did not disclose exact numbers. In February, the grocer laid off 156 Safeway corporate employees in Pleasanton, Calif., according to regulatory notices.

At the time, a spokesperson said: "Albertsons Companies, Inc. recently delivered solid third-quarter results in an increasingly competitive environment and our company is in strong financial condition. However, we cannot stand still and must constantly recalibrate our company to compete in a rapidly changing market.”

More recently, Albertsons reported gains for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and full year fiscal 2024, ended Feb. 22. Susan Morris also officially took over the CEO position from the retiring Vivek Sankaran.

2. Amazon Stands Firm on Grocery Ambitions

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy opened up in a recent Q&A session with shareholders about the company’s strategy and performance in grocery, emphasizing its focus on the many facets of the physical and online food retailing business.

“I'm very bullish about grocery. I think some folks don't realize how large a grocery business Amazon has today. If you look at our center of aisle things — so these are things like consumables, canned goods, pharmaceutical items, beauty products, really, everyday essentials — if I just exclude Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, we did over $100 billion in gross sales in our grocery business on these items last year alone,” he pointed out, adding, “So it's a very significant business, and then I think we have a bunch of other areas that will allow us to grow in this area."

Jassy lauded the hard work across Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go, Amazon Grocery and the ubiquitous Amazon.com website, especially efforts to provide consumers with meal and pantry solutions. He also shared some ways that the company’s sophisticated logistics and software networks are fueling progress, as well as the fact that Amazon is adding more perishable items to some same-day facilities.

3. A Bevy of Store, Facility Openings

Plans for store openings heavily populated PG’s most-read news this week, starting with the June 3rd reopening of a 40,240-square-foot Tops Markets store in Buffalo, N.Y. The location marks the company’s 46th renovation in just seven years, with upgrades including a brand-new storefront, a fresh interior and exterior paint job with awnings and landscaping, energy-efficient equipment, LED lighting throughout, and much more.

Lowes Foods, meanwhile, has plans to expand its presence in North Carolina with two new stores, and is also putting the finishing touches on three store upgrades in the state. 

In other opening news, online grocer FreshDirect has officially opened its first brick-and-mortar location, dubbed FreshDirect on Main, in Southampton, N.Y. The store is designed to look and feel like a farmer’s market, with an assortment that includes a variety of produce and specialty foods sourced from local farmers and artisans, as well as small-batch cheeses, grab-and-go prepared foods and wine and beer.

Finally, Walmart has opened one of its largest centralized prescription processing facilities to date, in Frederick, Md. The 102,000-square-foot site is designed to fulfill up to 100,000 prescriptions a day, supporting more than 700 stores across 16 states and Washington, D.C.

4. Instacart Names New CEO

Following the recent news that Fidji Simo would leave the company later this summer, Instacart has put a succession plan in place, with current Chief Business Officer Chris Rogers tapped to take the helm upon Simo’s departure. A source at Instacart told Progressive Grocer that the choice of Rogers signals that the company is committed to its stakeholder partners. 

“Industry leaders, including CEOs across grocery retailers and CPG brands, don’t just know Chris, they see him as one of their own,” the insider said. “They think of him as a native retail operator that gets what it takes to modernize the industry.”

Simo, who revealed earlier this month that she’s leaving Instacart to take on the CEO of Applications role at OpenAI, said that she and other board members understood that Rogers has helped shape the business and brings a wealth of operational experience and industry relationships to the crucial role.

5. Cucumber Recall Has Ripple Effect Across Industry

A whole cucumber recall by Bedner Growers Inc., of Boynton Beach, Fla., has affected a number of food retailers. The cucumbers were distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc., between April 29 and May 19, and have led to reports of Salmonella illnesses in 15 states. 

As of May 23, there were 26 cases of Salmonella and nine hospitalizations throughout Florida, Alabama, California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

The cucumbers were distributed to wholesalers, retailers, distribution centers and restaurants, and have subsequently appeared in multiple recalls by grocers. Walmart recalled its Marketside fresh cut cucumber slices, Albertsons Cos. recalled its Ready to Eat and Star Market Greek Salad, and Big Y Foods put out a recall on its made-to-order subs, wraps, and paninis.

Additionally, the parent company of Snowfox, which has sushi kiosks in grocers such as Kroger and Weis Markets, has recalled several sushi products.