What Were the Biggest Food Retail Stories of 2023?
It was a massive year in the grocery industry for so many reasons – from acquisitions and mergers to IPOs and new stores in new states. Here’s a breakdown of the most-read stories from Progressive Grocer in 2023.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Sales Galore
The pending merger between The Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. has been an imposing aspect of the food retail world this year, and the announcement that C&S Wholesale Grocers is acquiring 413 stores from the two companies to satisfy potential antitrust issues with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made waves back in September. The New Hampshire-based wholesaler agreed to buy the stores, which span 17 states, along with eight distribution centers and two offices. An FTC decision on the merger is expected in January.
In other news that rocked the grocery industry, it was divulged in August that ALDI entered into a definitive agreement with Southeastern Grocers to acquire its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket banners as part of a larger divestiture. The acquisition includes approximately 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. ALDI was later chosen by PG as the publication’s Retailer of the Year.
“Like ALDI, Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket have long histories and many loyal customers in the Southeast and we look forward to serving them in the years to come,” said ALDI CEO Jason Hart after the announcement. “The time was right to build on our growth momentum and help residents in the Southeast save on their grocery bills. The transaction supports our long-term growth strategy across the United States, including plans to add 120 new stores nationwide this year to reach a total of more than 2,400 stores by year-end.”
Back in June, Heritage Grocers Group, parent company of Cardenas Markets and Tony’s Fresh Markets, completed the acquisition of El Rancho Supermercado. The move was part of a larger growth strategy for Heritage, and increased the grocer’s store count from 85 to 113. The group now operates 57 stores under the Cardenas Markets banner in California and Nevada, 21 stores in Illinois under the Tony’s Fresh Market banner, seven Los Altos Ranch Market stores in Arizona, and 28 total El Rancho Supermercado stores.
More recently, but no less noteworthy, Foxtrot Market and Dom’s Kitchen & Market announced that they are merging. Both companies are headquartered in Chicago and are known for their curated, locally sourced assortments and gathering-place atmosphere. Foxtrot and Dom’s agreed that they will reorganize under a new entity called Outfox Hospitality, which will be helmed by Foxtrot CEO Liz Williams.
Finally, PG reported in July that Walgreens acquired 120 pharmacies in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, including pharmacy customer prescription files and related pharmacy inventory, from regional retailer Brookshire Grocery Co. The vast majority of these locations are being converted to Walgreens pharmacies that will operate inside of Brookshire Grocery’s stores.
Proving Who’s On Top
It was also a year of firsts for many grocers. Extreme-value retailer Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. officially entered its ninth state with the Nov. 16 grand opening of its first store in Ohio. North Carolina-based Lowes Foods also marked a first as it revealed plans to open its first store in Georgia. The grocer acquired Foothills IGA Market in Marble Hill, Ga., which will become a Lowes Foods store sometime in early 2024.
Meanwhile, Instacart filed for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in August. The grocery technology company set a price of $30 a share for its IPO, at the high end of expectations.
In other news, Amazon ceded first place to H-E-B in the sixth annual dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index just after 2023 kicked off. The Texas-based retailer wrested back its leadership position from Amazon, with Costco following closely behind in second place. Amazon dropped to third, while Wegmans took the fourth spot for the third consecutive year.
PG’s list of the 10 Most Sustainable Grocers also caught the attention of readers. Among the initiatives spotlighted were ALDI’s pledge to remove all plastic shopping bags from its stores by the end of 2023; Giant Eagle’s Full Plates Zero Waste program, which aims to donate 80 million meals between 2021 and 2025; and Meijer’s commitment to cutting food waste in its stores by 50% by 2030 and halving its absolute carbon emissions by 2025.
More News
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all positive news in 2023. The tragic death of a grocery associate in Minneapolis made news on Dec. 8. The employee, identified as Robert Skafte, was working behind a counter at Oak Grove Grocery in the city’s Loring Park neighborhood when the alleged assailant, Taylor Schulz, approached with several items and then attacked him with a golf club. Later, prosecutors charged Schulz with one felony count of second-degree murder.
Elsewhere, Amazon became the target of a high-profile, high-stakes lawsuit, brought by the U.S. government through the FTC. Attorneys general from 17 states joined the legal action, contending that the retail behemoth is using unfair strategies in both its online supermarket market for shoppers and its market for online marketplace services purchased by sellers.
“Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,” explained FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in August. “The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them. Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition.”
