Giant opens 38,000 SF e-commerce hub in Lancaster, PA

Giant held a grand opening earlier this week for its 38,000 square foot Giant Direct hub, built on the site of a closed Giant supermarket in Lancaster, PA. The facility serves as a curbside pickup site and grocery delivery center. It's the fifth site of its kind for Giant.

According to the company, customers can drive up and have their orders - which are made through the Peapod online service and app, or the Giant website - brought to their cars. There is also a walk-up vestibule with lockers for placing and picking up online grocery orders. Items are taken from rows of bar coded shelves, and refrigerated and frozen cases in the warehouse.

Trader Joe's tops annual Retailer Preference Index

According to Dunnhumby's second annual Retailer Preference Index (RPI), Trader Joe's was the top grocery retailer, followed by Costco, Amazon, H-E-B and Wegmans. In a survey of 7,000 U.S. households, the RPI examined 56 grocery retailers to determine which companies have the strongest combination of consumer emotional sentiment and financial performance.

Market Basket finished 6th, followed by Sam's Club, Sprouts Farmers Markets, WinCo Foods, Walmart, Aldi, Peapod and The Fresh Market.

Dunnhumby said the rankings focused on seven "pillars": price; quality; digital; operations; discounts, rewards and information; convenience; and speed.

The company concluded that the top retailers on the index are mostly nontraditional grocers that have developed a highly targeted offering to bolster the value perception for their customer base.

"More traditional, regional grocery banners with a long history are hurting because of it, having relatively poorer-performing financials and/or emotional bonds," Dunnhumby said. "The reason: These traditional banners have inferior price perception and/or quality."

Trader Joe's also finished atop the rankings last year.

Giant to open e-commerce hub in Lancaster County, PA

Giant Food Stores recently announced a $22 million investment in Lancaster County, PA. The grocery retailer plans to launch a new e-commerce hub, remodel four stores, lower prices, and open a fuel station in Lititz.

According to a company press release, the e-commerce hub "will be designed with a unique format that offers curbside pickup orders, where online orders are delivered right up to customers' cars parked outside of the hub." Giant also says that the operation will bring 150 new jobs to the community.

The hub will be about 38,000 square feet, allowing Giant and Peapod to serve up to 40% more shoppers. It will be the fifth such facility that Giant has opened in Pennsylvania with Peapod.

Giant expands Peapod service in PA

Giant announced last week that Peapod's shopping and delivery services have become available to customers in a dozen new Pennsylvania zip codes, including stores in Reading, Birdsboro and Temple. The company says that 109 of the 170 stores under the Giant and Martin's banners are now within the geography of Peapod's delivery range.

Through the Peapod website or mobile app, customers can have groceries delivered as soon as the next day after the order has been placed. First-time customers get $20 off their first order and 60 days free delivery.

Giant, Martin's and Peapod are subsidiaries of Ahold Delhaize USA.

Amazon introduces home delivery from Whole Foods

On Thursday Amazon introduced free two-hour delivery of certain Whole Foods Market items between the hours of 8am and 10pm in select zip codes in Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach. Orders can be made via primenow.com or the Prime Now app.

Amazon expects to expand the service across the U.S. later this year.

According to Amazon, Prime customers can shop for thousands of Whole Foods items, including produce, bakery, dairy, meat, seafood, floral and everyday groceries. Select alcohol is also available for delivery. Prime members receive two-hour delivery for free, and "ultra-fast" delivery within one hour for $7.99 on orders of $35 or more.

Many traditional supermarkets already offer home delivery services. Ahold (Giant, Stop & Shop) was one of the originators with Peapod, ShopRite offers delivery provided by individual stores, and Acme partnered with Instacart earlier this year to delivery orders "in as little as two hours."

Kroger - Ahold merger rumors have started

Last week the Cincinnati Business Courier reported that an analyst report out of Europe speculated that Kroger was pursuing a merger with Ahold Delhaize (Giant, Food Lion, Stop & Shop, Peapod, among others). On Wednesday of last week, Supermarket News reported that it was not able to verify the substance of the claim.

Analysts have talked about such a merger before, suggesting that the two powerful food retailers could gain additional scale and more effectively fight competitors like Walmart, Aldi and Amazon-Whole Foods. A merger would also provide Kroger with access to Peapod and its e-commerce platform.

As reported in Supermarket News, Ahold and Kroger have similar operating strategies in the U.S., both have invested in lower prices and have developed distinct private brands. Although the two companies compete in the Southeast, Ahold's Northeast store base would compliment Kroger's existing footprint.

Instacart partners with Giant, Wegmans

Instacart announced that it has joined forces with Giant and Wegmans to bring online shopping and delivery to customers in select areas for the two food retailers. Giant's partnership will benefit Philadelphia-area customers, and the service for Wegmans will be available in Northern Virginia and Maryland.

With Instacart, customers in the service areas can order groceries online from Giant or Wegmans for a small fee, and have them delivered within the same day,  often within one hour.

Giant already offers Peapod, a similar service to Instacart, but Peapod only guarantees delivery for the next day.

Instacart has served Philadelphia customers since 2014, when it signed on with Whole Foods and Reading Terminal Market.

For Wegmans, the Instacart deal represents the first online ordering and delivery offering from the company. It is expected that additional markets will be added in the near future.

FreshDirect leads grocery delivery race in sales, Peapod wins per basket

A report released by 1010data compared the performances of grocery delivery companies FreshDirect, Peapod, Amazon Fresh and Instacart through the first 10 months of 2016. The report's findings included the following:

• FreshDirect leads in sales, and has more than twice the share of Peapod, the next largest company in the study.
• Instacart and Amazon Fresh are growing at a much faster pace than FreshDirect and Peapod. Year-over-year growth for each company is 72% (Instacart), 43% (Amazon Fresh), and 7% (FreshDirect and Peapod).
• Peapod shoppers spent the most per basket ($147 per trip) compared to FreshDirect ($105), Instacart ($98) and Amazon Fresh ($84). 1010data believes this is in part due to Peapod's lower delivery fees for orders above $100.
• Shoppers order more frequently from Amazon Fresh and FreshDirect (once every two weeks) than they do from Instacart (once every 20 days).

So, you decide who's winning!

bfresh stores to add grocery items and prepared foods

bfresh, the urban fresh concept that debuted nearly a year ago, is making substantial changes. According to parent company Ahold-Delhaize (Giant, Food Lion, Hanaford, Stop & Shop, Peapod), the store plans to add hundreds of branded packaged goods - from paper towels to peanut butter - to an assortment previously dominated by fresh, natural and organic brands. Stores will also include more grab-and-go and heat-and-eat food options.

These changes are being made as Ahold continues to learn how best to meet the needs of young urban shoppers.

"Shoppers want to keep things simple," said bfresh Team Coach Patrick Blye in a recent news release. "No matter how you want to shop - like stocking up for the week, buying fresh meals every day, or stopping in for the freshest quick bite in town - bfresh has got you covered."

According to a story in Supermarket News, Philadelphia is a target for bfresh expansion.

Ahold and Delhaize approve company merger

Ahold and Delhaize shareholders approved the merger of the two companies last month, leaving approval from competition authorities in the United States and Europe as the final hurdle. Pending the necessary approvals, the deal is expected to close this summer.

In order to help facilitate the approvals, both chains are offering a combined 83 stores for sale, according to Food Trade News. The stores for sale are assumed to represent an overlap in markets where both stores exist.

According to published lists, there are four stores for sale in Pennsylvania (York, Waynesboro, and two in Chambersburg), all of which carry the Food Lion banner.

Ahold USA, headquartered in Carlisle, PA and Quincy, MA, includes Giant Food, Stop & Shop and Peapod, among others. According to the company's website, Ahold USA operates 770 supermarkets and 210 "pick-up points" in 14 states and the District of Columbia.

Delhaize America includes Food Lion and Hannaford, and operates 1,288 supermarkets in 15 states. The company's website reports that Delhaize America accounts for 66% of the overall company revenue.

Giant and Food Lion parent companies in merger talks

Ahold and Delhaize confirmed last month that they are in the early stages of merger talks, and analysts believe a deal could be struck this year. Ahold is the parent company for Ahold USA, which includes Giant Food, Martin's, Stop & Shop, and Peapod. The Delhaize Group includes Delhaize America, which consists of Food Lion and Hannaford. Both companies are based in Europe.

Analysts said that both companies combined produced sales of $60.5 billion last year, of which about 61% came from the U.S.

The companies discussed a merger in 2006, but an agreement was not reached.

Peapod now available in Harrisburg and York PA market

Ahold (Giant) announced last month that Peapod, its online grocery ordering and delivery service, is now available in the Harrisburg and York, PA markets. The area is serviced by a new fulfillment center in Camp Hill, PA.

Peapod allows customers to create personal lists, read nutritional information and sort products by price. Customers can earn Giant Gas Rewards, and groceries can be delivered the day after an order has been placed.

Peapod began service to the Philadelphia community in 2011 and has been expanding throughout the PA and NJ suburbs ever since. Last year Peapod began servicing the Lehigh Valley.

Ahold to grow online sales by 80% in three years

Ahold (Giant, Stop & Shop, Peapod) CEO Dick Boer recently said he would like the company to grow online sales by nearly 80% over the next three years, from approximately $1.7 billion to about $3.1 billion. The company's online strategy would involve growing its market share, expanding its geographic reach and increasing the number of items sold.

To that effect, Peapod, Ahold's U.S. online grocery delivery service, opened a new distribution center in New Jersey, and plans to open a new warehouse in Indianapolis next year. Peapod sales this year are expected to total $590 million, which represents annual growth rates of 11% over the last five years.

Peapod expands to Lehigh Valley

Peapod announced yesterday that it has introduced its home and business delivery service to parts of Lehigh and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania. Peapod delivery is now available in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and several other area communities.

Peapod is a division of Ahold USA (Giant Food), and now offers its service to over 15 million households in the Northeast.

Ahold investing in freshness, training and price reductions

Ahold announced last week that its U.S. pilot program that invests more heavily in the quality and merchandising of its fresh assortment, in employee training and in targeted price reductions, resulted in "encouraging volume uplifts" and will be rolled out more extensively, especially in New England. The announcement came as Ahold's first quarter results revealed eroding margins amid competitive and inflationary pressures.

Ahold, based in the Netherlands, operates the Stop & Shop banner in New England and New York markets, as well as the Giant banner in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

In its earnings call, the company said it expects the program to be implemented in more than half of its stores by the end of the year, and that it will be funded mostly by the expected $250 million "simplicity" program of cost savings in the U.S.

Ahold also owns and operates Peapod, the online grocery ordering and delivery service. Peapod experienced double-digit sales growth in the first quarter.

Peapod opens Bucks County facility

Ahold announced last week that it's Peapod division, which offers online shopping services in support of the Giant and Stop & Shop chains in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, has opened a facility in Coopersburg (Bucks County) that will allow the company to service Doylestown, Quakertown and Coopersburg.

Peapod services the city of Philadelphia and many of its surrounding areas, and considers itself the largest online grocer in the U.S.

Amazon planning major online grocery expansion

Earlier this month Reuters reported that Amazon is planning a major expansion of its online grocery service. According to the report, the expanded service will start in California and then possibly expand into 20 urban markets. And according to Globe Street, a national supermarket analyst says Amazon could be targeting 40 markets.

Amazon is no stranger to the grocery delivery business as it's been operating AmazonFresh for several years in Seattle, where the company is headquartered. In March, KTR Capital Partners, Amazon's development partner, acquired a 900,000 square foot complex in Woodbridge, NJ that it will renovate for Amazon. The facility was previously owned by C&S Wholesale Grocers.

Currently, Peapod, which is owned by Ahold (Giant, Stop & Shop), calls itself the largest online grocer. It serves more than 8 million households in the Northeast.

Ahold denies plan to reduce number of banner names in U.S.

Earlier this month a spokesperson for Ahold USA said rumors about reducing the number of banner names in the U.S. was false. A Dutch newspaper had said that Ahold wanted a greater presence and therefore might prefer one common U.S. banner.

Ahold currently operates under the Giant, Martin's and Stop and Shop names, as well as the Peapod online grocery service.

Perhaps they should combine the names. How does "Stop Martin's Giant Peapod" sound?

Ahold USA reports sales increase

As compared to the same time period a year ago, U.S. sales at European-based Ahold improved 4.3% in the fourth quarter to $6.1 billion, and identical-store sales improved by 1.4%. Ahold USA includes Giant, Stop & Shop, Martin's Food Markets and Peapod.

For the fiscal year, U.S. sales increased 3.1% to $25.8 billion. Worldwide, Ahold sales totaled $42.9 billion.

The company said it would keep its "eyes and ears open" about potential acquisitions but didn't say anything about Harris Teeter Supermarkets, which has been rumored to be on the sales block. Ahold and Publix are both rumored to be interested in Harris Teeter.

Performance during hurricane boosts Ahold sales

Giant Food parent Ahold reported last week that their 4.3% fourth quarter sales growth was helped by their ability to keep stores open during Hurricane Sandy. Sales in the U.S. for the full year were up 3.1% to $25.8 billion, with comparable sales up 1.9%.

Ahold also said that the 15 Genuardi's stores it acquired from Safeway performed in line with fourth quarter expectations.

Ahold operates Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle, Stop & Shop and Peapod online grocery service.