Two months after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) completed a review of Kroger and Albertsons’ proposed supermarket mega-merger and filed a lawsuit to block the deal, the grocery chains have added more store locations and assets to an updated version of their definitive divestiture agreement with C&S Wholesalers.
As speculated last week, the next challenge for the proposed $24.6 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons is coming from the federal government. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today announced it has filed a lawsuit to block the merger in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, alongside a bipartisan group of nine attorneys generals from Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming.
The founders of the Craft Beer Cellar retail franchise and its flagship retail store and restaurant have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation for both business entities (Craft Beer Cellar Group and Craft Beer Initiative LLC), according to filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Constellation Brands overtook Molson Coors as the No. 2 beer category vendor by dollar sales in multi-outlet grocery and convenience stores (MULO+C) in 2023, according to market research firm Circana, which shared its year-end report. Constellation grew off-premise dollars by $1.092 billion to $8.446 billion through December 31.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that Total Wine & More “will continue to evade its production obligations absent an enforcement order” from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The agency and the national beverage-alcohol retailer are at odds over whether Retail Services & Systems, Inc. (RSSI), Total Wine’s parent company,… Read more »
Whole Foods principal buyer for beer Mary Guiver highlighted the growth of non-alcoholic (NA) beer, but cautioned suppliers that the natural grocery chain is near its limit during a panel discussion at the Beer Institute’s annual meeting in Denver earlier this month.
Brewers with seasonal or variety pack placements in Walmart stores may be in for a bumpy ride. The Beer Industry Electronic Commerce Coalition threw up a warning flare last week that the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the U.S. would be mandating that all seasonal brands and variety packs use unique UPC codes, starting in early 2024.
Flavor is at the heart of discount supermarket chain Aldi’s summer strategy. As part of Alid’s seasonal reset, the company will add 18 private label alcoholic beverages (11 new and seven repeat items) all priced under $14 to its shelves starting Friday, April 21. Those products range from hard tea to hard seltzer, cocktail-inspired pouches to freeze pops, and beer to wine.
Retailers’ coldboxes are “a battlefield” – particularly in the increasingly crowded beyond beer space – but cider is primed to “thrive,” according to Mary Guiver, Whole Foods Market’s global principle category merchant for beer, during a retailer panel last week at CiderCon 2023 in Chicago.
Beer and flavored malt beverage (FMB) sales were up +2% in Q4, while hard seltzer sales declined -3% in the same period, according to the most recent Beverage Bytes survey conducted by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.
Non-alcoholic beverage boutique Boisson has partnered with alcohol e-commerce platform Drizly to offer its catalog of over 125 NA brands to consumers across the country.
Kroger has announced a definitive agreement on a $24.6 billion deal to acquire Albertsons, bringing the country’s two largest grocery chains together.
Between non-alcoholic spirits, beers, wines and mocktails, the options for consumers have boomed over the past few years, but the rise of this category has also presented a challenge for retail buyers – raising questions of where in the store these zero proof products belong. Now, as retailers expand their NA offerings, some stores such as Washington-based Town & Country Markets, are creating sets exclusively dedicated to the new wave of non-alcoholic adult beverages.
Adrienne Freeman, Walmart craft beer merchant, discusses bringing the Black is Beautiful collaboration beer project to the big box retailer’s shelves and efforts to support more diverse entrepreneurs on a special “Retail Pulse” edition of Brewbound Frontlines.
