Latest news with #grocery
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
"Basket size continues to improve": Empire CEO sees disconnect between consumer sentiment and in-store spending
Consumer reports say Canadians are cautious on spending, but customer behaviour tells a different story, says grocery chain Empire's ( president and CEO Michael Medline. 'There is no doubt that our customers' behaviour continues to improve,' said Medline on a conference call with analysts on Thursday following the release of fourth-quarter results. Empire operates Safeway, Sobeys, FreshCo, Farm Boy and Longo's, among other grocery retail brands. 'In Q4, we continued to see sales growth in our fresh department, which indicates customers are trading up from non-fresh to fresh products,' he said. 'Basket size continues to improve,' he added. Customers are also shopping at fewer stores than last year, and there's a continued decline in sales made through promotions. When people shop at fewer banner stores, it means the promotional penetration goes down, says Pierre St-Laurent, executive vice-president and chief operating officer. The company is also 'unable to reconcile' what the media says about inflation compared to what Empire's stores are experiencing, Medline adds. 'Let me be crystal clear,' he said, adding: 'We are not seeing inflation in our business outside of historical norms, and Empire's price inflation has remained very stable.' Empire's strategy to manage tariffs and protect its customers from price increases has included turning to more local, Canadian suppliers, tapping into non-U.S. alternative supply sources and working with suppliers to ensure that 'reactionary or unjustified costs' are not passed down to customers, Medline says. Much of the 'Buy Canada' sentiment, especially the preference for Canadian retailers, appears to have some staying power. 'It doesn't take a lot of people changing behaviour to make a real difference in retail, especially in the grocery business, and there are people who have changed their behaviours [and] will not go back,' Medline said. Empire plans to open 26 new stores in fiscal 2026, in hopes of gaining greater market share in pockets where the retailer doesn't have significant exposure compared to its competitors. In a release, the company notes its expansion efforts include Farm Boy, FreshCo and Voilà. 'Empire's underrepresentation in the discount channel is a relative disadvantage versus peers,' said RBC Dominion Securities analyst Irene Nattel and associate analyst Martin Gravel in a research note published June 10. For example, Loblaw has converted many of its conventional stores into discount banners. 'In our view, consumer spending is likely to continue to favour discount banners, and potentially reignite promotional intensity at a time when inflation remains elevated.' Over time, converting more stores to FreshCo should help reduce Empire's structural disadvantage in the discount segment, the note says. Empire raised its quarterly dividend to 22 cents per share, up from 20 cents. The dividend hike follows net earnings of $173 million ($0.74 per share) compared to $149 million ($0.61 per share) last year. As at 11:45 a.m. ET on Thursday, Empire's stock was trading at $54.56, compared to yesterday's close of $51.90. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Cyberattack On Whole Foods Supplier Disrupts Supply Chain Again
SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 11: A shelf is seen bare in the frozen foods section of a Whole Foods ... More store on June 11, 2025 in San Rafael, California. United Natural Foods, the primary food distributor to Whole Foods, has paused deliveries to Whole Foods stores after a cyberattack crippled its system. Some Whole Foods stores are experiencing empty shelves and freezers. (Photo by) On June 5, 2025, a cyberattack forced United Natural Foods Inc., the primary distributor for Whole Foods Market, to shut down its systems and halt deliveries to more than 30,000 grocery stores across North America. Nearly two weeks later, the company is still operating on a limited basis, relying on workarounds and manual processes. This was not a minor glitch but a direct hit to the digital backbone of the food supply chain. Grocery stores were deemed essential infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic, with workers hailed as frontline heroes. Now, in 2025, the breach at UNFI raises a chilling question: what a biological virus could not shut down, could a cyberattack succeed in crippling? If malicious actors can freeze the software that moves food, they can empty shelves, disrupt lives and trigger cascading economic impacts. 'Food security is national security,' one lawmaker warned earlier this year. Congress appears to agree and has introduced the bipartisan Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act of 2025. What happened, and what could have been done to stop it? Whole Foods Market locations across the U.S. experienced product shortages after a cyberattack on ... More its primary distributor, United Natural Foods Inc., disrupted supply chains in June 2025. UNFI, based in Providence, Rhode Island, is North America's largest publicly traded wholesale grocery distributor. The company operates more than 50 distribution centers and supplies approximately 30,000 locations, including supermarkets, independent grocers and food service providers. On June 5, the company detected unauthorized activity on its systems and immediately activated its incident response plan. As a precaution, it took portions of its network offline, which disrupted order processing, fulfillment and shipment capabilities. Law enforcement and external cybersecurity experts were called in to assist with the investigation. The outage was swift and severe. Automated systems for ordering and inventory went dark, forcing cancellations of employee shifts and a return to manual processes. Business operations were impacted across the board, resulting in significant delivery delays. UNFI did not publicly disclose the breach until June 9, when it filed an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company warned that disruptions would continue and outlined its reliance on manual workarounds to maintain critical grocery shipments while digital systems remained down. The downstream impact on retailers was immediate. Whole Foods Market, which depends heavily on UNFI, saw noticeable shortages in key categories. Refrigerated and perishable sections in many stores went empty. Store employees posted apology signs for out-of-stock items and explained delays. Customers posted photos of empty shelves across multiple locations. Independent grocers and regional chains also reported missed or delayed shipments. Many scrambled to find backup suppliers. Some succeeded, but others simply ran out of stock, leaving consumers with fewer options. Even the United States military's Defense Commissary Agency was affected. Fifty-three commissary stores reported delays. While some mitigated the issue with manual ordering, many still faced inventory shortfalls. A single breach had turned into a national supply chain shock. With just-in-time inventory models and limited buffers, grocers were vulnerable to even short-term digital outages. The result was fewer choices for shoppers and deeper concerns for the industry. As of mid-June, UNFI has not confirmed the source or type of cyberattack. The company has avoided calling it ransomware, and no group has claimed responsibility. Still, experts widely agree that the attack shares several characteristics typical of ransomware events, including a full system shutdown, containment procedures and prolonged disruption. While unproven, the consensus is that ransomware is the most likely explanation, especially given the sharp rise in attacks against the food and retail sectors. In similar cases, attackers have encrypted systems and demanded payment in exchange for restored access. On a June 10 earnings call, UNFI Chief Executive Officer Sandy Douglas said only that the company was managing through the incident and focused on safe restoration. The company has shared few details. It remains unclear whether any data was stolen or whether negotiations are ongoing. The lack of attribution could indicate behind-the-scenes engagement with law enforcement, which is common in complex ransomware cases. Until the investigation is complete, the grocery sector remains on high alert. The breach underscores just how vulnerable essential supply chains have become. The attack on UNFI is part of a broader trend of attacks on the food supply chain. Recent high-profile incidents include: Cybercriminals have proven they can cause real-world consequences across the food sector. 'The cyberattack on United Natural Foods is not an isolated incident but part of a growing trend,' said Jeff Wichman, incident response director at Semperis. The risk is no longer hypothetical. The attack has sparked urgent conversations throughout the grocery industry. Key priorities include: Cybersecurity is no longer optional. Food supply chains are essential and increasingly targeted. Resilience must be a top priority across every tier of the industry. By mid-June, UNFI had resumed shipments from most distribution centers and made progress restoring systems. Still, many operations rely on manual processes, and product shortages persist in some regions. The impact is ongoing and visible. This breach should serve as a turning point. Whole Foods and other retailers must invest in both digital defenses and supply chain resilience. Distributors must act with urgency. In the business of feeding families, downtime is unacceptable. The next attack could hit harder and spread faster. The time to prepare is now.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Morrisons has 'bounced back' from cyber attack, says boss
The chief executive of supermarket chain Morrisons has hailed the group's recovery from a cyber-attack. Rami Baitiéh said the grocery firm had 'bounced back strongly' since its technology provider, Blue Yonder, suffered a ransomware incident last November. Morrisons constructed a new warehouse management system to maintain its stock levels after the hack badly disrupted its operations. Its like-for-like revenue growth subsequently slowed to just 2.1 per cent in the quarter ending 26 January, compared to 4.9 per cent over the prior three months. However, the Bradford-based retailer reported that its comparable turnover increased by 3.9 per cent in the 13 weeks ending 27 April, while total sales expanded by 4.2 per cent to £3.9billion. Morrisons also revealed that its first-half underlying earnings before nasties climbed by 7.2 per cent to £344million. The group, which is owned by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, opened 42 franchise sites during the period, taking the overall number of Morrisons Daily convenience outlets to above 1,700. Alongside this, it began trials of several in-store schemes, introducing a new World Foods offer and a revamped fresh food counter concept, Market Street, that more closely resembles a farm shop. Baitiéh said: 'Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment, with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers' minds. 'Throughout the first half, we've worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty.' Morrisons further announced that it had raised its cost savings target to £1billion after surpassing its initial £700million goal during the last quarter. The company unveiled the original cost-cutting target two years ago to help finance price reductions for consumers struggling with inflationary pressures, caused mainly by soaring energy bills and supply chain disruptions. As part of these plans, Morrisons declared its intention in March to shut over 50 cafes, four pharmacies, multiple convenience stores and florists, and dozens of counters serving meat, fish, or hot food. About 365 jobs are at risk of permanent redundancy due to the closures, with the majority of those affected working in the convenience stores. Morrisons exited the convenience market in 2015 after selling its M local sites, but returned to the sector just months later with the launch of its Morrisons Daily brand. It currently holds an 8.4 per cent share of the UK grocery market, according to recent data from market research organisation Kantar.
CTV News
15 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Sobeys and Safeway parent Empire Co. reports Q4 profit up, raises dividend
STELLARTON — Empire Co. Ltd. raised its quarterly dividend as it reported its fourth-quarter profit and sales rose compared with a year ago. The grocery retailer, which operates Sobeys, Safeway and other banners, says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share, up from 20 cents. The increased payment to shareholders came as Empire says it earned a profit attributable to owners of the company of $173 million or 74 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended May 3. The result was up from a profit of $149 million or 61 cents per diluted share a year ago. Sales for the quarter totalled $7.64 billion, up from $7.41 billion in the same quarter last year. Same-store rose 3.0 per cent as same-store sales for fuel fell 7.8 per cent driven by lower prices due to the removal of the government carbon tax. Food same-store sales rose 3.8 per cent. On an adjusted basis, Empire says it earned 74 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 63 cents per diluted share a year ago. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Morrisons ‘bounces back' from cyber attack despite pressure on shoppers
Morrisons said it has 'bounced back' from a cyber attack which disrupted its Christmas trading, as it posted stronger sales and profits for the latest quarter. However, it came as the UK's fifth-largest supermarket chain warned that rising inflation is driving 'subdued' sentiment among shoppers. On Thursday, the Bradford-based grocery business revealed that group sales grew by 4.2% to £3.9 billion for the 13 weeks to April 27, compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Rami Baitieh, chief executive of Morrisons, said he was 'pleased to report that Morrisons has bounced back strongly' from disruption linked to a cyber attack on its technology supplier Blue Yonder in November. The retailer had previously said the incident caused slower sales growth in the quarter to January and highlighted that its recent turnaround progress was 'set back' by the issue. The company was unable to see its product availability and stock levels for four days, leading to reduced availability in stores over the key trading period. However, Morrisons saw sales growth accelerate from 4.2% in the previous quarter to 4.3%, with a like-for-like growth figure of 3.9%. Meanwhile, underlying earnings grew by 7.2% to £344 million for the first half of its financial year. Bosses said the business had seen sales supported by investment into pricing and promotions amid intense competition across the sector and pressure on customer budgets. Mr Baitieh added: 'Against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment with inflation driving subdued consumer sentiment, value remains at the forefront of customers' minds. 'Throughout the first half we've worked hard on helping customers through these challenges with a rigorous focus on price, promotions and meaningful rewards for loyalty.' It comes as the company pushes on with its major turnaround plan, which has seen it overhaul a raft of store operations. In March, Morrisons announced that 365 staff were at risk of redundancy because of plans to close some of its cafes, convenience stores, florists and fresh food counters. As a result, it said it would shut 52 cafes, all 18 market kitchens, 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies. In its latest update, Morrisons said it has launched new trials including a new-look Market Street section within its stores. Morrisons added that it made a further £58 million in cost savings over the latest quarter, amid plans to save £1 billion by the end of the 2026 financial year.
