Adidas to be replaced by Fanatics as the NHL’s official uniform supplier
March 21, 2023: The National Hockey League (NHL) announced on Tuesday that it has signed a 10-year deal with Fanatics, making the company the official uniform supplier for the league, starting with the 2024-2025 season. This marks the first time that Fanatics branding will appear on official player uniforms in professional sports. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Expansion to U.S. and Mainland Europe in the Works for Irish Drone Delivery Startup
March 21, 2023: Manna Aero, a drone delivery company that has already completed over 100,000 deliveries in Ireland, plans to expand to mainland Europe and the US in 2023. The company is currently achieving up to 1,000 deliveries per day in dense urban markets and has demonstrated the ability to do 2,000 to 3,000 flights per day across its multiple locations.
Nestlé discontinues Garden Gourmet and Wunda plant-based brands in UK and Ireland.
March 17, 2023: Nestlé has decided to discontinue the Garden Gourmet meat-free and Wunda alt-dairy brands in retail markets in the UK and Ireland, as well as the Mezeast brand of seasoning mixes, sauces, spreads, and pastes. The company said that it plans to focus on its core portfolio, as scaling new brands in retail requires significant and sustained investment. Garden Gourmet was launched as a range of animal-free burgers, mince, and sausages, while Wunda is a pea-based milk alternative. Mezeast, on the other hand, offers a range of seasoning mixes, sauces, spreads, and pastes from Middle Eastern cuisine.
John Lewis Partnership Reorganizes its Team in Response to Unfavorable Outcome
March 16, 2023: John Lewis Partnership, the owner of John Lewis department stores and Waitrose, is facing a decline in results, with the company expected to report its second full-year loss in March. The cost of living crisis has hit even Waitrose’s affluent customers, and strategic missteps, such as the late advertising of its Essentials range and the introduction of small stores, have also contributed to the decline. As a result, the company is shaking up its management team and bringing in Nish Kankiwala, a former executive of Hovis and Burger King, as its first group CEO. Kankiwala, who has little retail pedigree but extensive brand experience, will replace the previous CEO, Pippa Wicks, who unexpectedly left last month.
Regulations and weak demand stall progress of Amazon’s drone business
March 15, 2023: Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service, which has been in development for a decade, began testing in two small markets at the end of 2022, marking a step closer to its founder Jeff Bezos’ vision of drone delivery. However, since then, progress has been slow, with Prime Air required to complete several hundred hours of flying without any incidents and submit that data to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees the approval process for commercial deliveries.
As Gap sales decline, management changes are being driven by mounting losses.
March 14, 2023: Gap Inc. reported weak sales and earnings for Q4 2022, with a decline in net sales of 6% to $4.24 billion and comparable sales down 5%. The company’s struggles are attributed to a continuation of softness in demand and poor merchandising planning that has plagued the company throughout the year. The holiday selling season was challenging for all retailers, but Gap’s weak results highlight its need for strong merchant leadership.
Owner of EG America sells U.S. gas stations, mulls Asda merger
March 9, 2023: The Issa brothers, owners of Asda, have sold a portion of their US retail and gas station property empire for $1.5bn in a sale and leaseback deal. The EG Group has agreed to the deal with San Diego-based Realty Income Corporation. The company will continue to operate and trade the 415 stores under the Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Tom Thumb and Sprint banners. Approximately 80% of the total portfolio is based in the Northeast US, including around 116 properties in Massachusetts, 87 in New York, and in the Southeast 74 in Florida, the top three states in the portfolio.
Amazon postpones HQ2 Second Phase Construction as Twitter Owes Them At Least $70 Million
March 8, 2023: Twitter owes Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud services that power the app and is late in paying for cloud services it has not used, amounting to around $70 million. This has led to Amazon threatening withholding payments for advertising on the Twitter app. Twitter was contractual with AWS for cloud services before Elon Musk acquired the company. Despite barely using the services covered by the commitment, AWS is unwilling to renegotiate the contract. This news further complicates Musk’s quest to cut expenses to make up for the decline in advertising revenues since he took over the company.
Atrium Health partners with Best Buy to provide in-home hospital care.
March 6, 2023: Best Buy’s Geek Squad, known for installing TVs and home theatre systems, is now setting up virtual hospital rooms in patients’ homes. The consumer electronics retailer has partnered with Atrium Health, a North Carolina-based healthcare system, to enable a hospital-at-home program. The Geek Squad will install technology that remotely monitors patients’ vitals and trains them on how to use the devices, with the data securely shared with doctors and nurses through Current Health’s telemedicine hub.
As a cost-cutting measure, Amazon is set to shut down eight of its Go convenience stores.
March 6, 2023: Amazon has announced plans to shut down eight of its Go convenience stores in the United States. The move is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce costs and pull back its physical footprint. Two Go stores in New York City, two in Seattle, and four in San Francisco will be closed on April 1, 2023. The company stated that it would work to help affected employees find other roles within the company.
