Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Something went terribly wrong with online ads (The Atlantic)
• Surge pricing for burgers and shakes? Wendy's giving it a whirl (NYT)
• Luxury retail is about 'emotions, not transactions' (McKinsey)
• Exclusive deals between insurance companies and pharmacies becoming more prevalent (Globe and Mail)
• Wendy's makes it clear after backlash: No surge pricing (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• I spent a week rescuing food from the trash. Here's what I ate (NYT)
• This ruinous grocery store merger must be stopped (The New Republic)
• 30 chefs open up about tipping, Gen Z cooks, and you, the customer (NYT)
• Shein said to weigh London IPO amid U.S. resistance to listing (Bloomberg)
• Macy's will close 150 stores but expand Bloomingdale's, Bluemercury (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The doctrine of relentless utility (Medium)
• The return grift is over (The Cut)
• FTC sues to stop Kroger-Albertsons grocery store deal (NYT)
• Vending machine error reveals secret face image database of college students (Ars Technica)
• A foreign grocer does not simply walk into the Canadian market (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• 2023 Letter to Shareholders (Berkshire Hathaway)
• Inside the lab where Canadian Tire is inventing thousands of new gadgets (Globe and Mail)
• A new startup wants to turn the sugar you eat into fibre (Wired)
• What's behind rising food costs in Canada's North (CBC)
• Loblaw profit, sales gain as inflation-weary shoppers visit Discount banners (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• The life and death of the American mall (Atlas Obscura)
• To cure burnout, embrace seasonality (NYT)
• How Bob Moore, of Bob's Red Mill, got grocery store famous (NYT)
• Tesco changes how it shows Clubcard prices after row (BBC)
• From the archives (2014): The couple that transformed the way we shop (BBC)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Canada's inflation rate fell to 2.9%. Here's what happens next (Globe and Mail)
• Will food prices stop rising quickly? Many companies say yes (NYT)
• We've never understood how hunger works. That might be about to change (MIT Technology Review)
• Woolworths grocery business quits amid price gouging claims (BBC)
• Walmart eases supplier delivery demands as stocking pressures recede (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• House of Commons committee tells Loblaw and Walmart to sign grocery code or risk legislation (CBC)
• Young shoppers keep cosmetics hot despite inflation (Globe and Mail)
• The twilight of the American sommelier (NYT)
• The secrets of the pet industry (The Guardian)
• What happens when TikTok is your marketing department (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The power of celebration (Medium)
• Chocolate chip ice cream has fallen out of favor (NYT)
• Exclusive deals between insurance companies and pharmacies becoming more prevalent in Canada (Globe and Mail)
• Dunkin's Ben Affleck Super Bowl merch is hot right now (WSJ)
• It's not just wages. Retailers are mistreating employees in more insidious ways (NYT)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Colorado sues to stop $25 billion Kroger-Albertsons merger (Reuters)
• Roark said to weigh IPO of Dunkin' owner Inspire Brands (Bloomberg)
• The spend, spend, spend strategy behind Temu's rapid ascent in America (WSJ)
• Canadian Tire profit falls nearly 68% as consumers remain wary amid uncertain economy (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (2013): Kroger buys rival grocer Harris Teeter, citing potential for growth (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Retailers and health systems can improve care together (HBR)
• Instacart lays off 7% of staff amid rising competition and food costs (WSJ)
• Waitrose cuts prices after losing out to rival supermarkets (Bloomberg)
• Nothing says status like a hotel bathrobe (NYT)
• Walmart in talks to buy TV maker Vizio (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• As war expands, Sudan could face a national famine by July (Globe and Mail)
• What happened to The Body Shop (CBC)
• Temu will bludgeon you into knowing its name (The Atlantic)
• The revolution that died on its way to dinner (NYT)
• Couche-Tard CEO made over $132 million from stock options over the last year (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The wrong kind of capital (Medium)
• Competition Bureau investigating restrictive real estate clauses in Canadian grocery sector (CBC)
• Will plants ever fertilize themselves (The New Yorker)
• How Canada's grocery supply chain works (National Post)
• The grocery wars are unmasking Canadian politics, and it's great (National Post)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• DoorDash aims to expand overseas, CEO Tony Xu says (Bloomberg)
• McDonald's, Costco, and other companies crack down on child labour in the U.S. (NYT)
• Cocoa hits record on tight supply, threatening pricier treats (Bloomberg)
• Indigo reports 70% drop in quarterly profit as it borrows more money from controlling shareholder (Globe and Mail)
• Target weighs paid membership program akin to Amazon Prime (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• $7 million for 30 seconds? To advertisers, the Super Bowl is worth it (NYT)
• 'Scared' food CEOs are calling Ozempic maker for advice (Bloomberg)
• Who created butter chicken? India's great curry clash (NYT)
• Sainsbury's to cut costs by £1 billion and launch share buyback (FT) 
  
• From the archives (2020): Want to be more productive? Try doing less (HBR)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• For retailers, unlocking the mysteries of cost (BCG)
• The hottest beer in America doesn't have alcohol (WSJ)
• Roger Martin on the relevance of management models (Roland Berger)
• Ottawa's bid to woo a foreign grocer is a nothingburger (Globe and Mail)
• Costco's longtime finance chief and its 'voice to Wall Street' is stepping down (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• AI fuels a new era of product placement (NYT)
• Should Amazon be responsible for everything it sells and ships (WSJ)
• What if Ozempic is just a good thing (New York Magazine)
• HMV makes comeback through Toys 'R' Us locations (Financial Post)
• Manulife backtracks plan to give Loblaws exclusive right to fill prescriptions for some drug plan members (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Is or is not the opposite stupid on its face (Medium)
• Amazon made an AI bot to talk you through buying more stuff on Amazon (The Verge)
• Consumers look to Value Village for a bargain. Many are finding 'ridiculous' markups (CBC)
• Unlikely allies want to bar JBS from U.S. stock markets (NYT)
• Inflation has fallen. Why are groceries still so expensive (Washington Post)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Loblaw CEO Per Bank isn't here to be famous (Globe and Mail)
• How Emily Weiss if fixing Glossier (FT)
• Made in Bangladesh (CBC)
• Indigo's controlling shareholder looks to take the company private (Globe and Mail)
• Big Milk's supply management sank yet another trade deal - it holds too much influence (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Is self-checkout a failed experiment (Knowledge@Wharton)\
• M&A in retail: Why scale is still paramount in grocery (Bain)
• Walmart to add 150 U.S. stores in five-year expansion drive (NYT)
• Walmart announced three-for-one stock split as shares hover below all-time high (CNBC)
• From the archives (1974): Cooking with Julia Child (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Food for thought: Canada's plan to better inform people what they're buying at the grocery store (Globe and Mail)
• Novo Nordisk smashes past $500 billion value on Wegovy frenzy (Bloomberg)
• Minister Champagne says he's working phones to court new players for Canadian grocery market (Globe and Mail)
• Amazon is now charging Prime  members extra for ad-free streaming (WSJ)
• Rogers Sugar reaches tentative deal with Vancouver refinery deals (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• For retailers, business is back and landlords say no more discounts (WSJ)