Stephan's Friday Picks

• The booming business of luxury grocery stores (WSJ)
• How Jeff Bezos brought down the Washington Post (The New Yorker)
• Canada's food price misery has company south of the border (TD)
• McDonald's says its value campaign is paying off (WSJ)
• From the archives (2009): Food fighter (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Kraft Heinz pauses plan to split into two companies (WSJ)
• Fibermaxxing is a diet trend even nutritionists can love (Bloomberg)
• Toys 'R' Us filling leaves a slew of creditors in its wake (Globe and Mail)
• The HBR interview with outgoing Walmart CEO Doug McMillon (HBR)
• Coca-Cola is sticking with its pricing plan, CEO says (WSJ)

Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Target to lay off 500 workers as new CEO shakes up leadership team (WSJ)
• Pizza supreme (Slate)
• Red Lobster CEO says seafood chain needs to get smaller (WSJ)
• What fast food's downturn in the US says about the economy (FT)
• Coca-Cola rises on higher volume, prices (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• The Utah mom who got the world hooked on 'dirty soda' (WSJ)
• Tainted baby milk hits billionaire clan's empire (Bloomberg)
• Ferrero wants to conquer America's breakfast tables (Bloomberg)
• Kroger names Greg Foran as its next CEO (WSJ)
• Italian olive oil farmers say flood of imports is causing price collapse (FT)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• 3G Capital: Built to own (Colossus)
• America has reached peak sauce, and some people won't leave home without it (Washington Post)
• New Nestle boss plots overhaul to reignite growth (FT)
• Hershey's outlook tops estimates on price hikes, new items (Bloomberg)
• Snack inflation is biting Canadians harder than Americans (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• The expensive decision Walmart's CEO made that changed everything (WSJ)
• Why is there a martini on every menu right now (Bloomberg)
• How food delivery is reshaping mealtime (NYT)
• How specialty retail is getting its groove back (BCG)
• From the archives (2019): Uber Eats opens up about the future of food delivery in Canada (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Let them eat goo (NYT)
• Food and drink companies suffer as US shopper sentiment sinks (FT)
• Nestle adds Deutsche Bank for water business stake sale (Bloomberg)
• Walmart's new CEO asks workers to air paint points in first memo (Bloomberg)
• Target's new CEO acknowledges 'lack of trust' with shoppers (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• The new key to restaurant success? A simple but clever model (NYT)
• MPs agree to fast-track GST credit bill through Commons (Globe and Mail)
• PepsiCo to cut prices for Doritos and other snacks (WSJ)
• What happened to hype brands (FT)
• Walmart joins tech giants with $1 trillion market valuation (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Fixing strategy (Medium)
• Lululemon blames customers again after see-through leggings fiasco (Bloomberg)
• America's convenience store conundrum (The Atlantic)
• With generic Ozempic coming to Canada, the race is on (Globe and Mail)
• Nestle's chief is in turnaround mode. He drinks eight cups of coffee a day (NYT)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Can department stores be fun again (NYT)
• Saks has to look luxury to sell luxury (Bloomberg)
• How chatbots might reshape retail (FT)
• Walmart's new CEO takes over with $1 trillion valuation within reach (Bloomberg)
• So long, frozen juice from concentrate. The once-popular canned drink leaves shelves this year (CBC)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Amazon to lay off around 16,000 corporate employees (WSJ)
• Amazon still doesn't understand brick-and-mortar retail (Bloomberg)
• Ocado's Canadian partner closes warehouse in fresh setback (Bloomberg)
• Costco is sued over preservatives in its $5 rotisserie chicken (NYT)
• From the archives (2018): The British future of grocery e-commerce is coming to Canada (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Goodwill thrives as Americans stretch their wallets (NYT)
• Americans travel the world only to end up at Costco (WSJ)
• How food inflation is making Canadians miserable (Globe and Mail)
• How the world's largest franchise restaurant operator uses AI (McKinsey)
• Starbucks says turnaround 'ahead of schedule' as sales rebound (NYT)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Amazon to shut down all Amazon Go and Amazon Frsh stores (WSJ)
• Carney unveils hike to GST credit, other measures targeting affordability (Globe and Mail)
• Daniel Kretinsky launches 'friendly' takeover bid for Fnac Darty (FT)
• BMO to replace Air Miles with Blue Rewards as Shell leaves program for Scene+ (Globe and Mail)
• What Starbucks CEO says has changed, and what he says is next on his list (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Becoming an effective strategy-led CEO advisor (Medium)
• As grocery prices soar, this German grocery store is conquering America (Washington Post)
• How grocery giants control who can sell food in your neighbourhood (CBC)
• Nestle's new baby formula woes challenge CEO's revamp plan (Bloomberg)
• AI tries product development (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Gen Z rejects 'radioactive' diet sodas for zero sugar ones (Bloomberg)
• The government wants you to kick your diet soda habit (WSJ)
• Berkshire Hathaway considers selling $7.7B stake in Kraft Heinz (FT)
• Multiple Toys 'R' Us locations are closing, landlords say they are owed unpaid rent (Globe and Mail)
• P&G rises following assurances U.S. sales are bouncing back (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• McKinsey challenges graduates to use AI chatbot in recruitment overhaul (FT)
• The Americans who are going a whole month without buying anything (WSJ)
• P&G rises following assurances US sales are bouncing back (Bloomberg)
• Smithfield Foods to buy Nathan's Famous (WSJ)
• From the archives (2009): Closing the book on Gourmet (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Can a $1,699 Espresso machine help Walmart challenge Amazon (WSJ)
• Grocery prices are high, and economic morale is low (CBC)
• Amazon joins the big-box league with its largest-ever store (WSJ)
• Red Bull boosts can sales at fastest pace since pandemic (Bloomberg)
• Can water sommeliers convince us to pay more for premium H2O (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• The grocery store at the center of San Francisco's latest housing battle (WSJ)
• Why the world has started stockpiling food again (FT)
• Drinks maker left with lake of unsold spirits as demand drops (FT)
• After Saks's collapse - a bitter rift with Amazon (WSJ)
• Walmart expands its gear selection in bid to lure musicians (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Heroic modes and strategy (Medium)
• Humble Hershey's gets a marketing makeover (WSJ)
• There are 29,000 people on a waitlist for beans - and it's not for the fiber (WSJ)
• Florida heads for smallest orange crop in nearly a century (Bloomberg)
• Cocoa gets cheaper but chocolate makers still holding back (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• The impact of AI in retail merchandising (McKinsey)
• Walmart names new U.S. chief, group heads ahead of CEO change (Bloomberg)
• Beyond Meat tests protein beverage in bid for much-needed growth (WSJ)
• Consumers are feeling squeezed. Here's how CPG companies can adapt (BCG)
• Sauce of deals? Century-old Japanese brand gets taste for M&A (FT)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Inside the mad dash to save Saks, America's last luxury retailer (WSJ)
• What does the Saks bankruptcy mean for customers (NYT)
• Bargain grocer Aldi seizes the moment in an era of higher prices (Washington Post)
• Manitoba won't increase the price of 1L cartons of milk: premier (CBC)
• From the archives (2004): Consider the lobster (Gourmet)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• The reinvention of America's shopping malls (FT)
• How the MAHA era is changing grocery aisles (WSJ)
• Saks files for bankruptcy as department stores fight for survival (NYT)
• McDonald's lowering value meal prices as cash-strapped customers cut back (Globe and Mail)
• Google bets on AI-based shopping with new AI agents for retailers (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Gourmet Magazine is back It's not exactly sanctioned (NYT)
• Former Neiman Marcus chief is picked to lead Saks through bankruptcy (WSJ)
• Shopify embraces agentic AI with Google, Microsoft partnerships (Globe and Mail)
• Daily Bread to cut off Scarborough food bank after reporting financial concerns to police (CBC)
• Ozempic users actually spend more dining out. Smart restaurants are adapting (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Strategy and opportunistic holdup (Medium)
• Target's stores become an ICE battleground in hometown Minneapolis (WSJ)
• Amazon is planning Walmart-style big-box store near Chicago (Bloomberg)
• Lululemon sees quarterly profit at high end after strong holiday sales (WSJ)
• Walmart expanding drone delivery to hundreds more stores (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Eric Schlosser: We still live in a fast food nation (The Guardian)
• Do you want your food made by an AI robot (Bloomberg)
• Saks closes in on bankruptcy financing package (WSJ)
• Singapore opens world's tallest vertical farm (WSJ)
• Rise of AI chatbots for online shopping boosts analyst hopes for Shopify's growth (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• The curious cult of Aldi (Bloomberg)
• Amazon AI tool blindsides merchants by offering products without their knowledge (Bloomberg)
• Can we save wine from wildfires (The New Yorker)
• Morgan Housel: A few things I'm pretty sure about (Collaborative Fund)
• From the archives (2012): The $1.6 billion grocery flop: Tesco poised to quit the U.S. (WSJ)

Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Top US egg producer says avian flu still 'extremely strong' (Bloomberg)
• Albertsons narrows full year forecast as Medicare pricing changes take effect (WSJ)
• Ikea to close seven stores in China as part of new focus on smaller outlets (WSJ)
• Why every decent restaurant has a product in the grocery store now (Bloomberg)
• RFK-Jr backed dietary guidelines say to avoid processed food, double protein (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Ikea battles Amazon and Temu as market shifts bring pain (Bloomberg)
• America is falling out of love with pizza (WSJ)
• Claire's enters UK insolvency as Modella blames high street pain (Bloomberg)
• AB InBev buys back $3 billion stake in U.S. metal container facility to boost supply security(WSJ)
• Ford vows to ban Crown Royal from LCBO after plant shutdown (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The hidden where-to-play element in strategy (Medium)
• Green toothpaste tubes and the new antitrust battleground (Bloomberg)
• Luxury discounting on the rise after years of price increases bite (FT)
• How a $3 grocery bag become an international status symbol (WSJ)
• Dutch Bros is out-Starbucksing its rivals with the sugariest drinks (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• The cult of Costco (The Atlantic)
• 2025 was the year of the rotisserie chicken (NYT)
• How Japanese scallops became a pawn in diplomatic tensions with China (NYT)
• How Kraft Heinz lost its lock on mac and cheese - and American shoppers (WSJ)
• Saks CEO steps down ahead of expected bankruptcy filing (WSJ)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• The Nordic diet can help you sleep better and live longer (National Geographic)
• How a good old-fashioned boycott got Canadians to trade Kentucky bourbon for Canadian whisky (CBC)
• Ocado ends exclusivity terms after setbacks to Kroger deal (Bloomberg)
• Fast fashion, delivery apps tap India's next billion customers (Bloomberg)
• From the archives (1993): Starbucks to taste New York at last (NYT)