Stephan's Thursday Picks

• The judgment bottleneck: Balancing AI and human speeds in strategy (McKinsey)
• The chocolate conspiracy (Grub Street)
• Albertsons and Kroger to call ex-CEOs to testify over failed deal (Bloomberg)
• It's sliced cheese on bread. And it's rocking Copenhagen's world (NYT)
• Unilever agrees to sell Welly bandage business to private equity firm (WSJ)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• US avocado giant looks beyond Mexico as cartels meddle with supply (FT)
• The fish farming industry's dirty secrets (NYT)
• Kroger plans to slash 37% of corporate jobs in the next three years (Bloomberg)
• Albertsons wants $8 billion from Kroger after failed merger (WSJ)
• From the archives (2020): How Dave Lewis saved Tesco (FT)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Boots is an iconic brand - but challenges await the Weston family (Globe and Mail)
• Domino's CEO to focus on boosting orders after growth miss (Bloomberg)
• Sweetgreen's plan to shed its expensive salad image (WSJ)
• America's favourite fruit is being bruised by the Iran war (NYT)
• Albertsons pulls full-year guidance, plans business review (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• When brands lose their magic (FT)
• Walmart posts lowest sales growth in over six years (WSJ)
• US alcoholic beverage consumption stabilizes at historic low (Bloomberg)
• Albertsons CIO says its shoppers are buying more - thanks to AI (WSJ)
• Cold water cup noodles sell out in Japan as surprise summer hit (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Albertsons plummets on forecast cut amid soft grocery demand (Bloomberg)
• Inside Taco Bell's rush to contain cyclospora (WSJ)
• 7-Eleven owner taps ex-Dr Pepper executive to lead business (Bloomberg)
• India's weak monsoon revives push for millet (Bloomberg)
• An FDA panel just endorsed these unproven peptides (Wired)

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

• The aisle-prowling Albertsons CEO taking on Kroger (WSJ)
• Can Lububu, this ugly elf, make China cool (NYT)
• Kraft Heinz is ditching artificial dyes (WSJ)
• Swiss chocolate dynasty doubles down on private equity (Bloomberg)
• Chobani CEO says food system needs immigration to function (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Albertsons sales grow on boost from pharmacy business (WSJ)
• A scientist is paid to study maple syrup. He's also paid to promote it (NYT)
• At China's wholesale hub, U.S. orders have suddenly halted. One example: socks (WSJ)
• HBC employees could use disability benefits with company's court restructuring (Globe and Mail)
• The colourful cult of Le Creuset (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Dollar Tree is selling Family Dollar for $1 billion (NYT)
• Hudson's Bay managers will get up to $3 million in bonuses, but workers will get no severance (CBC)
• Kroger fights Albertsons suit over failed $24.6 billion deal (Bloomberg)
• Couche-Tard sees strong interest in U.S. stores for Seven & i deal (Bloomberg)
• Coca-Cola sites were among secret targets of EU antitrust raids (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Big Food wants to feed our protein obsession (Bloomberg)
• Amazon, king of online retail, can't seem to make its physical stores work (WSJ)
• What does 'made in Canada' mean (Globe and Mail)
• Albertsons shouldn't make the same mistake as Walmart (Bloomberg)
• Leblanc planning 2025 federal budget, asks ministers for plans to respond to U.S. protectionism (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• A 7-Eleven heirs $50 billion fight to keep the company in the family (NYT)
• Albertsons is mad at Kroger (Bloomberg)
• Nearly a fifth of Canada's food production facilities deemed low risk without being assessed, data reveal (Globe and Mail)
• Walmart has a tough battle ahead in India (Bloomberg)
• Why Christmas trees in Europe are so much cheaper than in Canada (CBC)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• What killed a $20 billion merger? Albertsons says Kroger did (WSJ)
• The secret history of risotto (The New Yorker)
• Inflation is coming down, but prices won't stand still in 2025 (Bloomberg)
• Canada's inflation rate edges down to 1.9% (CBC)
• Lego flowers are a hot holiday gift for kids, adults (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• How Staples Canada is pivoting as tech joins pens and paper in the new hybrid world (The Star)
• The story of the great Lego spill (NYT)
• Warmer temperatures have put chinook salmon - and a way of life - in grave danger (CBC)
• The Kroger-Albertsons deal has a chance (FT)
• How machines learned to discover drugs (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Rexall's U.S. owner sells pharmacy chain to Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill (Globe and Mail)
• Retail's outperformers: Lessons in value creation (McKinsey)
• Couche-Tard says it is 'confident' about takeover as questions swirl over price (Globe and Mail)
• Pivotal week ahead in Kroger-Albertsons case as F.T.C. lands early blows (WSJ)
• From the archives (2016): Rexall takeover shakes up the drugstore industry (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Like it or not - more of us are bagging our own groceries (CBC)
• Small grocers feel squeezed by suppliers, and shoppers bear the pain (Washington Post)
• Kroger and Albertsons confront a skeptical F.T.C. in court (NYT)
• Little known company key to $20 billion Kroger-Albertsons deal (WSJ)
• What went wrong for Nestle CEO Mark Schneider (Reuters)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Shoppers Drug Mart strikes partnership with blood testing startup Truvian Health (Globe and Mail)
• How retailers can attract and retain a strong frontline workforce in 2024 (McKinsey)
• Kroger-Albertsons deal is haunted by 'spectacular' previous failure (BloombergBloomberg)
• Plan Automation seeing growing demand for x-ray machines for food (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (2015): Albertsons struggling after trying to digest Haggen stores (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The Goal and Playing to Win (Medium)
• China's bubble tea boom creates a half-dozen billionaires (Bloomberg)
• Kroger, Albertsons to sell more stores, looking to appease regulators (WSJ)
• The truth about organic milk (The Atlantic)
• Modern clothing has a plastics problem (Globe and Mail)

 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 Wednesday Picks

• Kroger-Albertsons merger faces long road before approval (NYT)
• Consumer prices plateau as inflation slows to pre-pandemic levels (WSJ)
• Food firms raising prices unnecessarily, says Tesco's John Allan (BBC)
• Canada's opportunity to be a global food superpower (Policy Magazine)
• The corporate cafeteria is broken. So how to feed workers (NYT)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• FTC asks Kroger for more information on Albertsons deal (WSJ)
• Dollarama hikes sales forecast as high inflation drives shoppers to seek cheaper groceries, household goods (Globe and Mail)
• Secrets of the Christmas tree trade (Curbed)
• Black Friday status dims as sales in stores fall short (WSJ)
• From the archives (1995): Dwayne's world (Mother Jones)