Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Inside PepsiCo's battle to remake Gatorade for the Kennedy era (FT)
• New Lululemon CEO faces compounding pressures as she takes over top job (Globe and Mail)
• France champagne output set to halve on heat waves and drought (Bloomberg)
• The scourge of A.1 (The New Yorker)
• Inside John Lewis' secret turnaround plan (FT)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Magnum's mini ice creams ease fears of weight-loss drugs (FT)
• ACCC vs Woolworths may have exposed the 'magic' of supermarket discounts - but how will it change the way we shop (The Guardian)
• Lululemon's new CEO is already on the hot seat - and she hasn't even started yet (WSJ)
• Two NJ malls separated by just four miles - and very different fates (Bloomberg)
• Tesco argues equal pay claim disregards 'economic reality' (FT)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Food influencing gets a feel good refresh (NYT)
• Can food actually be medicine? These doctors say yes (NYT)
• Conagra replacing CEO after 60% stock slide (Bloomberg)
• Unilever's $45 billion food deal spreads fear among brand loyalists (Bloomberg)
• Mamdani plans to open city-owned grocery store in East Harlem (NYT)

Stephan's Monday Picks

• Parisians have given into the lunch salad (NYT)
• The allure of 'slop bowls' fades as consumers tighten spending (NYT)
• A new generation of mall rats has arrived (WSJ)
• We got hooked on fast, free shipping. Now retailers are taking it away (WSJ)
• Kroger's new CEO will focus on price, customer experiences (Bloomberg)

 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

• 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 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 Wednesday Picks

• How Starbucks came undone (Slate)
• The year in food (The Atlantic)
• How we'll eat in 2026: More caution, more crunch (NYT)
• How an office romance sparked an overhaul at Nestle (WSJ)
• What it takes to preserve the 355-year-old Hudson's Bay charter (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Canada reports its biggest ever population decline (Globe and Mail)
• Kraft Heinz picks new CEO ahead of split (WSJ)
• Pepsi worked to keep prices higher to protect Walmart, FTC found (WSJ)
• DoorDash brings grocery shopping to ChatGPT, rivaling Instacart (Bloomberg)
• General Mills says stressed shoppers buying more on sale (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Coca-Cola names next CEO (WSJ)
• Lululemon chief executive Calvin McDonald to depart next month (WSJ)
• As the price of beef soars, restaurants are in 'code red' mode (NYT)
• Canada records surprise trade surplus after seven months of deficits (Globe and Mail)
• Shoppers' treasure hunt is on at TJ Maxx (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• The State of Fashion 2026 (McKinsey)
• The AI-first retailer (BCG)
• The quiet kingmaker slipping beauty brands into your hotel shower (Bloomberg)
• New York's bodegas are here to stay (NYT)
• From the archives (2014): Mike Duke leaves Walmart bigger, growing slowly (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, who parried Amazon, will retire (NYT)
• Walmart's CEO makes way for fellow he guided for new tech era (Bloomberg)
• Who is John Furner? Meet the Walmart insider named new CEO (WSJ)
• How Ruby Liu's contentious play for Hudson's Bay stores fell apart (Globe and Mail)
• Ikea's first non-Swedish CEO vows to preserve its Swedish roots (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Fermented Foods: A $61 billion gut-health boom lures entrepreneurs, 'kimchi-curious' (WSJ)
• Dave Lewis gets another turnaround challenge at Diageo (Bloomberg)
• Will retailers really deny premium credit cards (Bloomberg)
• Agenda for growth: Turning AI promise into impact (McKinsey)
• A crescent-shaped dessert that's a symbol of hospitality (NYT)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Fifteen of the CNE's wacky new foods, ranked from best to worst (Toronto Life)
• 8 new restaurant memoirs that stir the pot (WSJ)
• The calculus of value (Oaktree Capital)
• The forgotten history (and slippery science) of canola oil (Eater)
• From the archives (2013): Tough turnaround job awaits new Rona CEO Sawyer (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• A punchy $50 billion sales goal gets J. Martins mulling over M&A (Bloomberg)
• The quest to build a perfect protein bar (The New Yorker)
• Ikea kitchens coming to Best Buy as chains aim to revive sales (Bloomberg)
• Greg Ramier to replace retiring Pet Valu CEO Richard Malsbarger (Globe and Mail)
• End of de minimis alarms e-commerce sellers, consumers (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Are Kroger's secret shopper profiles costing you money (Consumer Reports)
• Federal Trade Commission drops pricing lawsuit against PepsiCo (WSJ)
• America's breakfast cereals are becoming less healthy, study finds (NYT)
• Nestle boss says predecessor 'weakened the fabric' of the company (FT)
• Read the full "Make America Healthy Again' report (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Generating creative strategy possibilities (Medium)
• What 350 retailers say about the future of merchandising (BCG)
• Former Burger King boss picked to oversee Panera, Pret a Manger (WSJ)
• The rising stakes of innovation in the consumer sector (BCG)
• Walmart warns about ability to 'absorb' tariff costs without raising prices (NYT)

Stephan's Monday Picks

• Big Farming's big battleground: an English village making a stand (Bloomberg)
• How Scheel's conquered Middle America (Washington Post)
• Chef Boyardee sold to private equity for $600 million (WSJ)
• Kohl's CEO fired for funneling business to romantic partner (WSJ)
• The MAHA-friendly app that's driving food companies crazy (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• The fall of Hudson's Bay: How Richard Baker presided over the failure of a retail icon (Globe and Mail)
• Empire CEO Michael Medline to retire in May 2026 (Globe and Mail)
• Once shunned by Japanese customers, Korean rice now flies off the shelves (NYT)
• My matcha-dusted, lemon-scented, tahini-drizzled adventures in flavormaxxing (NYT)
• Mountain Equipment Co. finds buyer with textile executive set to gain control (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Management tasks, responsibilities, practices, and playing to win (Medium)
• Why Canadian grocery shoppers are seeing discounts, despite tariffs (Globe and Mail)
• Kroger seeks to shuffle supply chain, sidestep tariffs (WSJ)
• More CEOs are getting fired. Blame FOMO boards (Bloomberg)
• Food beyond sustenance: A conversation with Mars' Shaid Shah (McKinsey)