Stephan's Friday Picks

• Reinventing a giant: Galen Weston uses the founder mindset in a family empire (YouTube)
• Consumer spending is up, but that signal no longer means what it once did (BCG)
• Adult happy meals lure even high-earning American diners (NYT)
• Metro and FGF enter into a strategic partnership for Premiere Moisson's commercial bakery manufacturing operations (Metro)
• From the archives (2007): Can Galen Weston Jr. save Loblaws (Toronto Life)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Metro delays raising food prices as customers turn to discount stores (Globe and Mail)
• How Chobani turned Greek yogurt into an American staple (Bloomberg)
• AB Foods to spin off Primark (FT)
• How Nestle's pioneering China businesses fell into disarray (FT)
• From the archives (2000): Can Amazon make it (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• The brutal trade-off that will decide the future of food (Vox)
• How the right operating model can fix a strategy that falls short (McKinsey)
• Amazon to offer same-day grocery delivery in 2,300 cities (Bloomberg)
• Walmart expands 10% employee discount to groceries (WSJ)
• Metro's third quarter results fall short of estimates as Buy Canadian trend begins to lose steam (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Unlocking Canada's superpower potential (FT)
• Hudson's Bay lenders should not be given control over restructuring, landlords argue (Globe and Mail)
• Peppercorns are the hottest thing on menus across America (Bloomberg)
• There are two kinds of credit cards (The Atlantic)
• From the archives (2008): Metro to dump A&P, Dominion names (CBC)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• World's biggest pork producer Smithfield raises $522 million in IPO (Bloomberg)
• Metro reports higher first-quarter profit, boosts dividend after 'transition' year (Globe and Mail)
• Asheville's big attraction, its food scene, tries to hit reset (NYT)
• CVS wants to help you spend less time in CVS (WSJ)
• Metro CEO says weak loonie is putting pressure on food costs (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Metro plans to open more discount stores next as inflation-hit shoppers hunt for value (Globe and Mail)
• Target's stock plunges 21% on weak sales ahead of holiday season (NYT)
• Alleged potato cartel accused of conspiring to raise prices of frozen fries, tater tots across U.S. (CBC)
• Ozempic could crush the junk food industry. But it is fighting back (NYT)
• Canada's largest bottled water producer to pull out of Ontario (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Metro quarterly profit drops 14.5% (Globe and Mail)
• Michael Mauboussin: Valuation multiples (Morgan Stanley)
• Telus Health 2024 Drug Trends Report (Telus)
• Foxtrot, Dom's Kitchen & Market closing all locations (Eater)
• How matzo is made (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Loblaw profit rises more than 11% as grocery, drug store sales continue to climb (Globe and Mail)
• The corner lot where all the world's Vegemite comes from (NYT)
• Furniture retailer Bad Boy to file for bankruptcy over financial troubles, debts to vendors (Globe and Mail)
• How China took over the world's online shopping carts (Rest of World)
• Metro sales, profit rise as shoppers flock to grocer's discount banners (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Metro alleges Loblaw falsely implicated them in bread price-fixing scheme (Globe and Mail)
• Those Doritos too expensive? More stores are offering their own alternatives (NYT)
• Self-checkout is a failed experiment (The Atlantic)
• Casual dining chains are back (Eater)
• From the archives (2014): Maple Leaf restructuring heats up with sale of Canada Bread (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• California's ban on red food dye puts FDA on the spot (NYT)
• Amazon's Prime Day flashes warning sign for retailers (Bloomberg)
• Metro claiming against George Weston for false price-fixing disclosures (Metro)
• Goodwill tries to figure out online commerce (NYT)
• Warehouses are calling in the gig workers (WSJ)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• The rise, and fall of the direct-to-consumer model (Rita McGrath)
• Amazon tells staff "it's probably not going to work out" unless they visit the office three days a week (The Guardian)
• Dollar stores flash warning signs on consumer spending (WSJ)
• Metro workers accept deal to end monthlong strike (Financial Post)
• From the archives (2001): It's a natural pairing: P&G sells Jif peanut butter to J.M. Smucker (WSJ)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• London's Oxford Street battles new retail scourge: Candy stores (WSJ)
• Online ratings are broken (The Atlantic)
• How continuous learning keeps leaders relevant in the age of AI (MIT Sloan)
• Governments have put $1 billion toward making better meat alternatives. A lot more is needed (Vox)
• Metro and Unifor reach tentative deal with grocery workers' union after monthlong strike (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Sam's Club's war against Costco started with $1.38 hot dog combo (Bloomberg)
• Sustainability in packaging 2023 (McKinsey)
• Unifor refuses Metro's request for a mediator as Ontario grocery strike continues (Globe and Mail)
• Are chatbots a threat to fine dining (The Guardian)
• Using a credit card? At these restaurants it will cost you (NYT)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• L'Occitane's boss in advanced talks on $6.5 billion buyout (Bloomberg)
• Metro reports jump in sales, profit as Toronto-area strike continues (Globe and Mail)
• A few stories about decisions (Collaborative Fund)
• Canadian Tire reports profit, revenue drop in quarter, withdraws three-year forecast (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (2010): Loblaw COO leaves to head British grocer (CBC)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Whose fault is obesity? Primarily the food industry's (Washington Post)
• Erewhon, the cult favourite luxury grocer to the stars, gets a digital makeover (Fast Company)
• Local malls, stuck in 'death spiral', plunge in value (WSJ)
• Metro workers vow to stay 'off the job' as long as it takes as strike enters 3rd day (CBC)
• Amazon mastered the internet. Grocery stores are another story (Washington Post)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Shein tries to shed its Chinese image (WSJ)
• Ocado shares surge on Amazon takeover rumors (BBC)
• Metro grocery workers enter bargaining armed with 100% strike mandate (Globe and Mail)
• Beyond Meat wannabes are failing as hype and money fade (Bloomberg)
• F.T.C. sues Amazon for tricking its customers to sign up for Prime (WSJ)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Grocery CEOs push back on price-gouging allegations (CBC)
• Air Miles owner Loyalty Ventures prepares for bankruptcy (Bloomberg)
• Shein set to raise $2 billion, eyes US IPO later this year (Reuters)
• Hot dogs can explain how our view of inflation and employment changes with the seasons (WSJ)
• From the archives (2018): How insurgent brands are rewriting the growth playbook (Bain)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Notice of Meeting: Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food (House of Commons)
• 2022 Warren Buffet Letter to Shareholders (Berkshire Hathaway)
• Walmart: Watch your back, Amazon (WSJ)
• Loblaw says grocery prices to keep rising, as grocer reports profit increase amid inflation (Globe and Mail)
• Soy, oat, and almond drinks can be called milk, FDA says (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Consumers tired of inflation scrimp - and splurge (WSJ)
• Renaissance in uncertainty: Luxury builds on its rebound (Bain)
• The coffee alternative Americans just can't leave behind (The Atlantic)
• Metro says more price hikes to come as vendors continue asks for increases (Globe and Mail)
• Walmart raises starting wages for store workers (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Loblaw, Metro sales and profit grow as Canadian grocers face inflation scrutiny (Globe and Mail)
• Canada's inflation rate unchanged in October at 6.9% (CBC)
• How Hot Wheels became the largest automobile manufacturer out there (FT)
• Inside the turmoil at Sobeys-owned stores after ransomware attack (CBC)
• Target shares plunge on weak earnings, outlook (WSJ)