Stephan's Monday Picks

• Maple Leaf Foods suing Canada  Bread, parent company, for defamation related to alleged price-fixing scheme (Globe and Mail)
• Instacart CEO says Wall Street undervalues grocery tech bet (Bloomberg)
• McCain's Max Koeune is building the farm of the future (Globe and Mail)
• Asda appoints former boss Leighton to help turn struggling retailer around (Bloomberg)
• Annual beauty advent calendar craze is changing how cosmetics brands court new shoppers (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 Monday Picks

• America's newest hit candy is gummy, crunchy, and printing money (WSJ)
• Mr. Bezos went to Washington. But he never arrived (NYT)
• 'Back to Starbucks' could have a retro feel - and valuation (WSJ)
• Efforts to add Maple Leaf Foods to bread-price fixing class action denied (Globe and Mail)
• Coffee price war burns Keurig and Starbucks (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Larry Fink's 2024 Annual Chairman's Letter to Shareholders (BlackRock)
• Ontario College of Pharmacists seeks restrictions on exclusive deals with insurers (Globe and Mail)
• Visa and Mastercard agree to cap swipe fees in settlement (NYT)
• Lina Khan: America has a resiliency problem (Foreign Policy)
• With move to limit temporary workers, Ottawa is 'attacking the demand curve now' (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Superstition & strategy (Medium)
• One city and three retailers tried to fight shoplifting. The stores closed anyway (WSJ)
• Ex-Louis Vuitton CEO to lead LVMH fashion brands after reshuffle (Bloomberg)
• EU Commission intends to block Amazon's iRobot acquisition (WSJ)
• Macy's rejects Arkhouse's $5.8 billion bid, citing financing concerns (Reuters)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• The battle over rewards points (NYT)
• Business competition has declined over the last 20 years, watchdog report finds (Globe and Mail)
• 'Zero consumers': What they want and why it matters (McKinsey)
• Food is on sale again. You might still have sticker shock (WSJ)
• How consumer companies outcompete (McKinsey)

Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Capital allocation starts with governance - and should be led by the CEO (McKinsey)
• Canada's grocery industry doesn't give customers enough choice, Competition Bureau finds (Globe and Mail)
• Inflation slows to 3.4%, but Bank of Canada poised to raise rates again (Globe and Mail)
• Former Maple Leaf Foods CEO knew about price fixing, says Competition Bureau document (Globe and Mail)
• Weston family shifts private investing strategy after $6.9 billion Selfridges sales (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Bud Light loses title as top-selling U.S. beer (WSJ)
• How retail media is creating a Bermuda triangle relationship between retailers, marketers, and media agencies (Digiday)
• Inside Walmart and Amazon's race to buy PillPack (Fortune)
• Instant Pot maker says it will gauge sales offer during Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Bloomberg)
• Sainsbury's and Asda told not to block rival stores (BBC)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Of course we ended up with 15-minute delivery apps (The Atlantic)
• Retailer Simons returns from the brink of bankruptcy to resume expansion in Halifax (Globe and Mail)
• Pasta, bread, and crisps among biggest UK budget food price increases (The Guardian)
• New Zealand aims to boost competition in supermarket sector (Reuters)
• Facing inflation-weary shoppers, grocers fight price increases (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• When naming a new product, make it easy to pronounce. But not always (WSJ)
• Jury holds CVS, Walgreens and Walmart responsible for role in opioid crisis (CNBC)
• Sugar industry merger challenged by U.S. Justice Department (WSJ)
• 10-minute grocery delivery startup to buy UK rival Weezy as buzzy market enters consolidation (CNBC)
• PEI farmers warn of devastation after Canada halts fresh potato exports to U.S. due to fungus outbreak (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Turnover contagion: The domino effect of one resignation (BBC)
• Investigation into bread price-fixing scheme isn't over (Financial Post)
• What makes a cultural superpower (Noahpinion)
• China targets vegetable hoarders as spinach surges 157% (Bloomberg)
• How to make your loyalty program pay off (HBR)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Diversity & strategy (Medium)
• The true extent of America's food monopolies (The Guardian)
• Square agrees to buy Afterpay for $29 billion (WSJ)
• Can the mad rush to deliver your groceries in 10 minutes be profitable (Bloomberg)
• Wegmans to open first Manhattan store in 2023 (WSJ)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Paper Source's bankruptcy leaves female cardmakers feeling burned (NYT)
• Canada's competition laws come under scrutiny after grocery business controversies (Financial Post)
• Stores still matter when it comes to online groceries (FT)
• Amazon-backed Deliveroo plans IPO, testing London's appetite for Big Tech (WSJ)
• From the archives (2003): A specialty food store with a Discount attitude (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Pharmacies add freezers, train staff to handle Covid-19 vaccination drive (WSJ)
• Coalition of retailers is calling on Ontario government to lift Covid restrictions (Globe and Mail)
• How consumer brands can get e-commerce right (McKinsey)
• Amazon shopping needs a Prime army (NYT)
• Amazon works to avoid Google's fate with EU regulators (NYT)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• The joylessness of cooking (The New Yorker)
• Federal watchdog voices 'concern' over big grocers removal of $2 wage bonus (Financial Post)
• Empire reinstates bonus pay for workers in lockdown regions (Globe and Mail)
• John Pecman: Let the market manage food delivery pricing (C.D. Howe Institute)
• From the archives (1992): The names game  (Maclean's)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Department stores decade of decline (Retail Dive)
• Grocery giant Tesco sets its sights on Ocado (Bloomberg)
• Kroger launches on-premise ghost kitchens (Kroger)
• Six chicken-industry officials are indicted in price-fixing probe (WSJ)
• From the archives (1991): The MAC attack: A Canadian firm takes on the cosmetics giants (Macleans)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• The U.S. Army rolls out a new weapon: strategic napping (NYT)
• 17 retailers that could go bankrupt as the COVID-era wears on (Retail Dive)
• What Joe's Stone Crab can teach CEOs about the quest for profit (Fast Company)
• Amazon accused of using monopoly power as e-commerce gatekeeper (WSJ)
• Delivery workers and e-bikes are a perfect fit: This program puts them together (Fast Company)

Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Rite Aid deployed facial recognition in hundreds of its stores (Reuters)
• Tech giants grilled for hours over allegations of anti-competitive behaviour (Financial Post)
• Walmart to impose new fees on supplier to offset $3.5 billion investment (Globe and Mail)
• Malls seek to evolve as the pandemic hastens a retail overhaul (NYT)
• Shopify soars as pandemic pushes more businesses to e-commerce (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Monday Picks

• How Ben & Jerry's perfected the delicate recipe for corporate activism (Bloomberg)
• Amazon's new antitrust headache (WSJ)
• How Costco convinces brands to cannibalize themselves (Napkin Math)
• Is the five-day office week over (NYT)
• Online retail sales doubled as Canadians turned to e-commerce (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• How Tim Hortons knows where you live, work, and vacation (Financial Post)
• Amazon said to be under scrutiny in two states for abuse of power (NYT)
• Redefining value and affordability in retail's next normal (McKinsey)
• U.S. meat giants face biggest attack in century from probe (Bloomberg)
• India's comfort food tells the story of its pandemic (The Atlantic)