Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Why McCormick's $65 billion deal for Unilever might actually work out (WSJ)
• Growth in the era of intentional shoppers: Beyond omnichannel grocery in Latin America (McKinsey)
• Aritzia shares soar as most in nearly a year on strong spring collection sales (Bloomberg)
• Uniqlo is coming for middle America (Bloomberg)
• The next Competition Bureau leader must embrace a Canada Strong mindset (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Ontario judge approves $500 million settlement in Loblaw, George Weston bread price-fixing case (Globe and Mail)
• At Amazon, some coders say their jobs now resemble warehouse workers (NYT)
• Shein breaking EU consumer protection rules, watchdog says (WSJ)
• PepsiCo is pushing back its climate goals. The company wants to talk about it (WSJ)
• How chilly Winnipeg turned the humble Slurpee into a religion (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Deal for Mountain Equipment Co. under review by Competition Bureau (Globe and Mail)
• The energy drink that hooked young women - and Celsius (Bloomberg)
• How Costco's Jim Sinegal built the $400 billion retailer (WSJ)
• Trade war starting to show up in higher grocery prices for some items (CBC)
• Loblaw CEO's pay drops in 2024 after getting signing bonuses the year before (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• The sand wars dividing cranberry growers and their neighbours (WSJ)
• At 7-Eleven, Couche-Tard wins by losing out (Globe and Mail)
• How Harry & David gest 20,000 pears to doorsteps for the holidays (WSJ)
• Grupo Bimbo suing Maple Leaf Foods for more than $2 billion over alleged bread price fixing probe (Globe and Mail)
• Shoppers fight back as retailers crack down on returns (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Online shopping has become a giant fake product machine (Bloomberg)
• Returns of the 'Amazombies': Unwanted packages are a retail nightmare (Washington Post)
• Halal meat is big business both within and beyond Muslim communities (CBC)
• Buyout firm L Catterton approaches Mattel with buyout offer (Reuters)
• Competition Bureau outlines what can be considered corporate greenwashing (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread files for Chapter 11 (NYT)
• Why banning tweens from buying anti-aging creams won't stop the Sephora kids (CBC)
• Loblaw and Empire being investigated by Competition Bureau for anti-competitive practices (Globe and Mail)
• Is this the end of Instagram cookware (NYT)
• Ontario to pay $225-million to Beer Store to speed up corner-store beer purchases (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Suncor moves on gas station plans, deciding which to renovate and which to sell (Globe and Mail)
• 'Bromakase' is the new steakhouse (NYT)
• Quebecor says Loblaw deal with telecoms is anti-competitive (CBC)
• Can beef be 'low carbon'? The USDA thinks so (Undark)
• Amazon is reviving its logistics expansion and reshaping its U.S. distribution (WSJ)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Turning consumer and retail companies into software-driven innovators (McKinsey)
• Here's something beyond the expiration date: Expiration dates themselves (WSJ)
• Fewer Canadians dining out as inflation and interest rates bite consumer spending (Globe and Mail)
• Canada Bread banned from federal contracts over price-fixing scheme (Financial Post)
• Tyson Foods couldn't produce enough chicken. Now it has too much (WSJ)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• B.C. port union withdraws strike notice as Ottawa weighs options (Globe and Mail)
• The Bear and the need for a place to belong (NYT)
• Canada's competition commissioner doubles down on claims that Cineplex uses 'deceptive marketing' (Globe and Mail)
• Retailers problems get real (WSJ)
• Kim Kardashian's Skims is now worth $4 billion (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Joe Mimran and partners buy retailer Kit & Ace (Globe and Mail)
• Companies with 'flat' structures rarely work. Is there a solution (NYT)
• Ontario quietly moving ahead with plan to sell beer in corner stores (Globe and Mail)
• Shein in talks with banks and exchanges about U.S. IPO (Reuters)
• Cineplex says Competition Bureau movie ticket price-dripping case should be dismissed (Globe and Mail)

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

• Jack Ma ally Joe Tsai to take helm of Alibaba (WSJ)
• Amazon HQ2 is not matching the original hype (CNBC)
• Grupo Bimbo's Canada Bread to pay $50 million fine in bread price-fixing settlement (Globe and Mail)
• Running Amazon became a lot less fun once Jeff Bezos left (Slate)
• U.S. approves the sale of lab-grown chicken (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Another year of strategy (Medium)
• Of course instant groceries don't work (The Atlantic)
• Target will sell products from Marks & Spencer this holiday season (Food & Wine)
• The takeover law that has Bay Street rattled (Globe and Mail)
• What Moneyball for everything has done to American culture (The Atlantic)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• The smash and grab of Kroger-Albertsons (Matt Stoller)
• Lego fanatics come apart over new packaging (WSJ)
• Canada's Competition Bureau to study grocery sector as inflation hits shoppers (Globe and Mail)
• NYC restaurants aren't about to give up outdoor dining (Curbed)
• How food powers your body (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Strategic breadcrumb spacing (Medium)
• A nationwide baby formula shortage worsens (NYT)
• Rogers, Shaw vow to fight competition watchdog's plan to block deal (Globe and Mail)
• Is the Dirty Shirley the drink of the summer (NYT)
• How restaurants are hacking the food delivery system (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Climate sustainability in retail: Who will pay (McKinsey)
• Sustainability in retail is possible - but there is work to be done (BCG)
• Why is it so hard to control our appetites (The Guardian)
• Plant-based meat groups in court battle over taste of their products (FT)
• Edward Iacobucci - The Competition Bureau's approach to the efficiencies defense (CD Howe Institute)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• 2022 Trust Barometer (Edelman)
• The store brand groceries you actually want (WSJ)
• Unilever pursues Glaxo and Pfizer consumer health venture (NYT)
• Keurig Canada fined $3 million for misleading claims over coffee pod recycling (CBC)
• Trucking companies lose drivers as new border vaccine mandate comes into effect (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Court gives go-ahead to class action lawsuit over price fixing (Globe and Mail)
• Private equity firms will bend for a $21 billion grocery deal (Bloomberg)
• Hidden markups, missed sales on Instacart leaves customers feeling 'ripped off' (CBC)
• How many bagels does it take to keep a place in business (NYT)
• Interview: Ryan Peterson, founder and CEO of Flexport (Noahpinion)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• The year America's hair fell out (The Atlantic)
• Competition Bureau chief readies for fight to shake up merger laws (Financial Post)
• First step for the Teamsters' next boss: Take on UPS (Bloomberg)
• Seeing the world through a grain of rice (NYT)
• Dollar General to do same-day deliveries via DoorDash (The Verge)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Coupang, South Korea's answer to Amazon, debuts in IPO (NYT)
• Amazon quietly began building a grocery chain during the pandemic (Bloomberg)
• Ulta Beauty's CEO will step down (Ulta)
• Amazon site in Brampton ordered closed due to outbreak (CBC)
• Competition Bureau backs review of antitrust laws amid scrutiny of grocers (Financial Post)