Stephan's Friday Picks

• Bank of Canada warns of low-hire, low-fire job market that complicates rate decisions (Globe and Mail)
• It's such a mess shopping for reasonably priced menswear (Bloomberg)
• Lidl overtakes Morrisons to become fifth largest supermarket in UK (The Guardian)
• Americans are about to pay even more at the grocery store (Bloomberg)
• From the archives (2014): A dozen things I've learned from Jim Sinegal (25iq)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• CEO Andy Jassy's 2025 Letter to Shareholders (Amazon)
• Top Canadian grocers downgraded as Scotiabank flags increased competition (Bloomberg)
• How war in the Middle East paralyzed an Asian food giant (NYT)
• Unilever acquires vitamin gummies brand Gruns in wellness push (FT)
• Aldi and Lidl rivalry heats up in race for UK discount shoppers (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Can the golden age of Costco last (The New Yorker)
• Why everything from soap to perfume smells like food now (Bloomberg)
• All dressed chips were a Canadian secret. Now they have a rare shot at U.S. stardom (The Star) 
• Lidl sees profit rise in UK as discounter reaches 1,000 stores (Bloomberg)
• From the archives (2023): The complete history and strategy of Costco (Acquired)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Combining fresh with grocery convenience (Deloitte)
• Lidl boosts UK sales as Asda struggles (Bloomberg)
• A TikTok fad fills grocery stores with singles (NYT)
• Asian sunscreens are all the rage, so why can't you buy them in Canada (CBC)
• Dollarama sees rise in second-quarter profits, sales as customers hunt for deals (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Why 7-Eleven is a national treasure in Japan (NYT)
• How Lidl accidentally took on the big guns of cloud computing (FT)
• Dino falls victim to price war between Polish supermarket chains (Bloomberg)
• A TikTok cucumber salad trend sets of shortage in Iceland groceries (NYTNYT)
• How consumers saved money on groceries in 1982 (CBC)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: How to become a strategic CFO (Medium)
• How Lidl's breakneck expansion came to a juddering halt (The Telegraph)
• Inside the A&W test kitchen, a battlefield (CBC)
• How fashion can afford and accelerate decarbonization (McKinsey)
• Insolvencies, shifts in consumer behaviour keep liquidators busy (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• The fight for AI talent (WSJ)
• Lidl US expands garden centre concept (Lidl)
• Kroger to close three Ocado fulfillment centres (Grocery Dive)
• Temporary residents jump to 2.7 million as Ottawa tries to curb migration (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (1992): Priced to go (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Google is finally killing cookies. Advertisers still aren't ready (WSJ)
• AI is coming for the influencers (New York Magazine)
• Aldi and Lidl hail Christmas boost from bargain hunters (BBC)
• Carrefour drops PepsiCo products in France over price increases (NYT)
• Behind cheap stuff from Shein and Temu: A hard bargain with suppliers (WSJ)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Amazon dedicates team to train ambitious AI model codenamed 'Olympus' (Reuters)
• Indigo reports $22.4 million second quarter loss as consumers pull back (Globe and Mail)
• Shein targets up to $90 billion valuation in US IPO (Bloomberg)
• How Germany got hooked on Canadian maple syrup (Globe and Mail)
• Aldi and Lidl are now just as middle class as other UK grocers (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Why Aldi is the fastest-growing grocer in the U.S. (WSJ)
• The power of partnership: How the CEO-CMO relationship can drive outsized growth (McKinsey)
• The apple-picking apocalypse of upstate New York (NYT)
• Sainsbury's declares it is winning back Aldi and Lidl customers (The Guardian)
• Instacart's delicious little secret (The Information)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Fake meat was supposed to save the world. It became just another fad (Bloomberg)
• Fort Walgreens (Curbed)
• Lidl and Aldi hiked prices the most of supermarkets in UK (Bloomberg)
• Party City files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to cut debt (WSJ)
• AI for better crops (Knowable Magazine)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Why bosses should ask employees to do less - not more (WSJ)
• Backing Lindt, Swiss court orders Lidl to 'destroy' its chocolate bunnies (NYT)
• Indigo's new CEO plans to sell $450 pizza ovens and collagen face mists at the bookstore (Globe and Mail)
• Useless meetings waste time and $100 million a year at big companies (Bloomberg)
• Our food system could have been so different (The Atlantic)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Amazon routinely hired dangerous trucking companies, with deadly consequences (WSJ)
• Lidl raises pay above Aldi for UK staff as cost of living soars (Bloomberg)
• The family that built a ballpark nachos monopoly (The Hustle)
• The restaurant industry is broken (Toronto Life)
• Food Barons 2022 (ETC Group)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Keeping Lidl's shelves stocked is harder than ever, says U.K. boss (The Guardian)
• For some recipe apps, your personal data is gravy (Washington Post)
• Best Buy tumbles as increased theft worsens margin squeeze (Bloomberg)
• Rebecca McKillican took over thousands of pharmacies - just in time to help lead the vaccine rollout (Globe and Mail)
• The great huckleberry supply crunch (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Ulta Beauty shelves plans for Canadian expansion (Globe and Mail)
• Aldi and Lidl at back of the queue during pandemic (FT)
• Indigo's Heather Reisman on balance e-commerce development with bricks and mortar (Globe and Mail)
• Beyond TikTok, Walmart looks to transform (NYT)
• From the archives (2006): Giant Tiger on the prowl (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Can salad bars be saved (Bloomberg)
• DavidsTea to 'significantly reduce' number of stores and shift to online selling (CBC)
• Bed Bath & Beyond to sell 200 stores as sales fall by 50% (WSJ)
• As debt soars, Ottawa banks on record low interest rates (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (2017): A first look at how Lidl plans to conquer the U.S. (Washington Post)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Finding euphoria in Bangkok's food scene (NYT)
• The sickness in our food supply (New York Review of Books)
• Coffee empire JAB eyes Compassion First pet hospitals (Bloomberg)
• Restauranteur Grant van Gameren on the future of Toronto's food scene (Toronto Life)
• From the archives (2004): Lidl halts plan for Canadian grocery chain (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Welcome to Walmart. The robot will grab your groceries (WSJ)
• Almond milk is even more evil than you thought (The Cut)
• Boots launches business review as sales slide (FT)
• Grubhub considers strategic options including possible sale (WSJ)
• From the archives (2017): The unstoppable rise of Aldi and Lidl (Handelsblatt)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Aldi, Lidl cut into U.S. grocers' turf (WSJ)
• Meet America's newest military giant: Amazon (MIT TR)
• What to expect from the new Wegmans in New York (Eater)
• How a Mexican general's exile led to chewing gum (Gastro Obscura)
• From the archives (2015): With Safeway deal complete, Sobeys demands price cuts from suppliers (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Amazon pulls out of planned New York City headquarters (NYT)
• How fancy water bottles became a 21st century status symbol (The Atlantic)
• Edward Lampert's plan for Sears: Smaller stores and less apparel (WSJ)
• A new law decrees French supermarkets must get greedier (The Economist)
• From the archives (2003): German discounter plans Canadian expansion (Globe and Mail)