Retail Industry

Morrisons is in early talks with US net-lease REIT Realty Income over a roughly £600m (03m) financing secured against its stores, Sky News reports. No deal is close.

Avenue Supermarts reported an 11% rise in first-quarter net profit, missing analyst estimates as revenue growth cooled to 15%. New CEO Anshul Asawa flagged slight margin gains, but quick-commerce rivals keep pressuring DMart value model.

PepsiCo’s second-quarter revenue topped Wall Street forecasts at about $24.2 billion, but flat North America volumes and softer US snack and soda demand tempered the result. The company held its full-year guidance and lifted its dividend for a 54th year, even as shares slipped in premarket trading.

A cluster of US grocery loyalty relaunches in June 2026, from Lidl Plus to Kroger Rewards, looks less like a discount play and more like a first-party-data land grab. Signals point to the loyalty wave converging with retail media before the 2026 holidays, with more relaunches likely by year-end.

Ocado Group has confirmed that co-founder Tim Steiner will step down as chief executive by the start of its 2028 financial year, moving into a founder role through 2029. The July 6 filing opens a formal succession process at the London-listed grocery-technology group, with no successor yet named.

Kroger has agreed to buy the family-controlled grocer Giant Eagle for about $1.65 billion. It is the company’s first major acquisition since the Albertsons merger collapsed in 2024.

Sainsbury’s posted a 3.6% rise in first-quarter grocery sales as online jumped 12.5% and the UK’s second-largest grocer extended its run of market-share gains to five quarters. Argos and general merchandise stayed weak, but full-year profit guidance was left unchanged.

Ocado has publicly confirmed it is engaged in long-term succession planning for founder and chief executive Tim Steiner, after reports the board approached external candidates. The acknowledgement lands with the online grocery technology group trading roughly 91% below its 2020 peak.

Kroger beat on revenue with $46.1bn in Q1 sales, but gross margin slipped to 22.7% as CEO Greg Foran cut prices to win share. The grocer held full-year guidance and added a $2bn buyback.