Vitamin World seeks to close 124 stores, sell off the rest
Going-out-of-business sales could start as early as next week at Vitamin World stores in more than 30 states, according to WSJ, which cites recently filed court documents. The retailer, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, plans to close more than one-third of its stores by the end of January. Originally, it had planned to close just 51 of its 334 stores, but because of “unforeseen operational challenges,” it’s now looking to sell off “substantially all” of its assets, WSJ reports. Read more at The Wall Street Journal (subscription)…
P&G buys digital-based deodorant brand Native
Native is a direct-to-consumer deodorant brand that launched quietly in 2015 to sell deodorants free of parabens and aluminum via its website, on a one-off and subscription basis. P&G, which has lost sales to e-commerce competitors in other categories like razors, is hoping Native will help it appeal to natural personal care customers who shop online. Read more at CNBC…
Healthy choices? Storefront placement plays a role
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene studied behavior at three Bronx supermarkets where they replaced the junk food in one checkout line at each store with fruits, nuts and other healthier snacks with less than 200 calories. They found that, among shoppers who purchased items from the checkout line, those in the healthy lines purchased unhealthy items 40 percent less often than those in other lines. Read more at Scientific American…
A big deal in Big Food, Irene Rosenfeld retires from Mondelez
More than a decade ago, Rosenfeld “set out to create the world’s largest snacking company” with Mondelez. She’s built shareholder value over the years and has made an estimated $231 million in her 11-year tenure as CEO. But times have changed, and Rosenfeld’s retirement coincides with shifting consumer preference toward healthier snacks than the ones her business has been pushing for years. Dirk Van de Put, former CEO of frozen food company McCain Foods, will take over as CEO of Mondelez this month. Read more at The New York Times…
Food fight breaks out over fresh fruit-and-vegetable packaging
Windham Packaging LLC has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission claiming that a handful of companies are using the perforated packaging it patented to keep ready-to-eat fruit and salad fresh. Read more at Ag Web…
