Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

December 11, 2024

Hey there. If you’ve got whiplash over the many developments in the will-they-won’t-they saga of the Kroger-Albertsons merger since yesterday afternoon, we’re right there with you.

In today’s edition:

—Erin Cabrey, Vidhi Choudhary

STORES

Dealbreaker

Francis Scialabba

Albertsons announced today it is terminating its proposed $25 billion merger agreement with Kroger and suing the grocer for breach of merger agreement following two rulings in Oregon and Washington issued yesterday blocking the deal.

The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery and temporarily under seal, seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, according to Albertsons, and accuses Kroger of “repeatedly refusing to divest assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignoring regulators’ feedback, rejecting stronger divestiture buyers and failing to cooperate with Albertsons,” per a press release.

Tom Moriarty, EVP, general counsel and chief policy officer at Albertsons, said Kroger “acted in its own financial self-interest,” impacting shareholders, associates, and consumers.

In terminating the agreement, Albertsons said it should receive a $600 million termination fee and “relief” from financial resources it exhausted and “unnecessary limbo” it experienced. Bloomberg reported in August the two grocers had spent more than $800 million on merger fees since the deal’s announcement in October 2022.

Keep reading here.—EC

Presented By Wyng

Customers? Engaged Data? Captured

You can, in fact, have both. Effective, exciting marketing promotions and interactive campaigns can engage customers and capture valuable zero-party and first-party data.

So, what’s the key to nabbing these wins, especially at such a pivotal, holly-jolly time of year? Data capture and engagement platforms—and Wyng’s got the guide to explain the deets.

Wyng’s buyer’s guide, Data Capture and Engagement Platforms for Consumer Marketing, draws from a decade of experience enabling comprehensive marketing promotions and owned data-collection programs for hundreds of global enterprises + brands. Bonus: The guide includes a downloadable and customizable RFP template.

Grab a copy to learn why companies like Unilever, Estée Lauder, and LVMH all use data capture and engagement platforms to win.

RETAIL MEDIA

In-store ads grip grocery

Grocery TV

In-store retail media deals continue to gain momentum, even during the holiday season.

Regional grocer Hy-Vee has struck a partnership with Grocery TV to manage its in-store and off-site retail media ads, the two companies announced on Wednesday.

With the deal, Grocery TV will power more than 10,000 screens at important customer touchpoints including entrance, checkout, service departments, aisles, and end caps, across 400 Hy-Vee stores. Grocery TV will connect Hy-Vee’s retail media network, called RedMedia, with cloud-based ad buying platform The Trade Desk.

Keep reading here.—VC

COMMUNITY

Coworking with Nicholas Kratochvil

Nicholas Kratochvil

On Wednesdays, we ~~wear pink~~ spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Nicholas Kratochvil is director of digital at Sloomoo Institute, a children’s slime exhibit and shop with locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? We have two primary sales touch points at Sloomoo Institute—our web platform where guests buy tickets for our experiences and our gift shops, where we showcase our latest slimes and apparel. I experiment with web checkout design, variable ticket pricing, and experience upgrades to increase our guest count and revenue ahead of their visit. Additionally, I distribute attendance more evenly throughout open hours so they have a better time, and identify product performance trends to help ensure our best selection is available when they arrive at our shops.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? I’m not very savvy on LinkedIn, so there are likely plenty! I’m just thankful that the founders have given me the opportunity to ideate, innovate, and iterate tests and concepts. It’s thrilling to try new things and collaborate with our experience teams to exchange ideas, learn what is working, and inform the next best actions.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? We recently opened a new location in Los Angeles. It’s a real standout on Fairfax—a big, magenta building with its own eyeballs, where our guests can enjoy memorable experiences and take some slime home with them, all thanks to the collective effort of a great team.

Keep reading here.—EC

Together With Omnisend

What’s your Jan. 1 plan? BFCM is in the rearview—phew. Take advantage of the downtime by perfecting your strategy with Omnisend’s ultimate post-holiday cheat sheet. Take a peek at how to retarget BFCM bargain hunters before they ghost you + list segmentation that actually works. Read the full blog.

How warehouse space is evolving

A delivery drone flying through a retail warehouse

Amelia Kinsinger

Retail warehouses are becoming smarter and more automated. Learn about the latest trends to help your company maximize its warehouse space.

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Private eye: After a tough year for the drugstore, Walgreens is reportedly weighing selling itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners in a deal that could be closed early next year. (the Wall Street Journal)

Clicking into place: Online grocery sales surged nearly 18% year over year in November, according to Brick Meets Click. (Chain Store Age)

Face the tax: Authorities raided the Adidas headquarters in Germany as part of a tax investigation that began in October 2019.. (Bloomberg)

Buy, buy, buy: Wyng’s buyer’s guide, Data Capture and Engagement Platforms for Consumer Marketing, helps enable brands to engage their audience and collect valuable data. You’ll also get a customizable RFP template. Download it for free.*

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