SN Top 10: Aldi, Walmart, Rite Aid top the week’s headlines

In this week’s recap of the Top 10 most popular Supermarket News articles, Is UNFI looking to sell? ranked as the week’s top story. In 2018, the organic foods distributor completed its $2.9 billion purchase of fellow wholesaler SuperValu — a big move that would increase UNFI’s distribution to over 110,000 products to over 40,000 customer locations in the U.S. and Canada.

The acquisition settled what could have been a very uncertain period for the Providence, R.I.-based UNFI. According to CNBC, the distributor’s biggest customer at the time was Whole Foods. UNFI’s deal with Whole Foods was set to expire in 2025, and when Amazon entered the scene in 2017, there was a threat to that lifeline. UNFI, however, has just extended its contract with Whole Foods. 

Other top stories:

• Two Walmart stores will close in July
• Rite Aid adds more store closings to the list
• Instacart rolls out Sally Beauty partnership
• Kroger cites Q1 pharmacy profit pressures as earnings dip

In other news, Aldi is jumping on the cooler bag caravan this summer. The discount retailer is now selling mini cooler bags for under $10. The bags come with a front pocket that can be zippered and an adjustable padded shoulder strap. The bags also have bungee cord storage on top and are currently available in the following patterns: strawberry, beach ball, yellow color block, and blue color block.

More top stories:

• 5 things top news: Rite Aid CEO’s $20M salary hits sore spot
• Category update: Prepared foods drive deli sales growth in May
• 5 things: Food variety should come with speed
• Fiesta Mart to open location in metro Dallas-Fort Worth