Ahold Delhaize Expands, Tesco Retreats, ...

There's never a dull moment in grocery retail, and this week, Ben Miller welcomes back GrocerTalk's very first returning guest, Stewart Samuel, Director of Retail Futures at IGD. With Ben fresh off a week of retail media dinners, industry awards, and an exclusive Instacart interview, and Stewart diving into global retail trends for 2027, the two have plenty to catch up on.

Sponsored by Instacart Enterprise, Portager, Vusion, and Sifter Solutions, Ben and Stewart take a broader look at what it takes to stay competitive in today's grocery market. Is bigger always better? Can retailers afford to keep up with the pace of technological change? And when a business starts losing its edge, what does it really take to win shoppers back? From international expansion and billion-dollar investments to cybersecurity and the importance of getting the retail basics right, there's plenty to debate.

This week, they discuss:

• 02:59 | Ahold Delhaize acquires Tesco's Czech and Slovak businesses: The €1.7 billion deal, Tesco's international retreat, competitive implications for European grocery, and how recent cyberattacks are impacting Ahold Delhaize's financial outlook. (Source) (Source)
• 21:00 | Walmart's $6 billion automation investment and the latest retail technology news: Walmart's expanding partnership with Symbotic, the growing automation divide between retailers, Amazon's Text to Alexa Shopping, and Marks & Spencer's connected store rollout with Vusion. (Source) (Source) (Source)
• 33:08 | ASDA appoints David Potts as Group CEO. Can he turn the business around? ASDA's declining market share, financial pressures, and whether Potts can restore the retailer's value proposition and win back UK shoppers. (Source)

P.S. Check out all our other podcasts from the past week here!

Music by hooksounds.com.