n.382

France: consumption at a standstill, consumers traumatised by inflation


"...And for good reason: with purchasing power still constrained by food spending 20% more expensive than in 2021 and prices that, despite the pause in recent months, continue to rise (0.6% in March, 1.2% in April, 1 .7% in May, according to INSEE), fears for employment due to the economic crisis and the multiplication of redundancy plans, the threat of budget cuts and tax increases, or an anxious geopolitical climate, the French are watching their spending very closely. And they prefer to save, for those who can, more than to consume. As a result, despite a slight improvement in wages, food consumption is struggling to recover. In the first quarter they even fell by 0.8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, according to INSEE, whose analysis is not limited to large retailers and includes restaurants. In March, they were even 3.2 per cent lower than in March 2024."

Inflation
 

n.380

Mineral water, which is the best for quality and price? Eurospin’s Sant’Antonio at the top: the Altroconsumo ranking


three brands proved to be completely free of Tfa: Blues Sant'Antonio (Eurospin), which won the title of Best of Test and Best Buy, with one of the lowest costs (0.17 euro/litre), Conad Valpura, which also won Best Buy, and San Benedetto Eco Green Benedicta. Note these little-known aspects of San Benedetto's advertisements. Compiled 22 May, updated 27 May 2025

ConadWater
 

n.379

Walmart relies on pharmacies and invests in specialised distribution centres


Walmart opened one of its largest centralised prescription processing facilities to date in Frederick, Maryland. The 102,000-square-foot state-of-the-art site is designed to fulfill up to 100,000 prescriptions per day, supporting more than 700 shops in 16 states and Washington, DC... Earlier this year, Walmart expanded its same-day pharmacy delivery pilot test to offer that service to customers in 49 states. Walmart's technology investments have enabled the availability of same-day pharmacy orders that can now be integrated with general merchandise and grocery orders... Source

Non-foodWalmart
 

n.378

Retail Area 1: discount stores and supermarkets win, hypermarkets and superstores fail


The total turnover of the entire region reached EUR 37.089 billion, according to the latest figures, an increase of 6.1% compared to the previous budget ofEUR 34.95 billion. The discounters, in this scenario, confirmed their position as one of the most dynamic players: their turnover reached EUR 7.544 billion, marking anincrease of 9.2% over the previous year and gaining 2.88 percentage points in market share... hypermarkets and superstores had a share drop of 2 points while supermarkets showed superior resilience and vitality: with EUR 12.452 billion turnover and a growth of 7.9%. Agorà and Selex are leading this segment while Lidl but also Aldi are launching themselves on the attack in Milan. Nielsen Area 1, which includes Piedmont, Val d'Aosta, Liguria and Lombardy, is one of the four geographical areas used by Nielsen for market data collection in Italy. Compared to the other areas (Area 2, Area 3 and Area 4), it is considered the most dynamic, a commercial reference point.

AldiDiscountLidlSuperstores
 

n.377

Pesticides: their use contributes significantly to the biodiversity crisis.


pesticides are causing devastating negative effects on hundreds of species of microbes, fungi, plants, insects, fish, birds and mammals, which should not be affected. Globally, their use contributes significantly to the biodiversity crisis. Scientists analysed more than 1,700 laboratory and field studies on the impacts of 471 different types of pesticides (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) used in agriculture, commercial or domestic settings. Far-reaching negative effects were observed on more than 800 terrestrial and aquatic species, with impacts on growth rate, reproductive success and even behaviour, such as the ability to catch prey, find plants to feed on, move or attract partners. Pesticides can also alter the metabolism of organisms and damage cells. On food and pesticides read here

AgriculturePesticides
 

n.375

USA : Target : sales down, Mc Donald’s also. For the moment Walmart holds up


For the first quarter, Target's comparable sales decreased by 3.8%, reflecting a 5.7% drop in comparable shop sales. At McDonald's, even the $5 meals struggled to attract customers. The fast food giant reported a 3.6% drop in US comparable-store salesin the quarter ending March. This is the most significant year-on-year quarterly decline since Covid. The uncertainty triggered by President Donald Trump's tariff wars has not only prompted some companies to shelve their spending plans. American consumers are doing the same. For the moment, Walmart 's sales are holding up, with inflationary forecasts. Whether this will also be the case in the second quarter remains to be seen.

Covid-19InflationMc Donald'sWalmart
 

n.372

Senatorial commission on Perrier: the Presidency of the Republic knew, at least since 2022, that Nestlé had been cheating for years


was aware that this created a distortion of competition with other mineral water producers and was aware of bacteriological and even virological contamination on some wells. Among the many things Nestlé did to conceal the fraud: removing "the list of pesticides (herbicides, fungicides) that have been banned for some of them for 20 years, such as atrazine. No more PFAS, chlorates and other perchlorates. Above all, the table quoting the frequency of detection of E.Coli bacteria and intestinal enterococci for the period 2020-2023 is out.

NestlèPesticidesWater