US to Scrutinize Food Supply Chain 🥗

Amazon has launched pilot testing of “Amazon Now,” a new ultrafast delivery service promising drop-offs in 30 minutes or less. The program, rolling out in parts of Seattle and Philadelphia, offers rapid delivery of groceries, OTC medicines, electronics, cosmetics, and other household essentials through the main Amazon app.

📦 Faster Fulfillment: Amazon Now operates out of compact, specialized fulfillment centers positioned close to dense delivery areas — a model designed to sharpen Amazon’s competitive edge against DoorDash, Instacart, and other instant-delivery players.

📈 Workflow: Customers in eligible zones can select a dedicated “30-Minute Delivery” tab to check availability, track drivers, and add tips. Fees start at $3.99 for Prime members and $13.99 for non-Prime users, with an additional $1.99 fee for small baskets under $15.

🔎 The Big Picture: The initiative marks Amazon’s third major push into ultrafast logistics, following its investments in Kozmo in 2000 and the now-retired Prime Now and Amazon Today services. The company is betting that integrating rapid delivery directly into its main app will help it finally crack a market where previous attempts struggled.

President Trump has directed the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to investigate alleged price-fixing and anti-competitive behavior across the U.S. food supply chain.

Key Details: The executive order directs the Justice Department and the FTC to form task forces to examine anti-competitive practices and foreign control in key food industries. The probe will scrutinize major foreign-owned players across meatpacking, fertilizer, seed, and equipment manufacturing.

🍱 Threat to Food: The administration is signaling that foreign dominance — from Brazil’s JBS and Marfrig to China’s WH Group — may pose economic or national security risks. If investigators find evidence of price-fixing, the DOJ is instructed to pursue criminal action.

Prada has finalized its acquisition of Versace, completing a €1.3 billion deal that reshapes the Italian luxury landscape. The purchase from U.S.-based Capri Holdings follows the collapse of Capri’s planned sale to Tapestry after antitrust regulators intervened. Prada executives said the group had long coveted Versace, with discussions stretching back to the COVID era and earlier.

Lorenzo Bertelli, who will become Versace’s executive chairman after integration, said the brand met Prada’s criteria of manageable financial risk and high global awareness. The acquisition marks a significant strategic shift for Prada, adding a third major label alongside Prada and Miu Miu.

Prada sees the move as a long-term investment in one of fashion’s most recognizable names, aiming to accelerate growth across luxury apparel, accessories, and lifestyle categories.

US consumer spending stagnated in September, signaling that households were already feeling strained even before the record-long government shutdown began on October 1. Inflation remained steady and in line with expectations, with the core PCE index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge — rising 0.2% month-over-month and 2.8% year-over-year.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that real consumer spending was unchanged, following a downward revision of August’s growth to 0.2%.

The slowdown suggests softer momentum in the economy’s primary engine: consumer demand. While early holiday indicators showed solid Black Friday activity, analysts note rising anxiety about the labor market and a widening spending gap between affluent households and the rest of the population.

IKEA will significantly expand U.S. manufacturing as Trump-era tariff hikes make importing furniture increasingly expensive, according to a Reuters report. The shift marks a reversal after a decade-long decline in U.S.-made IKEA products, following the closure of its Virginia factory in 2019.

The retailer aims to source more items closer to consumers in the Americas, improving resilience and cutting long lead times for bulky goods like bookcases, mattresses, and sofas. While the initiative began before the latest tariffs, IKEA said the timing now provides a clear cost advantage.

Only 15% of IKEA products sold in U.S. stores are currently made domestically, far below Europe’s 70% and Asia’s 80%. Though U.S. manufacturing costs are higher, the company says shipping is more expensive and less reliable post-pandemic.

Kroger will pay UK-based Ocado Group $350 million after sharply reducing the number of automated fulfilment centres it operates with the robotics specialist. The compensation — higher than the $250 million initially expected — briefly lifted Ocado shares.

Kroger last month said it would close three of eight Ocado-powered warehouses and review the performance of the others, a move that wiped 17% off Ocado’s stock in a single day. The US grocer has now also cancelled a planned North Carolina facility, though a Phoenix site will proceed with upgraded freezing technology.

The pullback comes as Kroger takes a $2.6 billion charge on the closures and shifts its e-commerce strategy toward store-based fulfilment and partnerships with DoorDash and Instacart — a faster path to profitability for a channel that accounts for 11% of sales.

U.S. holiday shopping surged over Thanksgiving weekend, with a record 202.9 million consumers making purchases from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. This is the highest turnout since NRF began tracking the five-day period in 2017 and exceeds last year’s 197 million shoppers and the group’s original forecast of 186.9 million.

Deep discounts, free shipping promotions, and limited-time deals were the primary draws, NRF and Prosper Insights said. NRF leaders described the weekend as a strong kickoff to a holiday season expected to reach $1.1 trillion to $1.2 trillion in total spending, the first time holiday sales would surpass $1 trillion.

Despite weaker consumer sentiment and corporate layoffs, retail spending remained resilient. In-store traffic rose 3% year over year to 129.5 million people, while online shopping climbed 9% to 134.9 million consumers.

U.S. pressure on Shein and Temu is escalating after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into alleged forced labor, unsafe materials, and misleading sourcing claims at Shein.

At the same time, Senator Tom Cotton has called for a federal probe into both platforms, arguing they routinely steal American designers’ work and sell counterfeits at ultra-low prices.

Cotton said rule changes on low-value imports now give U.S. agencies a chance to crack down, noting that millions of Chinese packages are now subject to stricter checks. He accused Shein of rapidly copying independent creators and Temu of carrying deceptive fake goods. Both companies have been linked to broader concerns about product safety, data practices, and working conditions.

The platforms are simultaneously under review by European regulators following reports of hazardous and inappropriate goods appearing on their sites.

UPS and FedEx are raising their fuel surcharge calculations during the peak holiday shipping period, adding fresh cost pressures for shippers already facing elevated 2025 rates. FedEx recently raised its surcharge formula, and UPS will follow on Jan. 5, resulting in roughly a 1.5% increase at FedEx and a 1% increase at UPS.

Fuel surcharges have been a major driver of higher ground shipping costs this year. TransImpact analysis shows UPS’ ground fuel surcharge has risen 24.3% year-to-date, even though diesel prices are up 8.62%, while its air surcharge has climbed 23.5% on a 2.95% rise in jet fuel.

FedEx Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere told investors that rising fuel surcharge indexes have boosted per-package revenue.

Dollar General lifted its full-year sales and earnings outlook after third-quarter results showed stronger-than-expected demand, even as its core low-income shoppers remain financially strained. Customers are visiting stores more frequently but buying fewer items per trip — yet spending on essentials, seasonal goods, home décor, and apparel continues to hold up.

The retailer is gaining market share across income brackets, with a notable influx of higher-income shoppers — a trend echoed by Dollar Tree, Walmart, and TJX. Shares jumped 10% on the results and are now up more than 50% over the past year.

The company’s Q3 revenue rose 4.6% to $10.65 billion, while comparable sales increased 2.5%. Earnings per share hit $1.28, beating expectations. The company now forecasts full-year sales growth of 4.7%–4.9% and EPS of $6.30–$6.50.