Albertsons and DoorDash are partnering on express grocery delivery: foods at one's door in fewer than 30 minutes. “As part of the launch, consumers in more than 20 major cities across the United States, including Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle, will be able to receive express grocery delivery from local Albertsons banners such as Safeway, Vons, Acme Markets, Jewel-Osco and Tom Thumb via the DoorDash marketplace,” per Progressive Grocer.

Allbirds is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to sustainability. The footwear brand is launching a resale platform in an effort to increase the lifespan of its products. “The new program ties to Allbirds’ Flight Plan, a series of sustainability commitments that include reducing the company’s per-product carbon footprint by half by the end of 2025 and cutting it to near zero by the end of 2030,” per Chain Store Age. “Allbirds is already a 100% carbon-neutral business through the use of third-party verified carbon offsets.”

CVS Health reported better-than-expected earnings buoyed by customer demands for COVID vaccinations and at-home tests. “CVS has been repositioning itself with a strong health care focus. It plans to close some 900 of its approximately 10,000 stores during the next three years as it creates three distinct store formats to drive higher engagement with consumers and serve as community health destinations,” per Chain Store Age.

Republicans are losing interest in the NFL in part because of the league’s efforts to improve conditions for Black players. A poll from the Los Angeles Times and Survey Monkey found that nearly half of people who identified themselves as Republican or right-leaning said their interest as fans had declined over the past five years, compared with just one-quarter of Democrats. “Some 45% of people who identified as Republicans or right-leaning said they believed the NFL was doing ‘too much to show respect for its Black players,’” per Fortune. 

Grubhub is offering on-demand convenience delivery to customers from more than 3,000 Grubhub Goods locations across the United States via a partnership with convenience store chain 7-Eleven. The expansion follows a pilot of more than a dozen Grubhub Goods locations in New York. “According to the company, customers who order convenience items on Grubhub place more orders from restaurants in the following month than those who don’t order convenience items,” per Progressive Grocer.

Upside Foods is on a mission to sell chicken grown from animal stem cells, first in the United States and then globally. Company executives, including a cardiologist who helped start it, hope other foods, including beef, duck and lobster, won’t be far behind. “Tissue engineers and scientists in several countries are trying to find a commercially viable way to transform animal stem cells into a marbled Wagyu steak, briny oysters or sushi-grade salmon,” per The New York Times. “Their work is fed by nearly $3 billion in investments.”

A plan to create smaller Ikea locations in downtowns is getting its start in San Francisco. “The project will include other retail and restaurant tenants and will be anchored by a 70,000-sq.-ft. Ikea store,” per Chain Store Age. “Standard Ikea footprints run around 400,000 sq. ft.” The first location is in an area which has seen a decline in foot traffic during the pandemic. Brands that have disappeared from that California street include Marshalls, H&M, Uniqlo and DSW.

Despite “questionable decisions” by its leaders, Dolce & Gabbana seems to have dodged the “cancel culture” wave that has threatened other major fashion brands including Chanel, Gucci and Prada. “The company’s survival despite social-media opprobrium is something of a case study in corporate crisis management,” per The Cut. “It shows how D&G, thanks to its deep pockets, has been able to leverage its semi-outlaw status to invite people who otherwise might not be considered by the fashion insiders as worthy of attention into its influencer fold.”

Walmart leads retailers in customer loyalty despite strong showing by other big-box operators and supermarket chains, according to consumer intelligence and marketing specialist InMarket. For the fourth quarter, Walmart garnered a shopper loyalty score of 5.68, well ahead of its closest big-box competitor Meijer at 3.58 and above supermarket loyalty leader H-E-B at 4.63, Austin, Texas-based InMarket said in its Insights Q4 2021 Consumer Loyalty Report, released Monday. 

Levi’s brand president Jennifer Sey says she quit after the company tried to silence her after she publicly spoke out against COVID-related school closures. “More than 20 years ago I joined Levi’s, yesterday I resigned my post as president so that I can use my voice.” Sey tweeted, linking to her essay published on Bari Weiss’s Substack newsletter. The mother of four says she was told she could be the next CEO of Levi’s if she stopped making the politically toned statements.