According to Bloomberg, Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods may be spurning future partnerships—and business decisions—in the grocery sector.

Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado Group Plc, a U.K.-based online grocer, notes that his company may now be interested in licensing technology to its U.S. counterpart. This, Steiner notes, is a result of Amazon’s Whole Foods deal, which has caused skeptical U.S. supermarket operators to reconsider the potential of the online market. In turn, U.S. grocers are flocking to take hold of Ocado’s e-commerce technologies.

Known as Ocado’s smart platform, the technology encompasses everything from grocery-picking robots to software that tracks delivery vans. With access to this technology, the aforementioned U.S. grocers would be able to increase their presence in the world of online grocery—a realm that analyst Marc Astrachan of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. projects could grow to 6 per cent over the next five years.

With this in mind, Canadian retailers must keep their e-commerce capabilities up-to-date. Investing in better technologies as well as branching out online could be the key to future success—especially when it comes to competing with Amazon.

Gowling WLG partner Lewis Retik has been named the recipient of the Direct Sellers Association (DSA)’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award.

The award was presented at the DSA Canada 2017 conference, which took place June 25-28 in Huntsville, Ont. It recognizes individuals for their significant contribution to the advancement of the DSA through participation and leadership on DSA committees, the DSA board, in the community or in public service. The award is not given out annually, which makes the accolade all the more notable.

This year, Retik received the prestigious award for being a dedicated champion of the direct selling industry. Through his legal practice, Retik advances the DSA members’ interests by advising them on Health Canada, Direct Sales, and Competition Bureau matters.

In 2016, Retik also received the DSA’s Partnership in Progress Award, which recognized his devotion to the direct selling industry and the extraordinary lengths to which he goes to ensure seamless maneuvering through the various entities that govern the industry and its products.

Retik is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office and practises primarily in the areas of product regulatory and commercial law. He is also the leader of the firm’s Canadian Advertising & Product Regulatory Group and co-leader of its Food & Beverage Group. As part of his practice, he addresses regulatory compliance and commercial issues that pertain to direct selling, e-commerce, multi-level marketing, consumer protection and regulated products.

Retik interacts regularly with senior officials of government from departments and agencies such as Industry Canada, the Competition Bureau and Health Canada. He is listed in prestigious guides such as Best Lawyers in Canada and the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, and is actively involved in a number of community-based initiatives and charitable organizations.

The DSA is an association of competitors who foster teamwork and who use their combined strength to ensure fairness in regulations and gain credibility and respect within government.

According to a new study out of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), fennel is effective in the management of postmenopausal symptoms. Researchers found fennel to reduce hot flashes, sleeplessness, vaginal dryness, and anxiety—all without serious side effects.

Fennel has been found to contain phytoestrogens, or estrogen-like chemicals. For this reason, the NAMS decided to study its use for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.

The NAMS looked at 79 Iranian women, aged 45 to 60 years. Each participant was given soft capsules containing 100 mg of fennel twice daily for eight weeks. In the end, fennel was concluded to be a safe and effective treatment to reduce menopause symptoms without serious side effects.

The study is one of the first clinical studies to examine the benefits of fennel for managing menopause symptoms.

“This small pilot study found that, on the basis of a menopause-rating scale, twice-daily consumption of fennel as a phytoestrogen improved menopause symptoms compared with an unusual minimal effect of placebo,” says Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of NAMS. “A larger, longer, randomized study is still needed to help determine its long-term benefits and side effect profile.”

Last month, an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal called for the federal government to regulate natural health products (NHPs), citing them as doing “more harm than good” for patients. Members of the natural health industry have contested this claim, hoping to raise public awareness about the benefits of natural remedies.

The aforementioned editorial states, “The double standard perpetuated by both regulators and retailers that enables the deception of unsuspecting Canadians must end … Alternative medicines with claims based on alternative facts do not deserve an alternative, easy regulatory road to market.”

However, Shawn O’Reilly, executive director of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND), notes that the editorial doesn’t properly discuss the “robust” standards that NHPs must undergo before being sold to the public.

What’s more, pharmacist Mike Hannalah adds that he sells no NHPs without a natural product number (NPN) from Health Canada.
“To me, it’s the same kind of safety measures,” Hannalah told the CBC. “I do feel comfortable as a practitioner, as a pharmacist, to dispense those natural health products that meet those requirements.”

With organizations, researchers, and wrongly informed individuals making detrimental statements about the natural health product industry, it is absolutely essential for members of the industry to educate the public. Holding in-store education sessions, speaking to customers, and properly addressing clients are excellent ways to reach out to—and inform—Canadians about the safety of our practice.

Walgreens Boots Alliance has scrapped its two-year wooing of Rite Aid Stores Inc, instead opting to buy about half the chain’s stores in a new $5.157 billion deal. This move comes as a result of scrutiny by federal antitrust regulators.

The new deal covers 2,186 stores, three distribution centres, and inventory from Rite Aid, says the company. It also replaces a previous merger agreement with Rite Aid, which began in October of 2015. Valued at $9.4 billion, the original deal was amended earlier in 2017 to accommodate more divestitures.

The October 2015 deal also included another agreement with Fred’s Inc., which included the acquisition of nearly 1,000 Rite Aid stores. This transaction has also been cancelled.

“This new transaction extends our growth strategy and offers additional operational and financial benefits,” notes Stefano Pessina, CEO of Walgreens. “It will allow us to expand and optimize our retail pharmacy network in key markets in the U.S., including the Northeast, and provide customers and patients with greater access to convenient, affordable care. We believe this new transaction addresses competitive concerns previously raised with respect to the prior transaction and will streamline and simplify the transition for customers, team members and other stakeholders.”

Walgreens is set to begin the acquisition of these new assets over a period of approximately six months. It also plans to eventually convert the new stores to the Walgreens brand. Walgreens has also agreed to pay Rite Aid a $325 million cash termination fee.

“While we believe that pursuing the merger with WBA was the right thing to do for our investors and customers, this new agreement provides a clear path forward and positions Rite Aid as a strong, independent, multi-regional drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager with a compelling footprint in key markets,” says Rite Aid CEO John Standley. “The transaction offers clear solutions to assist us in addressing our pharmacy margin challenges and allows us to significantly reduce debt, resulting in a strong balance sheet and improved financial flexibility moving forward.”

Last month, the Executive Officer of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, purchased the Whole Foods Market brand for $13.7 billion. The announcement naturally generated concerns about the future of grocery shopping, e-commerce, and methods of proper food delivery. However the latest concern surrounds Bezos’ challenge to maintain the organic food industry—a business that’s growing at a considerably high rate.

According to the Organic Trade Association, 5 per cent of food sales in the US are organic, which estimates to $47 billion in revenue. As the industry continues to grow, the future of organic food sales is estimated to double in the next few years—especially if Amazon offers lower prices than in-store grocery markets. As a result, Bezos is trying to acquire as much of the US farming market as possible to keep up with the predicted demand, a strategy that hasn’t been expanded despite the popularity of the industry.

While the demand for organic food is high, farms have relatively kept their size due to the government’s regulations concerning organic farming. For farmers who wish to run and produce fruits and vegetables on organic soil, the government requests a three-year farming plan to ensure that soil levels meet nutrient standards, crops are properly rotated, pest management and erosion are stable, and sanitation compliance is in effect. A quick transition to organic farming may cause financial setbacks during its early stages as it differs from non-organic farming management. Despite rigorous standards and many years of planning, Maggie Monast, a sustainable sourcing expert at the Environmental Defense fund, suggests that farmers might be willing to transition to organic farming with the escalating demand.

Generally the US imports their organic fruits and vegetables from overseas, however questions of fraudulent organic claims are a regular concern that could be reduced with homegrown farming. Although the focus is on American farmers and their soils, Canadian support might offer create an opportunity to produce more organic foods that meet Amazon’s demand while expanding the Canadian job market. According to an Agriculture report released by Statistics Canada in May 2012, the number of farms in Canada decreased but the number of organic farms increased across the country.

Bezos might face challenges in growing the organic landscape, but the industry looks promising across borders.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is issuing an organic fraud task force following the account of a million pounds of grains from Turkey falsely selling as organic. With the help of three senators, the OTA has requested the Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to apply higher standards on organic imports with the implementation of a practice guide.

“We want to develop a best practices guide specific to organic systems and certification,” explains Gwendolyn Wyard, Vice President of regulatory and technical affairs for the OTA. The guidelines will implement several assessments, including risk and vulnerability, alerting, reporting and mitigation strategies.

In addition to the execution of stricter guidelines, the association is also calling for a revision of the 2018 Farm Bill, one that will require importers of goods to possess organic certifications to further reduce the risk of fraudulent claims. To fulfill this request, the OTA is also asking for a budget increase of $5 million for new technology.

Although the general food industry is guided by rigorous standards, the organic food industry is particularly under the spotlight where reputation is a fundamental factor for success. General manager of Awe Sum Organics, Matt Landi, says that “one incident can influence your reputation and make a very big difference. That’s why we go through the pains to personally verify our supply chain, in addition to other steps we take, including an in-depth compliance process.” Tanimura & Antle’s vice president Samantha Cabaluna also agrees to upholding the standards of the organic industry from a buyer’s perspective, suggesting that “if you’re buying organic, you want to buy from someone with a stellar reputation to protect.”

Seeing that Canada and The United States share one of the largest bilateral trading relationships in the world, the OTA’s mission to create an organic fraud task force will only serve to protect the Canadian food sector. With extra monitoring and an additional set of requirements to be met, the practice guide will filter Canada’s supply chain and increase the trust of the organic industry. Ultimately, this OTA’s task force will reduce the possibility of fraudulent claims on Canada’s imported products from the US and tighten the high-regulations of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The task force is scheduled to begin in July and will prepare a guideline for the Natural Products East Expo in September.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has cleared as a Class II medical device Insulin Algorithms’ decision-support software, which helps clinicians manage every type of insulin for diabetes treatment. Culminating a lifetime of clinical practice and research led by renowned endocrinologist and former American Diabetes Association (ADA) President Mayer B. Davidson, MD, Insulin Algorithms’ software makes it easy for a clinician to regularly analyze a patient’s blood sugar measurements and quickly optimize their insulin regimen.
The software is based on algorithms that are clinically proven to lower HbA1c even in challenging patient populations, no matter what insulin regimen they are on. This makes it possible to achieve better health outcomes, save billions of dollars in annual health care spending, and reduce rates of diabetes-related complications. With FDA clearance and its previous CE registration, Insulin Algorithms’ decision-support software can now be marketed and sold in both the United States and Europe. 

High blood glucose in people with diabetes is the third highest risk factor for premature mortality. Over half of U.S. diabetic patients fail to reach the ADA’s recommended HbA1c target, and failure rates in reaching HbA1c targets are higher in other countries.

While there is significant industry focus on modifying patients’ behavior with apps and self-management of insulin injections, Insulin Algorithms takes a different approach to diabetes care.

“Think of the tiny percentage of people who keep their New Year’s resolutions, and then ask yourself how realistic it is to expect millions of diabetic patients to make lifelong behavioral changes,” said Josh Davidson, CEO of Insulin Algorithms. “Because of the shortage of endocrinologists, 90 per cent of patients see their primary care provider for diabetes care. This results in a six- to seven-year delay in the initiation of insulin and elevated blood sugar levels once patients are prescribed insulin. We designed our software to close this clinical care gap.”
 
Insulin Algorithms’ Chief Medical Officer, Mayer B. Davidson, MD, is world-renowned for pioneering algorithm-based insulin titration. A former ADA President and recipient of the ADA’s 2016 Outstanding Physician-Clinician in Diabetes award, Dr. Davidson has spent more than 50 years in clinical practice and research. He has trained thousands of clinicians to achieve dramatic reductions in HbA1c using his algorithms, expanding access to care for the patients who need it most. As an affordable, easily adoptable tool for every sized practice, from large EHR-based systems to individual practices, Insulin Algorithms’ software is the culmination of Dr. Davidson’s work.

Sears Canada is undergoing a major court-supervised restructuring process, during which it will close 59 stores and eliminate 2900 jobs.

Company shares were halted last week after the retailer was granted creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Sears will now have 30 days to restructure itself, axing 20 full Sears stores, 15 Sears Home stores, all 10 of its outlet stores, and 14 Sears Hometown stores—around one third of its total retail footprint. The company has been given $450 million in debtor-in-possession financing to fund its operations during this process.

While the reasons behind this restructuring are complex, e-commerce has made a huge impact on the store’s overall success. With the ability to price match online, as well as find lower prices elsewhere, consumers have been avoiding Sears purchases.

However, this isn’t Sears’s only issue. According to Bruce Winder, founder of the Retail Adviser Network, the company’s biggest problem is its inability to stay current.

“Momentum in retail takes years to gain and years to lose, but once you lose it, it’s gone, and I think that unfortunately they’ve lost that momentum,” he explains.

Winder adds, “Retailers need to evolve. They need to constantly look at their customer base and their stores, and keep investing to renew that.”

This comes as a reminder to other retailers—both independents and big box stores. Refusing to stay current with retail trends and consumer needs could ultimately cost you your business.